Septic System in TN....I'm not used to it. (house, disposal)

[daniellefort]

we were told it wasn't done on our property because it was 8 acres of land and too many places the home could be set on but most of the other lots had them done because they were smaller lots. is that common on large sized lots in subdivisions?

Who do we contact to set one up to be done and what's the approximate cost for a PERC test?

[alleycat]

Originally Posted by daniellefort

we were told it wasn't done on our property because it was 8 acres of land and too many places the home could be set on but most of the other lots had them done because they were smaller lots. is that common on large sized lots in subdivisions?

Who do we contact to set one up to be done and what's the approximate cost for a PERC test?

They probably require a licensed engineer to do the test (actually it's be some college guys working for a licensed engineer who actually do it . . . a perc test isn't exactly rocket science). I'm not sure what they cost now. I'd guess $200, $250.

[Songbird42]

My son is building in Sevierville, near Douglas Lake......he just had a guy do his perc test and it cost him $239.00, my son dug the holes himself, because they wanted more money to dig with a machine.

He also had a guy come out and show him where to put his home on the lot
he's buying a log cabin kit to build,and that is running for the frame to be put up only $100,000.

[jimj]

Originally Posted by Songbird42

My son is building in Sevierville, near Douglas Lake......he just had a guy do his perc test and it cost him $239.00, my son dug the holes himself, because they wanted more money to dig with a machine.

He also had a guy come out and show him where to put his home on the lot
he's buying a log cabin kit to build,and that is running for the frame to be put up only $100,000.

Wait till he gets to the inside.... most likely it will double if not a little more. We get a lot of log homes here in Montana, I have looked at them until I found all you get is the outside walls, you still have to install everything else including routing the walls to get wires and water in them. They are beautiful houses but ended up costing way more than a stick built. I am sure it will be very nice when done.......

[daniellefort]

We were originally planning to go with a log home too but after so much research and the different types of wood and all the upkeep, costs of all the supplies you don't get with the kits and the horror stories of where to store your kit when it arrives to keep looters from stealing it, we decided to stick build and go with the log look inside and outside with log siding and we want to build it ourselves at our own pace.

Thanks for the info on the PERC test.

Anyone have any idea on cost of a complete septic system set up.

[daniellefort]

[quote=Songbird42;881983]My son is building in Sevierville, near Douglas Lake......he just had a guy do his perc test and it cost him $239.00, my son dug the holes himself, because they wanted more money to dig with a machine.QUOTE]


How much more money did they want to dig the holes? Reason i ask, we want to do most of our own excavation by renting equipment when we are up there but if it's not worth the cost of the rental equipment (if we only need to rent it for digging these holes) then maybe having them dig is cheaper for us.

[alleycat]

Originally Posted by daniellefort

How much more money did they want to dig the holes? Reason i ask, we want to do most of our own excavation by renting equipment when we are up there but if it's not worth the cost of the rental equipment (if we only need to rent it for digging these holes) then maybe having them dig is cheaper for us.

Just use post hole diggers. You probably only need a couple of holes about 18 to 24 inches deep. But really, digging the holes isn't that big of a deal for the people doing the test. I certainly won't rent any equipment to do it.

[daniellefort]

Originally Posted by alleycat

Just use post hole diggers. You probably only need a couple of holes about 18 to 24 inches deep. But really, digging the holes isn't that big of a deal for the people doing the test. I certainly won't rent any equipment to do it.

Oh that's all? That's no big deal. I read somewhere online about PERC testing that they had to dig a 6 foot hole, 6 foot deep.

[alleycat]

Originally Posted by daniellefort

Oh that's all? That's no big deal. I read somewhere online about PERC testing that they had to dig a 6 foot hole, 6 foot deep.

WTF? If you can find that website, please post it . . . I'd like to have a good chuckle.

No, you only need a 6 to 8" diameter holes about the depth of the proposed drainage field lines (around 24").

[daniellefort]

Well looking back at the web site, i guess the deep hole is required for a septic perc test for the leach field. The perc test just done with the small holes, will that cover for the septic leach field as well or does that require deeper digging?