[rebrcca]

I cant find my septic tank we have dug a 4 ft deep trench all the way around house can not find pipe comeing out house got 3 vent pipes on top og house 2 2in an a 3 in

[ma0641]

Your local plumbing or code office should have the location platted. Follow the plumbing to where it exits. Are you on a slab or crawl or basement?

[massplumber2008]

Hi Rebrcca

Your home should have a main drain cleanout just inside or just outside the foundation (if you have gone 4' deep outside, I'm figuring the main drain cleanout is inside the basement/slab either under a stairway or in some other area that is not accessed often). Look for a PVC or Brass cleanout cap... if you find it, then you can figure that at a minimum the main drain exits the building at that point... though it may exit deep!

Another common approach is to go outside and line yourself up with the 3" stack coming out the roof... in many cases, that pipe is straight above where the pipe exits the building.

If you still can't find it, try ma0641's advice and touch base with the archives department... should have a basic blueprint showing where pipe BASICALLY runs through the property and into the home.

If all this fails, then you can always hire a drain company to come out and snake the drain line with a metal rod (through a cleanout at the base of a waste stack or by lifting the toilet and snaking through that pipe). They can use special metal sensing equipment to determine where the pipe exits the home and exactly where the drain runs in to the septic.

Finally, if you are simply looking for the septic tank, you might try to call some of the local septic guys... could be that they have been out to the property and know exactly where the cover is, right (could also ask the real estate agent that sold you the place?? )?

Good luck!

Mark

[joypulv]

LOL Mark, your 'finally' is what I had to do when I bought my house. No record at the town hall at all, and the drain goes out the back of the house, winds around the side, and angles down the front. The well was even harder to find, and we stumbled on it by accident, a 10" square of PT practically overgrown with grass.

[Mike45plus]

Rebrcca,
I've located several buried well pits and septic tanks by dowsing. I was taught by an old time well driller who had the uncanny knack for identifying the best place to drill for water on a piece of property.
If you have time, and the weather cooperates, you can locate buried well pits and active septic tanks in the early winter and late spring. The ground is always warmer above well pits and septic tanks, and often, the outline of the tank or pit will be revealed by melted snow.
Have you considered using a thermal imaging device?

[Milo Dolezal]

Call plumber with pipe locator. He will remove one toilet closest to the outside wall, insert a cable with probe, go outside and pin-points the probe with locator device. Should take no more than 1/2 hour to find.

Or, call company that pumps out septic tanks. They have a system how to locate septic access. They may even have your house and location of your septic tank filed in their system from previous service calls.

Hope that helps

Milo