new construction well and septic tank: what to expect?

VortecJeep

VortecJeep

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Aug 24, 2005
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Concord, NC
Looking for land to purchase to build our next home on. Assuming city water and sewer are not available and assuming the land perks for a 3 or 4-bedroom home, what is the ballpark figure for having a new well and septic system installed? If area matters, assume Cabarrus County.
 
Cant help on the dirty side, but had a well drilled a couple months back.
$4,200 was the quote for drilling, casing, pump, wiring, new bladder tank and switch installed.
I did all the wiring myself and supplied everything but the pump and spent right at $3,500.
 
A couple years back we were looking to build a house and got quotes for doing this. This was Wake County and I think they quoted us on a 150ft well. The well, with all the stuff Ron said, was right at $5k and the septic was about $7k I think. I am almost positive it was right at $12k all said and done.
 
My data is about 6 years old, but the quotes I got are as follows:
Well: $3000 for 1st 100ft, includes pump/tank/cover/etc, $8-12/ft for each foot over 100ft. Some companies were a little more or a little less, but thats a good ballpark. Ask the neighbors how deep their wells are to get an idea, but you never know. My well is drilled to 320ft, most of my neighbors are in that range, but the same well guy drilled one 1/4 mile down the road that was over 600ft. I built my own cover and did the trenching to the house, so it was about $4500 total instead of $5000+.

Septic: Pricing was all over the place. Mine was spec'd for 4 bedrooms, 1000 gallon tank, and 640 linear feet of drainfield. That will vary depending on house size, county requirements, soil type, and how much space you have for the drainfield. I feel like the county guy decided that I needed to spend more on my system because I had enough space. Quotes for this system ranged from $3500-7000. It was all over the place. Several of the companies that I talked to had bad things to say about the cheapest guy, that he cut corners, etc, but after talking to him and inspecting his work, I'm glad I didn't pay twice as much for the same thing.

So for me it was about $8000, but I think $10,000 is a safer number.
 
Tough to gauge with the septic as it really depends on the type and the area required for drain field.

For a 4 bedroom gravity feed system in Pitt County, it's roughly $4500. Just received an estimate last month and should start on it in Feb.
 
I agree with others that 10k is a good starting point. I talked to a couple of drillers, and got ballpark estimates of 3-5k for a well. Just a well, no pump, no hooking up, just a hole in the ground.
 
Hoping to close on our land this Friday. Already delayed due to wait for septic application approval...looks like we'll probably put it off again. Prepare to wait, pay too much, and jump thru a lot of hoops for a permit. We have to pay $460 just to apply....then buy the septic construct permit on top of that. Estimate for install was $3500, but after having a soil scientist out to look it over, going to have to have a remote drain field, and pump from the tank output (via a holding tank) to the field. Almost doubles the price.

Well numbers above are about on target. Depends how deep. Where I am going, guy on one side has good water at 80'. 2000' away, another well is 350' to hit water. Hard water around here...if that is your case, budget in a water softener/salt system. We are likely to just connect to county water. (We will be 1800' from road, but Lee County now requires any new construction within 1000' of county water to connect to it.)
 
It's hard to tell. It depends heavily on soil type, and how much drain line you'll need to install. If you need to move to a reduction system, you're cost will go up considerably.

Tips for your septic application:

1) Plan for everything you can foresee putting on the property. Include any storage buildings or garages you may build on your site plan, so 10 years from now you know you're able to put that building where you want.
2) Make your building footprint larger than what you really need. Decks ARE included in site plans for septic permits. If your house is 30' x 50' make your site plan (and subsequently your footprint in the field) something like 50' x 70'. You can always make your house smaller than the size on the septic permit, never larger without amending it (extra $$$)
3) Your septic permit is two parts. One is your "Improvement Permit" which is your okay that the land percs for what you've requested. Second is your "Construction Authorization". You'll need that approved by your Environmental Health Department prior to building permit issuance. Make sure you have that document before heading to your inspections office for permits!
4) You will also need to get an "Operation Permit". This occurs when your system is in the ground. You'll need this permit before your final building inspection.

Septic requirements should very rarely differ from county to county. These are rules governed by DHHS, and should be consistent from county to county. 10-12k for both sounds in the ballpark, but be prepared to see that go up depending on your specific lot.
 
Typically around Forsyth county the average septic system i quote ranges from 4-7k.

I quoted a system for a 3 bedroom house with a plastic 1000 gallon tank Friday for $4200...that price was for a 25% reduction system and a plastic tank.

In NC a home owner can install a system themselves. It still has to be permitted and inspected though.

The price of a tank is around $800
The infiltrator panels are $16.50 for a 4' section
And end caps cost $12 a piece.
A general rule of thumb is 100' of tailline per bedroom for a conventional system.
 
@VortecJeep
Matt we bought land in Cabarrus county on Untz Rd in October. Seems like I was told to expect around $10-12k for septic and well. As stated depends a lot on the land. My septic can only go in one place on the land due to the soil.

I've got the number for the guy that does most of the well and septic permits for Cabarrus county. Guy is really easy to talk to and has a memory of an elephant. If you have land that you are looking at he may remember some stuff about it. I talked to him one time about a house he had looked at 10 years ago and he knew exactly what kind of system it had and the details of it. I'll send you a PM with his contact info.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
 
I got good news today on our project, county guy got out there, and has approved septic permit....closing on schedule, as long as seller has cleared out some stuff. Find out soon how much this will all *really* cost. :)
 
Thanks for the good info. I haven't seen the test report yet, but the realtor emailed me this:
Septic "would have to be a deep sand line system-has saprolite which is common to this area...system is expensive."
 
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