Building a deck over your septic?
Question:I was hoping to build a deck this summer, and our septic is farley close the the house so when we buid our deck the deck will stand about 3 feet over the septic. Does anyone know the guid lines for this are we aloud to build on top of the septic? It should be farley easy to get to it if it needs to be pumped. Any tips will help too, thank you!!
Answers:
You should contact your local health department regarding this question, but I can tell you now what their answer will be. "No".
You should never ever build or drive over any part of your septic system. You didn't say what type of system you have, so I'll assume you have a septic tank and tile leach field. But really, no matter what you have, you shouldn't build over it.
The "why" is because building over the system will prevent you from accessing all of the system, in the event it needs to be serviced. Another reason is, if the system is a soils based system, then you'll be compacting the soils around the system, making it much harder for it to work, and possibly causing it to fail sooner than it should (expensive repairs!).
Just a note, after reading some of the other replies - a 2000 gallon septic tank with a family of 4 should be pumped out every 3-5 years. Using a garbage disposal (which I do not recommend) means pumping it out at least one year sooner. Smaller tanks mean they need to be pumped out earlier.
The septic tank is the protector for whatever is after it (leach field, sand filter, mound, cesspool, etc) and you're much better off pumping it out more often than less often. If you have teenagers, I count them as 2 people, since most of them use significantly more water than the rest of us, meaning pump out the tank more often if you have teenagers.
In theory, if you never use the system, it will never fail - so, the less water you put into it, the longer it will last. Use low flow faucets and toilets, if you're replacing a washer, use a front loader or one of the new high efficiency machines.
Last bit of advice - the only thing that should go into the system is what comes out of you naturally and toilet paper. Don't waste your money on additives.
most septic tanks are only 24 inches under ground measure the area and make sure you don't knock a hole in it peeeeeeeeeeu
sounds like a good idea in theory but i hope you never have to replace the septic tank . make sure you leave it open enough to service when it is needed.
Most states have building codes that will not allow you to build within 10 feet of your septic tank. I was planning on doing the same thing you are and was not allowed to do it. I would call o local contractor in your area and see what the say.
You all so will have odour problems, the smell comes right up thur the ground, and can make you sick, nope keep away from the septic tank,
Diff times of the year, the smell will be over bearing
Make that part of deck so its floating like a dock and can easily be removed, or maybe think of like a hatch that can be out of the way for the cleaning of the septic tank like every 8 yrs
I had to dig up a septic tank once and they have a concrete lid on them that take a couple of big guys to remove. If a deck is placed over it how are you going to dig it up and pull the concret lid off. I don't see it happening. Plus you have to have them cleaned out at least every 8-10 years .sorry just my opinion.
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