Septic System Installation & Repair In Nixa, MO

What Causes Septic Systems To Fail?

All too often we find that much of our work comes from clients who need their septic system repaired. Once we've diagnosed the issue, we generally find that the repair could have been prevented if proper design, installation methods and better workmanship would have been used during the original installation.

We understand that there must be some good septic system installers in Nixa, but unfortunately we find that others lack the knowledge, skills or desire to practice proper installation methods leaving many systems poorly constructed.

Here are some details of poorly constructed installation methods that we often discover…

Improper Or Lack Of Compaction

When the piping, tank and lateral lines are installed, each should have the soil and gravel bedding around them properly compacted during the installation. This is accomplished with a hydraulic operated device that compresses the soil and gravel to a firm state, which prevents the soil, gravel and system components from settling.

If your soil or gravel settles around or near these delicate components, your system is asking for trouble. This problem may not present immediately during construction, but will appear often sooner than later. Implementing compaction is one preventative measure that generally gets overlooked because most installers either don't know anything about it or choose to ignore it.

No Use Of Gravel

In most rocky Ozark soils, each component of your septic system should have adequate gravel that covers and embeds it. Benefits of gravel include easier and better compaction results, helps to secure pipes and component positioning and protects piping from being penetrated by large sharp rocks.

Improper Elevations

As you can see from the image above the pipe between the septic tank and the foundation doesn't have any gravel around it and even worse, it is incorrectly sloped. This has to be one of the worst scenarios we find when it comes to repairing a system. There's really no other answer to provide other than shear laziness by the original installer.

Elevations that are involved in your system are the most important consideration for a properly working system. Septic systems are designed to provide a method of treatment for sewage and if the sewage can't be distributed correctly, it will back up and cause issues.

Improper wastewater and effluent lines elevations cause system malfunctions which are expensive to repair and can sometimes lead to system replacement.

Inadequate Site Evaluations

We understand that experience is earned and not something you can just assume. We have over 28 years experience evaluating site conditions to ensure a proper installation.

Proper evaluation of your property including the elevations, slopes, grades and even where you plan to place your home is crucial to ensuring your septic system will operate and function optimally. We often find that septic systems are placed in the wrong areas of the property, which leads to unfortunate costly future repairs. Prior to the installation, choosing a correct placement is key to longevity.

If you hire an installer who takes non-regulated shortcuts, like some of the examples above, your system will not have proper long-term functionality, causing costly future repairs or replacement.