My thoughts on how this should go
Since I personally write my web pages, I have tossed many ideas around about this one. My final decision is to focus on the reality of onsite septic installation in Central Oregon. You will find links to all the technical info you could ever need while you read this or again on the links page. Here, I would like to disguise what you need your licensed installer to do, the “why so expensive” of installing a septic in the tri-counties of Central OR (Deschutes, Jefferson and Crook County), what to expect when installing inside the city limits of Bend, Redmond, Tumalo, Terrabonne, etc and anything else I can inject that may be helpful to you.
When and why you need to hire a DEQ licensed onsite septic system installer:
To be clear on the issue of when, I believe you should start with a licensed installer, but it is not the law. For site evaluation purposes you need test pits dug to the required specs (you can find specs in these links through the DEQ website or county website) and then you need to go to your county permit department and talk with the Onsite Wastewater folks about having a site evaluation, pay the fee and good luck. A licensed installer was not needed to achieve the evaluation portion but let me explain my opinion of why you should use one. Everything with septic systems and the government is complex. The things you may not think of can seriously affect the outcome of this evaluation and while it can be re-evaluated, it’s expensive. Choosing the location of the test pits, digging them to spec, working with the evaluator on the size of the area to be approved, deciding on the required repair area and having a general idea of the overall GPD (gallons per day) that will be needed to build on that site are all things a homeowner that person you know with a backhoe may not think of during the evaluation process. This process can be hired out to a licensed installer generally for around 500-700 bucks, a small price to pay to get it right on the first try.
Once your property is through the evaluation process you must hire an installer to move forward. So weather you dug your own test pits, bought the property with a pre-approval or hired me already, it is time to get a solid estimate (CLICK HERE to read more about the estimate to bid to hiring process) and start designing a plot plan. Building permits can only be issued once a septic system has been designed and approved by the county wastewater department, so its time to contract. Also, you will need to have a DEQ licensed, bonded, insured onsite septic system installer (which FYI, must be a CCB licensed, bonded, insured contractor) to put on the permit or you can not start building. Keep in mind our DEQ licensing is very specific, not unlike that of an electrician or plumber, and it is the only proof that we have a working knowledge of septic systems in general, if that makes you feel better. Personally, I am fascinated by the whole process and therefore spend much of my time learning every aspect of septic that I can, but that’s just how I roll and I cannot speak for all installers (this was not even a well disguised sales pitch).
Ok, now you have hired an installer, whats next:
There are some things i believe you should expect your installer to do for you, things that I know many installers do not do. I have to be a designer, surveyor, architect, excavator, laborer and not just an installer. That evaluation you got will approve the property for a system but it is a bare bones guideline of what may be required for your purposes. Someone has to bring it to life just like your blueprints for your house and then get out there and make it work. That is the bare minimum of what you should expect the installer you hired to to do, and when I say bare minimum I mean do %100 their best at all times. Just like you would expect from anyone you hire to do anything. In example, here in Deschutes County for instance your evaluation for a single family residence will often only say “1000 gallon tank and 300 feet of drain field median at a certain depth required”. While this size of system is enough for a standard 3-4 bed 2 bath home it will not accommodate more bedrooms (yes, bedrooms are what they count in Oregon, not bathrooms or fixtures). This is the first thing your installer should be on top of because if your system needs a larger tank, which means a bigger hole, and/or more drain field, it will change everything. There is a finite area approved based on the evaluation of the test holes. This area must fit the entire drain median required and if the area is only 30’x100’, more than 300 feet of drain median is just not going in there. This problem is quite common here in central Oregon where approved dirt on top of the ever prevalent lava flows is hard to come by. Your installer should catch this in the system design phase. So many things need to be addressed at this time its hard to list, but I shall try.
The design phase should come as part of, but not completely with, the estimate phase. For this purpose let’s assume you have hired an installer to do your site evaluation and you are working on putting in a septic system for a specific home. So let’s say your property is 1 acre, your home is to have 5 bedrooms and the evaluation came back stipulating bad soil conditions that will require an ATT (alternative treatment technology) system with a modified drain field. Also, your decision to put your home on the one spot on your property that has a view happens to be 200 feet from the only spot that was approved for a drain field. Now we are talking about a system with no room for errors in design and estimate. This is a 1500 gallon duel compartment tank and a highly advanced textile filtration system with an effluent (the clear liquid or “treated” fluid that is headed to the drain field) pump going to what is called a cap and fill drain field or possibly a bottomless sand filter. Because you chose to be a central Oregonian you basically own a lava flow covered in 14 inches of dirt, so that is going to need to be taken into account too. Side note; this is not an uncommon system and can easily run 30-40k, it is a lot of money by anyone’s account but neither you nor I are not in charge of the requirements, the county wastewater department is, so whatever it takes to build your home, right! Do not attempt to argue with wastewater, it turns out poorly most of the time.
Taking a step back, to make a proper estimate I would need to have sketched this out on a plot plan with the aid of the evaluation, been on site to do my own evaluation of paths, trees, rock, etc., tracked down the cost of each item needed to put this hodge-podge together and figured out how much labor and equipment time this will all take. At this point you should receive a complete estimate, or in my case I bid at this point (CLICK HERE to see the difference) with a simplified breakdown of labor and materials. Now, because I was thorough, my estimate/bid should not be missing details I know exist, it should be close to a final cost. Without this effort your estimate may just be for whatever the bare minimum requirement was on your site evaluation, which is not at all what needs built. The next paragraph is my rant and sales pitch as to why the lazy estimation method troubles me. You can skip it for the purpose of this page but I could not keep myself from adding it.
Using the above example, let’s say my estimate came in at 35k, complete, no “oops, we didn’t see that coming” or hammer clauses (a contract clause common in lava country where you get charged an ambiguous hourly rate for rock hammering instead of knowing up front what that should cost via a change order agreed upon between you and your contractor). Or the worst one of all, the “we had to do this to make it work and it just costs more” line of crap. Hearing that as you get your bill and not when the contractor ran into the problem makes my skin crawl. So, you also receive an estimate from a competitor for 26k, hard not to go that route isn’t it? The first thing you should be asking yourself is “why so big a difference”? In most cases the answer is right in front of you, which contractor spent the time to ask questions, evaluate the site, talk to you about what you expect, etc? Also, if you know the septic tank is going into a lava flow then you know a 60 inch tall septic tank will not fit without having the hole rock hammered out (BTW, hammering is freaking expensive for all involved including my maintenance bills). And, since you know your house is going to be 200 feet from the drain field then you should know it will take at least 200 feet of pipe to reach it and what is in the way of excavating that trench. If these things are not evident on one estimate but it is on another then you know for sure who put in the time to get it right. What I am getting at here is, I believe it pays off going with the most complete estimate, every time in every case. I am not saying the most expensive either, just the most complete. A general rule of thumb in construction is “you get what you pay for”. You can find endless rants online about how contractors are thieves, but if the people writing them would admit they often hired the cheapest one, I bet you would believe the rule of thumb. If you get rear ended in your car and went with the cheapest estimate you will always end up with an incomplete, shady or somehow over budget repair. Its all in the estimate and contracts where you get screwed. No difference here in the construction industry. Since I am on a soap box about estimates, it is my opinion that any person getting an estimate from ANY contractor should always look at the completeness of that estimate. Good contractors are constantly under bid by others that do business by getting the job cheep and then change ordering, or simply over charging, for all the things they did not bother to detail out in the estimate. A new home construction, remodel or any construction project is complex, corners can be cut causing failed inspections costing thousands in time and materials, finishes can be missed only later you are charged extra to get what you thought you paid for already and details can get lost that you may not notice until the roof caves in. And if you think inspectors are there to keep this from happening then you can refer back to all the rants online from people who got screwed, inspectors are often under trained, over worked and do not care if your carpet matches the drapes. All this can run you out of money in a hurry and not everyone is on a TV show budget where it is no big deal to be over by 30%, so please consider that rule of thumb. To reiterate, you do not have to hire the most expensive either, this is about the most complete. Construction estimation is not a perfect science but if everyone involved cared just a little more then I would not have to duck every time I tell someone I am a contractor just in case they hate us. Ok, off my soapbox now. (again, CLICK HERE if you want to get more of this same rant, I have lots on this subject)
Back to our example now, you have accepted an estimate, hopefully mine because it was complete, and you are ready to get going. Your installer should have an actual design drawn out and detailed, your permits are purchased and you’re ready to break ground, yeah. Now comes the hard part for me, making it all happen in an abstract environment where the surface has made your work space invisible.
The only thing left to mention here is a few un-thought of or considered un-important things that get missed all the time. First, as I mentioned some 2000 words ago, you can get your building permits and start building your home as soon as you have an approved septic plan. Second, that plan can be changed just like any other part of your project. Third, you purchased an approved septic permit up front,, but moving forward with building structures is now possible and likely more important than installing the septic system. Besides, it usually is easier to get gravity feeds correct after the foundation is in, so build away, I will come later. As long as you remember that you will not get on occupancy permit until the septic system is completed and signed off, so don’t wait forever. Fourth, In nearly every case your septic installer is an excavation contractor and it can actually save you money to have them also estimate and do your general excavation. We will be on site with equipment and dirt can be moved from A to B and used here and there which saves time and money by the end of the project. I’m sure by CLICKING HERE you will find a page on what to expect for timing of all phases of excavation. At least when I am on the job.