Cost of moving drain field / septic tank?

Hi all,

I am wondering what (approximately) is the cost of moving a septic tank and drain field? I want to extend the back of my home, and add a pool, and the drain field / tank is in the way.

I have looked into getting hooked up to city / county water, but haven't had much luck finding that info. Just wanting some rough estimates. My house has appreciated somewhere in the 70-80K range, so I think it would be cost effective, but want to be sure what the costs are.

I eventually plan to move the drain field and tank, extend the back of my home about 5-10 feet, install a pool, and upgrade the A/C system in my home. I have contacts in the pool building business, and my family is in construction. Hopefully, that will save me a little bit.

Thanks for any info you can provide,

Russ

Reply to
rchewning1
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These people will have contacts of people with the equipment needed to do what you want done too. I'd guess at $10,000+ with the limited experience I have with that type of work.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

I don't see that how much your house has appreciated has tanything o do with adding a pool being cost effective. In most parts of the country, adding a pool is a losing proposition to begin with, as you never recover in resale value anywhere near what it costs, even without having to put in a new septic system. The exception being areas like FL, where pools are very common. I think the estimate of $10K to relocate the septic system is conservative. A lot would depend on how much you can do yourself, which is unclear, as being in construction could mean anything from doing framing to having a backhoe. The latter is obviously going to get you a lot farther.

If you are intent on doing this, my first choice would be to get hooked up to municipal sewer if it's available. Most home buyers prefer that, as it eliminates all the future problems with a septic system, although it does have a yearly cost, which I would figure out too, before I decided.

Reply to
trader4

To install a new one, you need someone to dig a hole, put in a pre-cast septic tank, dig one or more ditches, put in the drainpipes/gravel and cover the lot up. Around here (central Florida), that's a half day job max for a backhoe guy. Plus the tank which isn't all that much $$.

In your case, they'd need to remove at least the old septic tank too. I probably wouldn't bother doing so until it actually became a problem with future construction but it is what...15-30 minutes with a backhoe digging/breaking and loading the rubble on a dump truck?

The easiest way to determine the cost is to call a couple of septic contractors.

Reply to
dadiOH

If the choice were between FIXING (cleaning/de-rooting/extending) an existing septic system vs tying into the municipal sanitary sewer system, the cost concerns probably come down on the side of repairing what you have.

Your choice, it seems, is between installing a (virtually new) septic system vs city sanitary lines. I bet it'll be considerably cheaper to tie into the city system.

Putting in a pool, like an extreme kitchen makeover, rarely pays for itself in resale value. If you want it for YOU, go for it. But as an investment? Forget it.

Reply to
HeyBub

I finally found the person I need to talk to about getting hooked into city/county sewage. That was always my first choice.

You guys are right, it might not be an effective investment to install a pool, but I AM in Central Florida, hah hah. Everyone says it's not cost effective, but pool home prices here don't seem to support that argument. Either way, this is for us, not for the resale value.

The reason I mentioned equity, it that a pool home with the extra room we want costs about 250k-265K in our area. That is about a 2300 sq ft home with pool.

Our home is in the 1700 sq ft heated range, and we owe 105K on it. I figure the upper range of doing what we want with the house is 95K, and after all this we will still have 65K in equity. We plan on living here for at minimum another 6 or 7 years, so.. It's a cost effective way to get the dream home we want. Not doing these things for investment potential at all.

It will be a little more house than the immediate neighbors, and we realize there are drawbacks to that part for resale value, but that's okay. After I come back from Iraq, my wife and I are planning on changing careers, and plan on living in this town for awhile.

Russ

Reply to
rchewning1

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