Week of July 6th, 2025
This week was the week of septic designs. Seemingly out of the blue, I had three people message me for septic designs all within a couple of days of each other. Usually the flow of events are as follows:
1. Contact me to discuss procedures, pricing, and details of property
2. Schedule a perc test (aim for two sunny days in a row, and not below freezing)
For anyone that doesn’t know, a perc test must occur to find out what type of soil is on your property, and to see how fast or slow liquid can pass through the soil. If the percolation rate is too fast, it could contaminate ground water and if it is too slow, then you’ll get sewage backup. We find a neighbor or contractor to dig one Deep Hole, which is a four to six foot deep hole that is primarily looking to see if we will hit ground water or bedrock. We then dig three holes by hand, that are 18inx18inx18in. These three holes get filled with water continuously for four hours to completely saturate the soil. These holes then sit for about 24 hours. We come back the next day to perform the actual perc test. During this, we put gravel at the bottom of the hole, then put in our measuring stick (a pressure treated 2x4 with one inch increments marked with a sharpie) into the hole, then fill up to the six inch mark. then we wait for it to drop one inch, to the five inch line. We record the time it takes and keep doing that same measurement until the time it takes to fall one inch is the same for two or more tests in a row. The hope is that the perc rate is between 5 and 60 minutes for one inch. Most of my jobs in Central New York end up being about 10min perc times, though with the high water table in the area this still requires a Shallow Absorption Trench septic system (perhaps a blog post on the three main septic types in the future)
3. Pull topographic and satellite maps of property. With this I will make 2D contour map, often with 10ft Contours though flatter ground could go down to 5ft contours
4. Perform perc test
5. Use the data to decide what the appropriate system design should be, then make the blueprints for it
Two of the clients I had this week already had perc data from a different drafter who fell through, so I just used his data and did the blueprints. The third client did need a perc test. Luckily we had some beautiful weather last weekend so I dropped what I was doing and did the perc test Sat and Sun. This client’s property was one of the most beautiful peices of land I’ve ever laid eyes on. Very secluded mountain home on over 200 acres of forest near a reservoir. Very private and quiet, but relatively close to the interstate. I’m not sure the history of the property but the slope was pretty steep. There were exactly four flat spots, one for a house, one for a dilapidated barn, one for an old riding arena, and one for a parking area. I believe all four flat spots were man made because the perc test I performed was the first I’ve ever done that “failed”. You can’t really fail a perc test, a slow perc just means you need a different kind of system, but one of the holes I filled with water on Saturday still maintained the same water level 30 hours later as I was leaving Sunday. Luckily the other two holes did perc, albeit slower than normal compared to others in the area I’ve done. I was so shocked by the results that I ended up digging four other holes: two in the same area that were only twelve inches deep and two in the grassy parking area about 150ft away. Those got filled up one time and didn’t drop even half an inch in three hours. All of that leads me to think the four flat areas were all man made and thus, compacted more than natural soils.
Another job this week came into early stages. I met the client early last week and spent several morning hours with him talking, exploring his property, and a house he recently built for a friend. It was a really fun and interesting way to get to know a client which I found very beneficial. I believe the client got a lot out of it as well. This particular job will actually mark my first 100% self-design job. Often clients come to me with a floorplan on a peice of paper and I build model around that. Sometimes I add some amount of input, eg hidden storage places or layout tweaks to make the MEPs easier to install, but I have never done a design from scratch for a client (My wife and I did design our own house). Anyway, I started working on a few preliminary floorplan ideas for that project and got some contour data so we know how to arrange the client’s multiple buildings on his property
Then while I was grocery shopping in the middle of the week, I had someone call me for help. He is a contractor building his own home and already has a basic shell built but needs full blueprints per his code enforcer. I began 3D modelling his project tonight before switching to this blog post. Having to “save” a project is not my favorite part of my job, but it pays the bills. This client actually has a really pretty idea in mind that I might borrow as inspiration down the road. It is a two story house with an L shape deck off the second story. Above one leg of the L is an extended roof so the client will be able to walk out of his master bedroom onto a second story covered deck that over looks a beautiful forest. Did I mention this house is on a hill too? The view will be great.
