House with septic tank and oil

[marmalade88]

Hello wisdom of HHO forums,

We are looking at a house which has a septic tank and oil fired central heating. The boiler is only 4 years old so I am not worried about that. But we have never had a house with a septic tank or oil tank. From research I believe there is now some regulation around septic tanks and if you want to replace them.

Please could you share your advice and experience on what we need to ask of the vendor to make sure we’re as informed as possible?

Thanks

 

[ycbm]

You are right, regulations are now really tight on septic tanks and soakaways. They were changed fairly recently. When my OH researched it, it was both complicated and unclear. If you are buying the property the vendors should be able to provide a certificate of an approved installation if it was recently refurbished. If not, I think I would want a specialist survey of the tank and soakaway because it's a very hefty cost to have to redo them if they leak or block, or if someone with a badge knocks on your door and says they aren't up to the required standard.

You also have to prove you have had the tank emptied (once a year I think) so add the cost of that into your bills.
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[Polos Mum]

Definitely want a copy of paperwork from last emptying of the tank and as above if new regulations in place (it's been a few years since we had one). Unless the vendors put the soak away in - they may not even know where it goes or how it's built.

I would also want a specialist to check the oil tank is within current specifications. Ours was very old and metal - I'm sure not ideal!

There is a good website (Boilerjoice) which does nice graphs of oil price in post codes going back years. Oil is a lot more expensive than anything with mains heating so include that in your budget. You will also want to think about how much is in the tank when you buy the property - you don't want to get there to find the vendors have run down the tank = put all the sludge through the boiler (think about running a car out of petrol) and then you have to wait 3-4 days to get oil delivered (there's usually a lead time).

 

[cobgoblin]

We definitely had a permit for our septic tank when we moved in, which had to be transferred to our names. The tank should be emptied by the vendor and inspected to see that it's legal before you exchange contracts.. Your solicitor should see to this and any upgrades due to illegality are the vendor's problem.

You should expect to pay for any oil left in the tank at sale.

 

[Clodagh]

The tank overflow must not run into a waterway or ditch. Kind of makes sense, really!

 

[Not_so_brave_anymore]

A consideration with oil is that if you have a leak, you have to get any contaminated soil excavated, at your own (considerable) expense. So really, you're looking for a nice new tank, with new pipes etc. Our pipes go under ground from the tank to the house and it's always in the back of my mind that we wouldn't notice a small leak for ages......

But oil and private sewerage are both totally standard in more remote properties.

 

[cold_feet]

We’ve just moved in to our new home, also first time with oil tank and septic tank. Both had certificates and both were looked at on the survey. It’s pretty much standard for ruraL homes where we wanted to be.
ETA the septic tank was emptied before the sale and they left us a quarter tank of oil!

 

[teacups]

I seem to remember reading that septic tanks will not be allowed anymore and must be replaced by a package treatment plant. Not sure if existing systems are allowed to continue.
An oil boiler which is only 4 years old ought to be fine. Oil prices fluctuate quite a bit and are currently really low - about 30p a litre, and over summer it's been as low as 18p/litre. When we moved to our house 13 years ago or so, it was 45p, and it's been as high as 90p/litre too.

 

[ihatework]

This is pretty normal with many properties, especially if rural, just part and parcel of the whole thing.

I moved from a small modern 3 bed mid terrace on gas, to a period stone cottage of similar footprint on oil. To be honest they have, on average, over 5 years cost pretty similar to heat.

Oil you have to keep an eye on levels and order, which is a minor inconvenience but otherwise it’s fine. Loads of oil clubs available for group orders at the best prices.

 

[Merrymoles]

We have found that our oil bill over the last eight years hasn't really any more than our former gas bill. We did have to replace the oil tank though when it cracked. Thankfully our house insurance covered the remediation works to clear the oil from the ground, although not the tank, so it is worth checking what your insurance says.

Our septic tank is old and a bit of a nightmare but to be fair, we rarely have to have it emptied. My understanding is that they shouldn't need emptying if they work properly in terms of digesting so that additional water is taken by the soakaway.

 

[honetpot]

We have a water treatment plant, it's about five years old and it drains in to a ditch, as once the water is treated, there is a separate chamber for testing, its clear of nasties. Its just cleaned and checked once a year. It cost, with the ground works about £10k.
I would definitely get the septic tank surveyed, if the drainage field is blocked up, it's expensive to redo. We use a lot more water than in the past, our septic tank was tiny, the drainage field was completely shot, and I was having it emptied once a month, that one bathroom and two people.

 

[honetpot]

We have found that our oil bill over the last eight years hasn't really any more than our former gas bill. We did have to replace the oil tank though when it cracked. Thankfully our house insurance covered the remediation works to clear the oil from the ground, although not the tank, so it is worth checking what your insurance says.

Our septic tank is old and a bit of a nightmare but to be fair, we rarely have to have it emptied. My understanding is that they shouldn't need emptying if they work properly in terms of digesting so that additional water is taken by the soakaway.

Eventually your sludge will build up and block the outflow pipe. It should only cost about £150 to have it cleaned and hoovered.

 

[Xmasha]

We have both. We had a new septic tank put in this year, the tank cost approx £2k, and groundworks about £1k,and that was the price for removing old one and refilling the hole, and digging new hole etc . Theres lots to consider when choosing the right tank,so if you need a new one definitely get advice. Our neighbour has real problems with hers, if the fields around her get water logged the water goes into the soakaway pipes and then sewage starts to creep back up where it came from ! She needs a new system. Our builders merchant put us in touch with the rep, who came out and did a site survey. I would highly recommend you do this.
You need to 'ensure you have a bigger one than the house needs, in case you add bedrooms in the future. So if you have a 4 bed house, you need enough for 6 people. Theres also legislation regarding how far away you are from a water course, so do look into that. Im really pleased with our replacement, we dont any horrible smells anymore .

Oil tanks - we had a new one of those installed a couple of years ago, there are various things you need to do with them, check this out :
Guide to oil tanks – when to replace and the regulations (theheatinghub.co.uk) it will tell you everything you need to know

I really wouldnt worry about either system, you will get used to them.. and a tip buy your oil in the summer,its cheaper.

 

[AmyMay]

We’re on oil and actually find it cheaper over all than when we were on gas. Being savvy with when you buy helps (and also having wood burning stoves). Unlike mains gas, the price you pay for oil actually reflects the barrel prices, and rises and falls accordingly.

 

[dixie]

We’re selling our house and the septic tank is the last query!
The purchaser had a drainage surveyor out in the end to satisfy themselves it was working ok. We already believed it was but of course couldn’t prove it.
It was installed many years ago so doesn’t have to comply with new regulations except for the Binding Rules which are found on gov.Uk.

 

[PeterNatt]

As regards the Oil Central Heating Boiler the new ones do not last as long as the old ones so allow for a new one at least every 7 years.
The oil tank needs to be a bunded (double skinned tank) to comply with current regulations with an automatic cut off valve in the event of a fire.

 

[cremedemonthe]

Our bungalow has a sceptic tank and oil. We had the oil tank replaced a few years ago,suppliers now only sell bunded as our old one was circa 1985 when the place was built and single skinned.
The sceptic tank is also 1985 and seems ok, I worked in recycling and waste last year so get my tanks emptied on the cheap by my mates I worked with , still get all the paperwork just mates rates
I suggest you dont go to the likes of boilerjuice as they are expensive, I was using them but then discovered the oil club. Prices per litre recently were right down to 21p per litre so everyone filled up!
They are creeping back up again now but still lower than they were.
I have saved around 50-60 quid everytime I have filled up when buying from the oil club compared to boiler juice
here:https://www.oil-club.co.uk/

Oz

 

[ycbm]

My understanding is that they shouldn't need emptying if they work properly in terms of digesting so that additional water is taken by the soakaway.

The don't if they are over sized for the number of users like ours is (and we have waste digester worms in too), but it is now a legal requirement.
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[ycbm]

We have both. We had a new septic tank put in this year, the tank cost approx £2k, and groundworks about £1k,.

Just to make it clear for the OP, will that have been groundworks for the tank alone and not include groundworks for the soakaway bed?

Materials alone cost more that for our new soakaway bed and my OH did every scrap of the work himself by hand over a whole summer!

 

[southerncomfort]

Loads of oil clubs available for group orders at the best prices.

This. Plus Boilerjuice do a yearly 'buying weekend' whereby the more people in your area that put in an order, the lower the price goes.

This year we got 1000 litres for the price of 500 litres.

 

[rabatsa]

Round here three local villages have an oil club between them.

 

[Xmasha]

Just to make it clear for the OP, will that have been groundworks for the tank alone and not include groundworks for the soakaway bed?

Materials alone cost more that for our new soakaway bed and my OH did every scrap of the work himself by hand over a whole summer!

We didn’t need a soak away bed . I may have missed couple of hundred off the bill as forgot about the small concrete base that the tank was put on . But yes , that’s what it cost ?

 

[Parrotperson]

we're just buying house with jus this arrangement. But the septic tank has already been replaced by a treatment plant and it has a license from The Environment Agency too discharge clean water into the ditch

The oil tank is a whopper. 2000l. Look forward to trying to work out when to fill it!!

 

[mavandkaz]

We are on a septic tank, and had gas central heating installed (previously had storage heaters).
The septic tank came with an environmental certificate as part of the survey. We get it emptied yearly, although we probably don't need to as there is only 2 of us for what should be a family sized tank.
Doesn't cost a lot, and of course you save on your water bills as don't pay for drainage. Just have a read up about the use of chemicals, as you should be careful about the types of chemicals you put down the drains, so as not to kill off the digestive microbes.

 

[oldie48]

We put in a new septic tank/treatment arrangement 2 years ago as OH knew we would be selling up at some time in the future and our previous arrangement did not meet the new legislation. It cost £10K ish but we have quite a few bathrooms and loos so needed a biggish unit. My understanding is that it is the present owner's responsibility to have a legal sewerage system with a certificate and that the solicitor will check it. With regard to oil tanks, we put mains gas in fairly cheaply 20 years ago and got rid of the tank so can't comment on it but we found it much cheaper than oil.

 

[marmalade88]

Thanks everyone, all really helpful information. Yes, the joys or rural property. I knew the replacement for the septic tank might be expensive in the future as the water treatment plants have very tight regulation. We’re going to ask for more information on both and will make sure it’s all covered in the survey. Thanks for all the links I will read up!

 

[Nicnac]

Had both for 25 years, had to replace oil tank this year. It was expensive but have a 2500l one. Oil is so cheap at the moment. Septic tank is fine - get it emptied once a year and it covers two houses. Had some work done to soak away a few years ago.

Boiler is the same one that was here when we moved in! It's probably 30 years old but still works fine.

I never use bleach and only use non-bio washing powder as better for septic tank. Need to be careful what you put down loo as not everything is biodegradable if you get my drift.