Replacing a Septic Tank

3/1/2012 at 10:30:29 AM

Hi Gordon,

While I could not quote you on the replacement in Montr al, I can tell you that there are a variety of septic tanks out there. Often they are made up of solid concrete, although I have encountered metal and newer plastics.

I can tell you that in the course of adding additions to homes here in the Toronto area, I have encountered concrete septic tanks that have been sitting in the ground for well over 60 years and have had to bring in heavy breaking equipment to get them apart.

On the other hand metal tanks will rust out completely and can do so rather quickly in acidic soil conditions.

If you really need to change the tank, I would recommend doing the beds at the same time. Although this adds to the cost, there are a couple of sound reasons to consider it.

The first is that in order to swap out the tank you will need to have heavy machinery driving over the area and inevitably the bed. If you are doing this in the spring (when many people often do) the ground is soft and can be greatly affected by the mass of the machinery. This can damage the tiles by breaking or separating them or worse reversing the angle. This can lead to a beautiful new tank and non functioning system.

I hope this helps in your decision (but really have a good look at your existing tank before you commit to the removal).

Regards,

Jason Irving

The Cedarbrook Group