Welcome back to Part 7 of our $20k Homestead series! In this episode, we cover the installation of our septic system! Hooray for poopers! In case you missed them, links to Parts 1 through 6 are at the end of this post.

Options and Alternatives

Our property is out of range of any city water or sewer connections. This may or may not be the case with your land, so be sure to check.

Not just Cities...
I used to think water & sewer connections were only within the city limits (as they are here, where we live). However, when a family member moved to another state we were surprised to see they had county water, and some areas had county sewer running to rural land! So check your land or prospective land if there are hookups. It could save you a lot of money!

Cost aside, we were happier to have our own water and septic systems. This allows us to be more independent and a few clicks toward off-grid. Additionally, if something happens to the city water or sewer system, we're unaffected!

I read through our county regulations regarding alternatives to a septic system. Our county allows the use of composting toilets, but not gray water recycling systems. They still require all gray water be put into a septic system, so this killed any ideas of an alternative way of treating our waste on-site for a lower cost. Fooey... traditional septic system it is!

Easy Quote & Job!

After our headaches with getting a house mover, we were concerned about running into the same issue with our septic installer. However, the same company that ended up moving our home, recommended an installer who was great to work with and fast! The cost of the septic system was $3,500. This included installation, inspections, required cleanouts, and running a "stub out" pipe under the home to connect the house to.

2 Bedroom vs. 3 Bedroom

Our home only has two bedrooms, which is the metric in which septic systems are designed in our area. We thought of putting in a larger three bedroom septic system to add some future-proofing, but the added cost ($800) and lack of need (there is only 4 of us) made us stick with the two bedroom. I asked our septic installer the cost difference between getting it now versus later, and it will be $200 more to do it later. He talked that our septic system and soil composition was such that it wouldn't be an issue with 6 people, unless someone did something dumb, so we feel confident in our decision.

Septic Permit & Plans

As discussed in Part 3 of our series, we had to get a complete soil test and septic permit from the county at a cost of $250. From this permit and test, our septic system was designed and given to us to build from. Our county requires licensed installers for all septic components.
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septic plan 1.jpg

Installation

I know nothing about septic systems, except from what Google tells me, but I was happy to see the components installed on our land were the same as what I read were good--a ribbed poly tank and black poly tunnels for the drain field instead of gravel and pipes wrapped with styrofoam.

The installation of the septic system was done in two days. One day to dig and install the components, and one day for county inspection and covering it over with soil.

The Photos

What? No video?
Sorry, not this time...

The septic tank mostly back-filled. The green circles are the manhole covers.

Taken as the septic crew were digging the second drain field line. Also works as a future reference/reminder for me of where the tank and lines are. We have plans to build a large covered front porch on the house.
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View out the front door.
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The upper drain field line. Also serves as a future reference photo.

Closer view of the drain field pipe/tunnel.

Crew digging the small trench for the pipe that runs from the septic tank to under the home.
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View of the finished product. The cleanout pipe was later trimmed closer to the ground.

View from the front yard looking up at the home.