Building Near a Septic Tank and Drain Field

You may be considering building a patio or deck over your septic tank or drain field. Just building near a septic tank and drain field is a very bad idea, let alone building over them. Maybe you’re not intentionally going to build over your septic tank, but you might as well be if you are remolding and not checking plans.

Maybe you think we are exaggerating a bit, so we will endeavor to convince you and save you a lot of inconvenience and money. Let’s take a closer look. 

What Happens When You Build Over a Septic Tank?

It’s no big deal to build over your septic tank, right?

Wrong. When you build a structure over your septic tank, you are asking for trouble. Try pumping out your septic tank with a patio, deck, driveway, or that home office you added to your house. Maybe the contractor you hired didn’t do his or her homework. Perhaps you thought the septic tank was somewhere else. Either way, when your toilets start to back up because of an issue with your septic tank, you will regret it. Also, the weight from construction equipment can crack your septic tank wide open. Not to mention the weight of a foundation.

So, if you build over your septic tank, it will lower your home’s value, and you will have to tear down that patio or additional room to reach it. 

What Happens if You Build Over a Drain Field?

As you can imagine from our example of building over a septic tank, building over a drain field is an equally bad idea. Just like with our previous example, heavy construction equipment over a drain field can cause extensive damage. Drain lines can crack, break, or be crushed, leading to a blockage.

Never plant a tree or shrub or start a garden over a drain field; their roots will cause trouble, and you will end up having to have the plant removed. 

When Building Near Drain Fields:

• You will need a permit to install an inground pool near a drain field. If the pool is too near the drain field, the water discharged from it can oversaturate it, leading to backups in your home.  

• If you are installing a fence, flagpole, or something similar that must be sunk into the ground, be careful not to pierce the drainfield.   

• If you are having a shed delivered, the weight of the delivery trucks or the weight of the shed itself, if large, can damage the drain fields.  

How Do I Know Where My Shed and Septic Tank Are?  

If you don’t have your house’s plans or an inspection report from when you bought it, you can have a professional septic service locate your septic tank and drain field. 

Locate Your Septic Tank and Drain Field

Want to know where your septic tank and drain field are before you build? Get in touch with us. In the Polk County area, call 863-738-0504 or fill out our online contact form. We will happily set up a time for our technicians to locate your septic system.