two bedroom septic system

15 years ago

We purchased some land that has a two bedroom septic system on it. We are wanting to build a three bedroom house on it. Originally, I had planned to work around it but thought against it. Should we ever sell in the future we might have problems selling a two bedroom home versus a three. So now we are wanting to see if we can add on to the existing septic system. The County Environmental specialist came out yesterday. He did not offer much advice except that I need a Soil scientist to come out (more money). The soil scientist is coming out on Friday. He will be looking at the soil and to see if there is a duplicate site in case the original septic system fails. Is there anything I should be aware of? Does anyone else have a similar experience? We live in TN. What he say's will effect our decision on whether we build on this property.

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Comments (4)

mdev
15 years ago
I have limited experience with septics but we just had a very similar experience so here goes...

-Bought land that had existing septic permit (not an actual septic system installed) for 4 bedrooms with a septic plan that was 4 yrs old

-Builders all said during bidding that septic plan called for outdated material and the location/design of proposed septic were questionable.

-Paid $4000 for new 5 bed septic plan, $425 for test pits to look at soil, $500 for wetlands scientist to evaluate property and $125 for new permit.

-Septics, as I've learned, are very complicated so as to maximize the separation of solids, semi-solids (gross, I know) and to facilitate the aerobic/ anaerobic decomposition of matter. Sometimes it's one tank with a partition, sometimes it's two tanks in the case of bigger systems.

For what it's worth, the new plan was the best thing we ever did. We love the land and the engineer said that had we installed the original septic as designed it "100% would have failed."

-After working on a new septic, I don't think it's that easy to just "add on to the existing septic system." But I'm not an engineer....You are likely looking at keeping it a two bed or actually replacing the existing septic, if that is at all possible.

Sorry for the long post but hope this helps- good luck!
kangell_gw
15 years ago
I also have limited experience so take my words with a grain of salt.

I would ask a lot of questions and do more research. Septic rules vary a lot from state to state/county to county. Also, understand who can approve what, it's complex in VA.

The land I bought had perked for 4 bedrooms and had a certification for that so all I had to do was apply for a permit. But I didn't like the location of the leach field (may have interfered with potential future swimming pool :)) so I paid an environmental engineering company to come perk another site ($1100 + $250 to dig the holes).

As far as alternate sites in case of failure, I had to have one anyway. Rules here are that you have your septic system and additional land available for an alternate in case the primary fails. So I'm not sure you can use that to increase your number of bedrooms.

This is definitely a situation where it pays to do your homework.
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The issue is, when the original septic system was built they allowed blasting, which they no longer allow. Being the land is in a rocky area the only way to add to the existing leach field is at the back of the property (4 acres away), which is expensive. In my area, codes base a bedroom as using 150 gallons of water a day. Therefore a two bedroom house uses roughly 300 gallons of water a day, which is 9000 gallons a month. My family of four has never used 9000 gallons of water a month. This property has some sentimental value to me and we continue going back and forth whether we should build or not. I have spoken with the director of Environment and he agrees that some of the codes are dated and should be revisited. The septic system was installed in the early 1980Âs. * At that time the average toilet used 5-7 gallons per flush. The Dual toilet averages out to around 1.3. So it is using about 75% less water. *A Washing Machine installed in the 80Âs used between 48 Â55 gallons per load. Today a high Energy Washer uses 15 gallons of water. That is 70% less water. * Dishwasher installed in 80Âs used about 14 Gallons per load. Today a Energy star dishwasher uses about 4 gallons. That is about 70% less water. I appreciate your advice...
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I'm not going to touch the zoning, etc., stuff ... get a local expert/authority for that. Just looking at your question from a regular person point of view (not thinking about zoning, permits, etc.): the bathroom should not be accessible from the main house, since that would make it no longer a private bathroom, and the bathroom being attached to the main house but detached from the new space? The new space is basically getting an outhouse ... Using that bathroom, you're making a man cave/she shed/workshop/whatever more than a self-contained apartment type thing ... you know, somewhere to hang out than an actual dwelling. Another thing that might be worth noting, I don't think septic capacity only looks at number of bathrooms ... or possibly at all. I think the addition of the kitchen and bedroom will actually be your big sticking points on that front ... or the whole detached part of your plan ... I assume you need to talk to the city zoning department/planning board to get approval for the building itself either way ... they can tell you who to talk to about the septic matter, too too.
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muddypond
15 years ago
In TN, the state regulates septic systems, not the counties. I presume the "county environmental specialist" was an individual from the state Ground Water Protection Division. They often have their offices in county buildings. If it wasn't, you should contact your local GWP office right away.

In most cases, the septic system will be designed by the GWP folks for you. In the case of an inadequate existing system, they may have different rules. You really need to talk to GWP, if you aren't already doing so.

In most Tennessee cities and counties, you can no longer get a building permit if the septic system is undersized for the house you intend to build. Talk to your local planning and zoning folks about your plans. Make sure they are on board with what you are doing.

In particular, make sure they are in agreement with you regarding the number of bedrooms in the house you are planning to build. Just because GWP issues a permit for a septic system, doesn't mean you are home free. The county or city needs to agree that what you intend to build doesn't have more bedrooms than the septic system is permitted for. Any room with a door and a closet will count as a bedroom.

I also suggest you consider putting in a four bedroom septic system. A four bedroom system usually doesn't cost a lot more than a three bedroom system, and it will give you or a future owner wiggle room if you ever want to put on an addition or build another bedroom in a walk out basement, should you have one.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tennessee Ground Water Protection Division
charliedawg
15 years ago
We used "the room is not a bedroom without a closet" loophole.

We have a 3 br septic. Our original plans for our home was a 4 br. We had the door to the closet in the 4th bedroom put in the hallway. It can easily be sealed off and moved to inside the 4th bedroom if we wanted it that way.

We are a family of 4. We don't need a bigger septic system just because we have an extra room. That extra room is not going to make us use the bathroom any more than normal.

This is our forever house, so we were comfortable with this decision.

two bedroom septic system

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mdev

kangell_gw

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