AFFORDABLE PLUMBING SERVICE IN McDonough, GA

What Is the Process for Septic Tank Installation in McDonough?

Any septic tank installation always starts with research and understanding. We’ll survey your land and test the soil. We’ll have to understand the topography and composition of your soil before we can figure out where to start with designing your septic system. Once we’ve got all the information we need, we’ll engineer a system that is perfectly suited to your property and your needs. All the information about the site and our plans and designs will be included with our permit application to meet the Department of Public Health’s requirements.

After we’ve obtained permits for the job, it’s time to set about making your new septic tank happen. We’ll excavate the hole and remove an old tank if it’s a replacement job. If we’re building a new system from scratch, we’ll also excavate trenches for the plumbing that will take waste from your house to your septic tank, as well as those pipes that will take wastewater from the tank to the drain field where it will reenter the groundwater supply.

Once everything’s set and in place, we’ll diligently double-check our work, and make sure everything went exactly as we had laid out in our initial designs. We’ll top your drain field off with some gravel before we backfill to aerate your soil and help wastewater drain into the soil better. Then it’s time to fill everything back in and let you enjoy your new septic system.

How Does Permitting Work For Installing Septic Tanks In McDonough?

In McDonough, our permit process goes through District 4 of The Georgia Department of Health. We’ll attach all the information about your land and our plans and designs for your septic tank to the application. It’s incredibly important that we be as complete as possible on this application, as incomplete applications, or vague designs may cause delays in permit processing.

Even after permits are obtained, there are still regulatory obligations to be met. Henry County will have mandatory inspections at different stages of the installation to verify that everything is being done in the interest of public health. While it can be frustrating that there are so many bureaucratic hoops to jump through to get started, we’ve been through them all before and can help you navigate this process. It’s important that strong safeguards are put on septic systems, even if it is a slight inconvenience. Septic systems that are poorly designed and installed could do huge damage to far more people than just those who live in that home. Sewage escaping your wastewater system that hasn’t been properly broken down in your septic tank could have detrimental effects on the environment and groundwater in the area and spreads toxic chemicals that can quickly spread sickness.

How Much Does Septic Tank Installation Usually Cost in McDonough?

Septic tank installation can be fairly affordable in this part of Georgia compared to other parts of the country. The price of septic tank installation can differ wildly though from job to job depending on several different factors. Easy straightforward septic tank installations can sometimes be as affordable as $1,200, but more logistically challenging and involved installations can easily cost over $10,000. The average is around $6,500.

New Septic System or Septic Tank Replacement

Whether you’re installing a new septic system from scratch for new construction or simply replacing an old tank in an existing system could influence the cost of your installation. When we’re installing an entirely new septic system, there’s a lot that goes into that beyond just the septic tank. Plumbing from the house to the tank and the tank to the drain field will take more excavation and higher costs and plumbing materials.

That’s not to say every job where we’re installing a tank replacement is necessarily cheaper. A lot of times when we’re replacing a septic tank, it’s because it’s old and nearing the end of its lifespan or has had some critical malfunction that led to it needing to be replaced. And either case the plumbing that makes up the rest of your septic system isn’t likely to be in top shape. Adjustments will likely need to be made to this plumbing one way or the other, and it might be hiding unexpected setbacks that we won’t discover until during installation.

Your Potential Wastewater Usage

The amount of wastewater that your home could potentially use will directly affect the size of the septic tank you need to accommodate your home. The size of your tank obviously can have strong effects on the cost of installation. A larger tank means more excavation, more materials, and more labor to install it.

In Georgia, the minimum size septic tank allowed for residential properties is a 1,000-gallon tank, which should be enough for a 3 or 4-bedroom house. You’ll need a bigger tank if you have a swimming pool, spa, or any other feature that could produce a lot of wastewater. It’s worth noting that if your home has a garbage disposal, the State of Georgia will require you to increase the required size of your septic tank by 50%. If this seems like the state discouraging people with septic systems from having garbage disposals installed, it is. Garbage disposals increase the need for extra wastewater processing space significantly. They greatly increase the amount of solid matter going down drains. Even once chopped into bits, it’s still solids that will accumulate in your tank and take time to break down.

Your Land

The layout and makeup of the land that you need to put a septic tank beneath can have a big effect on the cost of your installation job. Most of our soils here in Georgia are often fairly well-drained loams, but depending on the results of your soil test, your soil may prove more challenging than the average. If the soil on your property has low drainage capabilities, then we’ll need to design a larger drain field for your system so that water can be readily absorbed by the soil without pooling on the surface. A larger drain field will involve more excavation and could increase the cost of your septic tank installation.

The topography of your land also has a big bearing on the cost of any septic system installation. In conventional septic systems, a gradual slope is designed into the system so that gravity naturally pushes waste into your septic tank and eventually naturally pushes wastewater from your tank to your drain field. The direction of your wastewater always has to move away from the source of your drinking water to prevent contamination. If the specific topography of your property prevents a gravity-assisted septic system, then we’ll have to get creative. There are plenty of other techniques you can employ in a septic system to move water, but if we have to resort to using pumps to propel wastewater in your system, that will make the installation more involved. Adding an electrical component to your septic system also carries an upfront cost. In addition, it will raise your monthly energy bill.

What Type of Septic Tank Is Best for Residents in McDonough?

There are lots of types of septic systems and septic tanks and without knowing the specific circumstances of your land will be incredibly hard to say exactly what type of tank is right for you. For most of our customers, we find that concrete tanks are the best option. Tanks made with materials like steel, fiberglass, or plastics have their advantages in some situations, but concrete is long-lasting, doesn’t corrode over time like steel, and is much more resistant to damage from impact or from soil movement over time than plastics or fiberglass.

How Often Do Homeowners in McDonough Need to Have Their Septic Tank Inspected?

Georgia has no law dictating or requiring any inspections after installation, and neither does Henry County. That having been said, regular inspections are the best policy. Your septic tank should be inspected by professionals like us every 2 to 3 years and cleaned every 3 to 5 years. This helps you catch anything that may be wrong with your wastewater disposal system early enough to fix it before it gets out of control.

Cleaning is a necessary part of maintenance, too. As solid waste breaks down in your septic tank, water is released and floats upwards. Small amounts of oily residue are released from the waste as it breaks down as well, and that is lighter than water and so floats to the top. The idea of your system is that the center layer where the water is feeds your drain field slowly over time. As more and more waste is broken down in your septic tank though, the top and bottom layers take up more and more space. Eventually, the oily film at the top will begin to clog your plumbing, potentially causing disgusting and damaging sewer backups into or your home or the solid waste on the bottom layer begins spilling out into your drain field. Either way, you potentially have an incredibly hazardous ecological disaster on your hands.

While the State of Georgia doesn’t explicitly mandate inspection and cleaning of septic systems, their rules on onsite sewage disposal clearly indicate that the homeowner is responsible for maintaining their system and preventing the kind of disastrous situations that can come from letting your septic tank fall into disrepair. You can’t keep an eye on your septic tank when it’s buried beneath the ground. Your inspection is the only way to spot serious issues before they can potentially do irreparable damage.

Are There Any Rebates Available for Septic Tank Services in McDonough?

Unfortunately, there aren’t any rebates available for septic tank service in McDonough, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t resources available to help with the costs associated with septic tank replacements and upgrades. The FDA offers several resources for homeowners who need assistance paying for septic tank repairs are upgrades through grants and loans. The EPA also has an updated list of resources available to assist anyone who needs help improving their wastewater disposal systems.