Perc testing questions

small cabin dreamer · January 18, 2013, 01:00:34 PM

Does anyone know what I should expect to pay a company to come out and dig 6 foot holes with a backhoe and perform a soil test/ perc test BEFORE calling the county to come inspect the holes. I was advised that I need to have a civil engineer or soil expert by the county to do this. I am in the upper peninsula of Michigan.

astidham · January 18, 2013, 01:56:44 PM

I'm not in your area, but The local DEQ charges about half the price a private contractor charges to do the test here in Oklahoma.

January 18, 2013, 02:11:46 PM

I just had this done in the fall in Iron County. It was $200 for the holes, which I thought was very reasonable. The permit and soil evaluation fees were pretty steep.

The company that dug the holes coordinated with the soil inspector so they would be there at the same time. This way, if one spot wasn't a good site, they could try another without delay.

I'll pass along the name of my contractor if you like. Just shoot me a PM.

flyingvan · January 18, 2013, 03:07:29 PM

They let me dig my own holes (4" with a one man auger) which was great because I could dig a bunch of holes and pick the best ones for them to test. Once you get deeper than the auger and use an extension, the auger won't kick the dirt out of the hole but if you twist a 4' ABS pipe into the hole, it fits perfectly---then you run a smaller pipe down that one to tamp the waste soil into a plug in the 4" pipe, pull it out, then use that smaller pipe to pop the dirt plug out. I drilled really clean holes that tested well. I think the auger was about $100 to rent

small cabin dreamer · January 18, 2013, 03:18:37 PM

did the company that dug the holes do the soil evaluation? I guess I am trying to pay a company to come out and dig the holes ahead of time and evaluate the soil BEFORE calling the county to come tell me the same thing. I can put 1 type of toilet in, and once they come out and say outhouse, I cant go back and get a pressure mound septic later, or vise versa. I am trying to have the soil evaluator tell me what he thinks before having the inspector come out if that is possible so I have an idea of what this is going to cost me.

January 18, 2013, 03:48:33 PM

Last time I had one done was about 6 years ago, and the septic design company flagged the holes for me to dig. I was having a company come out to cut in access with an excavator anyway, so I had them dig the holes at that time. I think that saved me $300-$400. Program for my area at the time (King County WA state) was to have the designer do a soil log instead of a perc test, and design the appropriate system. The county would then come out and verify soil conditions for that system.

Because all of this is dependent on how things work in your jurisdiction, I would recommend calling around to find out which is a good septic design company, then asking them how things work, and how best to proceed. My answer above is likely wrong for where you live, but right for where my property is.

Another idea would be to use the process of calling around to septic companies for advice as part of your screening. The companies that give you the best advice and offer helpful ideas for alternatives in the process to save you money & effort have a leg up by treating you well. You can also put in a call to your AHJ to ask how things work in your area.

If it's possible to have both the excavating/digging person and the person doing the perc test on site at the same time to dig another hole if the others don't test as desired, that would be awesome. I know I'd go to great lengths to get a gravity system approved vs. a pressure distribution system of any sort. With complexity comes both expense and maintenance.

mgramann · January 18, 2013, 04:31:32 PM

Quote from: small cabin dreamer on January 18, 2013, 03:18:37 PM
did the company that dug the holes do the soil evaluation? I guess I am trying to pay a company to come out and dig the holes ahead of time and evaluate the soil BEFORE calling the county to come tell me the same thing. I can put 1 type of toilet in, and once they come out and say outhouse, I cant go back and get a pressure mound septic later, or vise versa. I am trying to have the soil evaluator tell me what he thinks before having the inspector come out if that is possible so I have an idea of what this is going to cost me.

No-it was the county that did the test. A week or so after the test he sent me a report stating what size/options I had for a drain field based on the number of bedrooms I was planning to have. This information was needed to get an accurate septic quote.

small cabin dreamer · January 18, 2013, 04:37:12 PM

ok, So it seems I have to have the county come out and then they give me "options" of what I can do, and I can decide from there. But from what you stated the holes are about $200, do you know how many they were willing to dig, as my property is fully wooded and I do not want to level all of it for this testing. I would like strategically placed holes if I can.

mgramann · January 18, 2013, 04:43:39 PM

Quote from: small cabin dreamer on January 18, 2013, 04:37:12 PM
ok, So it seems I have to have the county come out and then they give me "options" of what I can do, and I can decide from there. But from what you stated the holes are about $200, do you know how many they were willing to dig, as my property is fully wooded and I do not want to level all of it for this testing. I would like strategically placed holes if I can.

I'm sure you could get a third party to do the testing, but in the end it is the county who decides what is possible. I think they dug 2 or 3 holes, I wasn't there for it unfortunately. The company that dug the holes is actually the same company that is putting in my septic system, so I relied on their judgement. It helped to have the county there at the same time so they could work together for the best option. I marked where the house is going to be, and where I thought the septic should be, and they went from there.

January 18, 2013, 05:02:33 PM

ok, so they were all pretty trustworthy.

MushCreek · January 18, 2013, 05:23:51 PM

There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to what local authorities do. We paid $280 for a perc test and permit. For the life of me, I couldn't find any evidence that a single leaf was disturbed. They tested in the woods, and there wasn't any evidence of digging anywhere. My permit was good for 5 years, and we just made it getting the system in and inspected. The guys putting the septic system thought my soil was 'very good', which made me feel better about the perc test. I'm convinced that the inspector either never tested at all, or just kicked a few leaves aside, and decided that it would probably be OK.