Contents (Click To Jump)
- 1 What Is the Process For Septic Tank Installation in Granbury?
- 2 How Does Permitting Work for Installing Septic Tanks in Granbury?
- 3 How Much Does Septic Tank Installation Usually Cost in Granbury?
- 4 What Type Of Septic Tank Is Best for Residents in Granbury?
- 5 How Often Do Homeowners in Granbury Need to Have Their Septic Tank Inspected?
- 6 Are There Any Rebates Available for Septic Tank Services in Granbury?
What Is the Process For Septic Tank Installation in Granbury?
Your septic system is an important piece of the infrastructure that makes up your home but it also affects more than just your home. Your septic system disposes of hazardous waste that could be detrimental to your land and the surrounding environment. Your septic tank separates wastewater and makes it safe to reintegrate with groundwater and any problem with this process could lead to devastating consequences for your property and health.
For all these reasons, septic tank installation always starts with research and understanding your land and wastewater needs. We’ll need to survey the land to ensure that wastewater can safely flow away from drinking water sources to seep safely into a drain field. We’ll take soil analysis to see what the composition of your soil is, and what its drainage characteristics could tell us about how well it will permeate the soil. This is important since filtering through soil is the last step in your septic system’s reintegration of wastewater into groundwater. If your drain field can’t drain quickly enough and pools, above ground it could create a serious health hazard on your property.
Once we’ve done all the research necessary, we can draw a detailed plan for how your installation will go. We’ll need to be as specific as possible to include this, along with our site survey and soil samples, with our application for a permit.
Once we’ve got the permit from Hood County, the real fun can begin. We’ll excavate for your tank and all required plumbing, and start getting it all put together. Once your system is ready to go, we’ll diligently check your new tank to make sure everything went exactly according to our original plans, as slight deviations could cause problems that are difficult to fix once your tank is buried. After everything’s just right, your new tank will get a thorough inspection, and we’ll fill it in.
At this point, we’ll likely add a little gravel to your drain field to aerate the soil. Our soil here in Granbury can easily get hard-packed and prevent moisture from penetrating the top layers to drain through to groundwater sources. Gravel will help break up your soil around your drain field so that plenty of little gaps allow water to sink in deeper through the tough Texas topsoil.
How Does Permitting Work for Installing Septic Tanks in Granbury?
Permitting for septic system work here in Granbury is done through the Hood County Environmental Health Department. To apply for a permit, we’ll need to include your land survey, soil analysis, our design, and a maintenance contract if your system isn’t a conventional septic system. This can seem like an awful lot just to get the ball rolling on your septic tank installation, but we’re pretty familiar with the procedure around here and can get everything we need together without any large delays.
The Environmental Health Department renders a decision on a permit within five days. It’s incredibly important that we’re thorough with our application for a permit though as problem resolution with procedural violations on permits can take up to 30 days to resolve.
How Much Does Septic Tank Installation Usually Cost in Granbury?
Septic tank installation in this part of Texas is usually quite affordable and right in line with the national average. That having been said, there are a few different factors that could potentially have a huge influence on the cost of your particular septic tank installation.
Cost Factor: Your Property
The soils and topology of your property are unique and will pose unique challenges to your septic system. For conventional gravity-fed septic systems, we need to find a place for your septic tank where a gentle slope can ease wastewater towards your drain field, but also away from your drinking water source. If the features of your land make it impossible to accomplish this without risking contamination of nearby water sources, then it’s likely will have to use a different type of septic system at your home. While alternative septic systems can work great, they often incorporate additional water or pumps into your system which carry an additional upfront cost and also can increase your utility bills every month.
The composition of your soil will also have an impact on the cost of a septic tank installation. The drainage characteristics of your soil will determine how large of a drain field your septic tank needs. Our soil around Granbury isn’t known for being the most well-drained, and if your soil is a particular challenge you’ll have to increase the area over which wastewater is deposited back into the ground. A larger drain field means more plumbing infrastructure, more materials, and overall, more effort to get your tank operational.
Cost Factor: New System or Replacement Tank
Whether your septic tank installation is for new construction or a replacement for an old septic tank could affect the overall cost of your installation. New construction gives us a blank slate to work with and ensures that you get the perfect system — engineered for exactly what you need on your property. A new septic system does mean, however, that we have a lot more to do than just installing a tank. We’ll need to dig trenches for a drain field distribution network as well as for plumbing to connect the tank to the home and drain field. These are all incredibly necessary components of a septic system but more work will equal more cost for your installation.
If we’re just doing a replacement tank, a septic tank installation can often be a lot more affordable. These jobs, however, can often pose unexpected challenges that may set back work or increase costs. If your septic tank has ruptured, we could be dealing with extremely hazardous material that will take caution to remove safely and efficiently. If your septic tank has just reached the end of its lifespan then it’s likely that most of the plumbing in your system is dilapidated as well and replacing the septic tank while leaving old plumbing could reveal many unforeseen problems in your septic system that will need to be addressed.
Cost Factor: How Much Wastewater Your Home Produces
The amount of wastewater produced by your home will affect the size of the tank you’ll need. Even if you’re fairly conservative on water, your septic tank may last 50 or more years, and you want it to provide for anything your home may need in the future. Texas law sets certain requirements on minimum tank size in a septic system based on your number of bedrooms and wastewater production.
What Type Of Septic Tank Is Best for Residents in Granbury?
Every piece of land here in Texas has its own unique quirks and features, and it’s tough to say exactly what type of septic tank would be right for you without knowing a lot more about your home. Septic tanks and systems come in a wide variety of designs, and each can excel in certain circumstances.
Most septic systems around here are conventional, gravity-fed systems. These follow a gentle slope to encourage wastewater from your home into your septic tank and from the tank into the drain field. While some properties may make it impossible to use a gravity system, usually these simple conventional systems can be arranged around topographical features. Due to their simplicity and lack of need for pumps or additional water, they are the best for most homeowners.
As for tank materials, there are a lot of options. Most of them have perks with major drawbacks. Steel tanks, for instance, are incredibly durable and strong. Shifting clay soil and impact from ground level will rarely harm them, but after 10 to 20 years, the protective coating on the metal will begin to corrode. This will weaken it and cause it to rust, after which it’s only a matter of time before the tank fails. Plastic tanks, on the other hand, have a near-limitless lifespan but can easily crush or rupture from the slightest shock.
For a vast majority of circumstances, concrete septic tanks are the best option. Rock is right at home in the soil, and won’t be broken by any shifting soil, erosion, or stray truck tire overhead. It can easily have a lifespan to rival that of your home, and materials are always readily available. Again though, it’s difficult to say if your specific circumstances are typical or will require different solutions than most.
How Often Do Homeowners in Granbury Need to Have Their Septic Tank Inspected?
In Texas, there’s no law requiring any specific timeframe for inspection and maintenance of your septic system on your property, but The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality recommends that you pump and clean your septic system every three to five years, and have it inspected by professionals like us at least every three years to ensure that it’s functioning properly.
Your septic system can create some serious problems for your home, your land, and the surrounding environment if problems go unnoticed. Since you don’t exactly see your septic tank on a daily basis, inspection is often your one chance to notice issues before they escalate into major problems that could threaten the health of your family and land.
Are There Any Rebates Available for Septic Tank Services in Granbury?
There aren’t any rebates available for septic tank services in Granbury, but there are plenty of other ways to help work repairs and replacements into your budget. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality operates several programs that utilize grants to offer homeowners assistance with septic repairs and upgrades.
The EPA also has several programs at the federal level to encourage better wastewater solutions through loans and grants. The USDA also has loan programs available in the case that necessary septic repairs are too costly for you to manage. Often, septic tank problems are urgent, regardless of what the budget says. A septic tank failure can be a disaster for the environment around your home that affects everyone, but it’s great that there are so many resources out there to ensure people can keep their septic running safely and smoothly.