When you need a septic engineer
- Your system is failing. You see wet or “squishy” ground over the field, odors, effluent at the surface or slow drains.
- A home inspection flagged the system and it has to be repaired or replaced before a closing.
- You’re adding bedrooms or building an addition, which can trigger a review of the system’s capacity.
- You’re building a new home on a lot without public sewer.
How it works
- Site evaluation. I review the property, existing records and the constraints: setbacks, wells, slopes, wetlands and groundwater.
- Soil testing. Soil logs and permeability tests show what the ground can actually accept, and that determines the type and size of the system.
- Design. Signed and sealed plans prepared to the New Jersey Standards for Individual Subsurface Sewage Disposal Systems (N.J.A.C. 7:9A).
- Approval and construction. I submit to the local Board of Health and answer reviewer comments. I can observe construction and provide the certification needed to close out the permit.
Difficult sites
Small lots, high groundwater and shallow soils are common in Northern New Jersey. These sites often need a mounded system, a pressure-dosed field or an advanced treatment system. Getting the soil data right at the start is what keeps these projects on budget.