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Inspection Reveals Custom Home Driveway Built Over Septic Tank
We often find sidewalk, decks, and patios built over septic tanks, but recently we came across something not so common: the home’s driveway was built over the septic tank. This was discovered during a real estate inspection, and boy was the homeowner surprised — especially since he had a custom built home!
Custom homes are not immune to septic issues
You might think that a home builder would take care to note the location of the septic system when building a home, but over the years we’ve discovered that custom homes are not immune to septic tank location issues.
In this case the septic tank we uncovered had two compartments — as with every two-compartment tank, both lids need to be accessible in order to properly inspect and pump the tank.
Unfortunately one of the lids was located under the driveway, which we had to cut into to gain access to the lid. It was a long process, and reduced the size of the home’s parking area.
The picture above shows the driveway before and after being cut. After the lid was accessible, we installed a riser over the lid, and the homeowner filled the area with river rock to make it more aesthetically appealing while still allowing access to the tank.
Schedule a septic inspection
Buying a house? Don’t skip the septic inspection. Order a full inspection (instead of a visual inspection) to be sure your potential dream home is clear of surface improvements over the system.
Give us a call at 830.249.4000 (Boerne) or 210.698.2000 (San Antonio) to schedule a full septic inspection.