Everything below is work we self-perform. We are not a lead broker handing your job to whoever is available.
Septic System Installation
New systems for new construction, undeveloped lots, and properties converting off an old cesspool or holding tank.
The work starts long before the excavator shows up. Your lot has to be tested, the system has to be designed around what that test shows, and the township has to permit it. We manage all three. On a raw lot we will also tell you early if the testing suggests the site is going to be a problem, because that is information you want before you have committed to a house design.
Septic System Replacement
Systems fail. In this county they often fail earlier than owners expect, because a mound or an undersized bed is working harder than a conventional system would.
Signs you are looking at replacement rather than repair:
- Standing water or soggy ground over the absorption area, especially in dry weather
- Sewage odor outdoors near the bed
- Slow drains throughout the house, not just one fixture
- Backups that return within days of pumping
- Bright green stripes of grass over the drain field lines
One caution. Pumping a tank makes the symptoms disappear for a week or two. That is not a repair. If backups return quickly after pumping, the tank was never the problem and the absorption area has failed.
Sand Mound Systems
An elevated sand mound is a drain field built above the natural ground surface, using imported sand and gravel, because the soil underneath cannot absorb effluent adequately on its own.
Across much of Monroe County this is not the exception. It is the standard design. If your soil test comes back with a slow perc rate, a shallow limiting zone, or seasonal high water table, a mound is very likely what the township will approve.
Mounds are more expensive to build and they occupy more of your yard than an in-ground bed. They also work reliably in conditions where a conventional system would fail within a few years.
Advanced Treatment Systems
An advanced treatment unit, most commonly an aerobic treatment unit, adds oxygen to the treatment process. Aerobic bacteria break down waste far more completely than the anaerobic bacteria in a conventional tank.
The practical consequence is that the effluent leaving the unit is dramatically cleaner. That lets the state approve a much smaller absorption area, which is what makes these systems the answer on lots where nothing else fits.
When one is required or advisable:
- Small lots where a full-size mound or bed will not fit within setbacks
- Properties close to a well, stream, pond, or wetland
- Shallow bedrock or a high seasonal water table
- Replacing a failed system on a lot that was subdivided under older rules
- Repair situations where the available area is smaller than a new install would require
What you should know before committing. These units have moving parts. They need electricity, and they need scheduled service, typically several visits a year under a maintenance contract. Many Pennsylvania townships require that agreement to stay in force, and some issue an operating permit that depends on it. Budget for that as an ongoing annual cost, not a one-time purchase.
We will tell you plainly whether your lot actually needs one. They are the right answer often in this county, but not always, and they are not the cheap answer.
Full details on advanced treatment
Septic Inspections
Point-of-sale inspections. Buying or selling in Monroe County almost always involves a septic inspection. We inspect, document, and give you a written report you can hand to a lender or an attorney.
If you are buying, get this done before you are emotionally committed to the house. A failed system on a difficult lot can be a five-figure surprise, and it is far easier to negotiate before closing than after.
Diagnostic inspections. Something is not right and you want to know how bad it is before you spend money. We locate the tank, check the baffles, assess the absorption area, and tell you which of the three scenarios you are in: maintenance, repair, or replacement.
Drain Field Repair and Replacement
The absorption area is where most systems actually fail, and it is the expensive part.
Sometimes a field can be rehabilitated. More often, once effluent has stopped percolating, the biomat has sealed the soil interface and the only real fix is a new absorption area. On a Pocono lot that frequently means the replacement has to be a mound even if the original was in-ground, because current code applies to the new work.
We will tell you which situation you are in after we look, not before.
Not sure which one you need?
That is normal. Describe what is happening and we will tell you what to look at first.