My father-in-law has had his redwood septic tank for 40 years. Any estimates of how much longer it will last &
http://thehistoryhacker.com/2013/08/12/a-proposal-to-officially-legalize-the-secession-of-states-from-the-union/?replytocom=930 and what will happen when it fails? We don’t want an old septic tank to damage the new leach field anytime soon, but he doesn’t want to replace something that is working. My sister is building a new home and when they did soil tests a 5000 year old redwood tree that was solid and not decomposed was found in the soil sample. That makes me think maybe redwood lasts a long time when it is buried so I shouldn’t worry, but 40 years seems like a long time for a septic tank on the other hand. Also there’s a huge oak tree within about 10 feet of the septic tank. Could the roots have penetrated the tank? Should we dig around the tank to find out? Oh, and a concrete patio was put above the tank about 36 years ago by the previous owner. Any ideas of how to remove the concrete without applying a lot of pressure to the ground above the elderly septic tank? I’ve been reading a LOT about septic systems lately and haven’t found even one reference to redood tanks. Thanks for the answers everyone!
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5 Responses
Richard E
29 Aug 2011
txpainthorse
29 Aug 2011
Not much longer. We had one that did not last that long.
Mr. Cruise L
29 Aug 2011
HERE’S THE ANSWER:
Let’s think about this… you have a water tank, for all practical purposes, buried in the ground and made of wood. To operate properly all septics (yours is more of a cesspool) need clear ground above for evaporation. Your evaporation area is covered by a concrete slab. You have a massive tree thriving not ten feet away.
My friend, this system has already failed.
Pop in law’s poopies are just leaching into the environment and feeding the acorn factory next door. and some day soon, your patio is gonna be in the hole below it.
Call a backhoe company and an engineer… you need a real septic system.
luka
29 Aug 2011
yes, get a new one very expensive though.
Monty C
29 Aug 2011
If it aint broke… Don’t fix it. Anyone would be guessing on the condition of the tank. It simply needs to contain waste long enough for breakdown to occur. Feeding tree nicely as well. If you have a new field ( this is where the evaporation occurs) you should be ok until drainage problems tell you otherwise. If and when that occurs you should divert the inlet and outlet to a new tank location and abandon existing if conditions and local codes allow.
a forty year old redwood tank is definitely on its last legs It probably is leaking into the soil around it and the oak tree in close proximity it definitely has root intrusion. As far as failure other than the above mentioned problems I would be concerned about the weight of the concrete slab on the redwood tank sides causing them to collapse. It would be a good Idea to dig down on the side where the tree is at least to the water level of the tank to check for root intrusion.and dig deeper to check for leakage of sewer into soil. If the redwood is going to fail it will be above the standing water level where aerobic bacteria will attack it and cause it to rot eventually . Below the water line it will last longer as the bacteria needs air to work you may even find the exterior of the tank walls has begun to deteriate due to this while the interior of the walls are ok. removing the concrete will probably expose an open tank as the redwood top has already deteriated or is at least ready to go. unless you have to remove concrete I’d leave it.
Bottom line is if it’s working leave it alone and save your money for the day that it does fail and then replace the whole system