The Sep-Tek Adventures

 The Sep-Tek Adventures

One of the popular requirements for spending more time out at our vacation property was that we had an actual, functioning, non-primitive restroom facility. This is a perfectly reasonable action, as we wanted the property to be as relaxing and home-like as possible if we were going to spend some weekends there.  After considering a compacting or incinerating toilet, a proper septic system was the best choice as it was seen as an investment of sorts because it would raise the property value and make future construction as easy as possible. I also feared that future county regulation would only become more stringent as time went by. We then started our rocky journey of tests, permits, inspections, and dealing with a few different contractors.

This secluded spot isn't going to cut it anymore

The first step was to have the ground tested and evaluated to see what our options were.  We hired a nice gentleman from Lebanon who took measurements and soil samples back to evaluate.  We received the good news that a leach system was possible because of the soil type and amount of space we had available, as opposed to more elaborate and expensive systems. Clearcreek Environmental designed a septic plan, and I obtained Warren County’s blessing in permit form and got some installation quotes.  3 rows of colorful flags were placed to indicate precisely where the system would need to be installed.  These flags needed to remain for 3 or so years as we were otherwise preoccupied having a baby, finishing a doctorate, changing careers, and navigating the pandemic you may have heard of.

We have a plan

Finally we were ready to have the system installed. I dug out the quotes received and had them updated to reflect the new (higher) rates.  We chose a company who had good ratings, a reasonable price, and were ready to go in “2 weeks”.  As we would find out, “2 weeks” is contractor-speak for a timeline that sounded close and reasonable but was nowhere near accurate. After about 2 months and repeated assurances that we were “next in line”, some earth-moving equipment finally showed up. To their credit, SepTek did step up their game and got things ripped up in a hurry.

150 feet of this stuff

We had learned from previous experiences that the Warren County inspections department were there to help us get proper work done and not put up red-tape hurdles and slow things down.  The contractors did not set up the proper pre-installation meeting with Warren County, but we got that straightened out. The WC inspector was a great guy and kept us in the loop, and assured us he would make sure the company did it’s installation properly.

This thing cost a lot $$

After 2 weeks of steady progress, a few tense moments, and a couple of awkward phone conversations with the installers we had a septic system. The WC inspector gave his blessing but said that maybe the chosen installer was not the greatest choice for the operation. The company had a lot of good reviews, but all were for emptying septic tanks and not installing them. Basically it was a bit like hiring the reliable oil change place to rebuild your engine, they might have been in a bit over their heads. The final insults were the rather shabby backfill job (leaving us with a bumpy mess of a leach field) and the company threatening us with a property lien for not paying in full within a few days even though A) the bill was not due for 30 days according to the invoice and B) the final inspection paperwork was not in my hands yet.

Nice backfill job, thanks!

The glow of a newly-minted septic system soon turned into more work and cash, as the system was useless without something attached to it. Thus started the story of the next installment, the $20,000 throne.