Excavating over septic field

[struglin]

Can I excavate a few inches of field grass over a septic field to install new grass? I think the lines are about 6’ deep. Anything I need to watch out for?

 

[Hoehand79]

When you are digging and you start smelling some funky stuff then you might of went a little too deep...

 

[pfi572]

When you are digging and you start smelling some funky stuff then you might of went a little too deep...

Your in ****

 

[imdoo'n]

maybe probe extensively the area you want to excavate? making sure your lines are way deeper than you are going to go. going to be a mess if the lines are closer to the surface than you think? unless you have someone who can verify depth. but in the end you can do whatever you want,

why do you want to plant new grass? smell, wet area, etc, may indicate other problems?

 

[thump]

I believe most septic fields are 24-36 inches deep from what I remember when mine was installed 20 years ago. rsaint on this site would be able to give you a good idea as he installs that kind of stuff.

 

[snopro]

Yes they are much shallower than 6’

 

[pfi572]

Stay off the area with anything heavy also .

 

[struglin]

Thanks guys

 

[kanedog]

Post pics! We are all in in this chit together!

 

[Rotax_Kid]

Is it a infiltrator install?

I help my neighbour with this stuff alot during summer as he's does this type of work regularily. If it's an infiltration field, it should only be in that 24" - 36" depth. But be cautious, slope is important, and I'm sure some who install this could skim the surface a bit closer than that to maintain that slope. It's unlikely that the system is so large that grey water wouldn't make it to the back of the run. If it was close to surface, you'd probably notice grey water at surface.

 

[snopro]

All I know is the grass is sure thicker and greener over our field. Gotta slow the mower down quite a bit to get through it.

 

[rsaint]

Can I excavate a few inches of field grass over a septic field to install new grass? I think the lines are about 6’ deep. Anything I need to watch out for?

Do not drive on it with any machine, not sure what you are doing or what your problem is, pipes or system are anywhere from 6"to 3' under. Best way is add black dirt over to smooth out.

 

[X-it]

Is it perforated pipe or infiltrator?

 

[struglin]

Do not drive on it with any machine, not sure what you are doing or what your problem is, pipes or system are anywhere from 6"to 3' under. Best way is add black dirt over to smooth out.

So we want to strip the pour quality field grass, put down an inch of loan and sod was gonna use a skid steer. We aren’t going anywhere near the tank it’s over the field. Any concerns? The ground seems firm.

 

[pfi572]

So we want to strip the pour quality field grass, put down an inch of loan and sod was gonna use a skid steer. We aren’t going anywhere near the tank it’s over the field. Any concerns? The ground seems firm.

Stay off with a skid steer .
Why not just round up the existing growth and landscape and lay sod ?

 

[snopro]

So we want to strip the pour quality field grass, put down an inch of loan and sod was gonna use a skid steer. We aren’t going anywhere near the tank it’s over the field. Any concerns? The ground seems firm.

Tank is not the concern bud. Its the plastic pipes underneath that could break if you drive over it

 

[struglin]

Is it perforated pipe or infiltrator?

I think perforated

 

[struglin]

Stay off with a skid steer .
Why not just round up the existing growth and landscape and lay sod ?

I want it flat and nice, without digging out the grass and loaming I think it’ll be bumpy ect... golf course grass is what we’re after (we own a landscaping company so we’re picky lol)

 

[Greg5658]

If it's a pipe dispersal field set in rock or sand you can drive just about anything on them. Chamber dispersal fields are pretty tough, if they're sufficient depth you could drive a skid steer on it but most of the time we install them within 30 cm of the surface. They're built to take something like 5 psi. They're basically a corrugated plastic half culvert. In a pinch I have driven a 20 ton excavator over them and I haven't broken one yet but I've also got 30" pads and 3 psi ground pressure.

 

[X-it]

6 feet down perforated pipe i highly doubt it would crush, that dam pipe is way inferior to infiltrator anyway as far as drainage goes, those holes jam with toilet paper and may as well be a solid pipe. Just take a small piece of perforated pipe dig it down a foot with you bucket back fill it and drive over it for a test.