Septic System Installation in the Catskills & Hudson Valley

How septic system installation works

A septic system is a tank, a distribution box, and a leach field of perforated pipe in stone trenches or beds. The tank holds back the solids. The field lets the liquid soak into the soil, and the soil does the actual treating, which is why it matters so much. New and replacement systems are generally designed for the specific site based on soil and percolation tests, and approved before any digging starts.

In the mountains, the ground is often the hard part. Shallow bedrock, dense hardpan and a seasonal high water table leave too little usable soil under the field, so the design may call for a raised system built up with fill. Near the Hudson, heavy clay drains slowly and can need a larger field. Either way, the excavation has to follow the plan exactly: the tank set level on a firm base, field trenches dug to the specified depth and kept level, and heavy equipment kept off the field area so the soil isn't compacted before the pipe goes in.

When a house switches from septic to city sewer, the old tank gets pumped, then removed or crushed and filled so nobody falls into it years later.

Sewer lines and city hookups

The pipe from your house to the main in the street is the lateral, and it's usually the homeowner's responsibility, at least up to the property line. In older neighborhoods in Kingston, Hudson and Catskill village, a lot of laterals are clay tile or cast iron that has been in the ground for generations. Roots get into the joints, sections crack or sag, and one day the line backs up into the basement.

Replacing a lateral means digging the full run, laying new pipe on a steady downhill pitch with no bellies, making a proper connection at the main and at the house, and bedding and backfilling carefully so the pipe isn't crushed or knocked off grade. Connections to a municipal sewer generally need a permit and an inspection, and the village or city will tell you who is allowed to make the tap.

What should you do if your sewer backs up into the basement?

Stop using water in the house right away: no flushing, laundry or showers, since every gallon ends up on the basement floor. Keep people and pets away from the sewage. Then call for help. If the blockage is in the lateral outside, it often means the pipe is broken, collapsed or packed with roots.

Justin offers 24/7 emergency service for sewer backups. When the line is broken outside the house, the fix is usually digging it up and replacing the bad section or the whole run. One customer's review describes Justin on site within an hour and the whole line replaced within 36 hours of the first call. See emergency excavation for how those calls work.

Cost drivers and mistakes to avoid

The big variables are the length and depth of the run, rock, groundwater, and what sits on top of the line. A paved driveway, a patio, a sidewalk or the street itself all have to be cut and restored. A deep main in a village street can mean a deep, shored trench, which is slower work. Septic jobs add the question of whether the old field can be reused or a new one has to go somewhere else on the lot.

• Don't drive or park on a leach field. It crushes pipe and compacts the soil.
• Don't plant trees or shrubs near the tank or field. Roots find the pipe.
• Don't build over the tank lid or bury it so deep it can't be pumped.
• Don't leave an abandoned tank in place without crushing and filling it.

Most of the digging itself is the same skill as any utility trenching job, done with more attention to pitch.