Septic Tank Costs: Installations, Emptying and Replacements

How much does a septic tank cost?

Our charge for supplying and installing a new septic tank starts from £ 5,000 + VAT, including labour and all required plants and materials. This price will also be subject to access availability and ground conditions. If you need a test hole survey or wish to use services in the area to carry out the work, this will further increase your septic tank’s installation cost.

What affects septic tanks’ costs?

A few of the core factors that will affect your septic tank cost will be:

• Size of the tank itself,
• Ground conditions where it’s being installed,
• Access to the site,
• Size of the drainage field required to suit the tank.

You will also find that the size will affect how much it costs to empty your septic tank. Larger tanks may require more than one load, which will increase the price.  

How much does it cost to run a septic tank?

How much it will cost to run a septic tank on your property will depend on several different factors:

• Size of the tank,
• Location of the tank,
• Usage of the tank (the more people using it, the quicker it will fill up and the more expensive it will be to run).

These factors will combine to determine the cost of running a septic tank over the course of a year, as they affect your septic tank’s emptying and any needed maintenance.

Our estimates for land drains for septic tanks.

Our prices for the installation of land drainage that will be connected to your septic tank are based on a number of different factors:

• Good access for all supplied plant machinery,
• Percolation test results,
• The size of the tank and the number of people it is serving,
• The depth of the drainage field installation.

Surface water warning

If surface water or rainwater can enter your septic tank, either through open joints in your drains, broken pipes, or a direct connection from your property’s guttering, this can disrupt the separation of waste in your septic system.

This is because water that enters in a surge, such as during heavy rainfall or a storm, can stir up the contents of the tank’s first chamber. It can also bypass separation barriers, disturbing any settlement that has already occured in the primary settlement chamber. This may increase the cost of having your septic tank pumped because the excess water may not drain correctly, preventing solid waste from settling.

Why is Rainwater a Problem?

If solids are getting through to the next chamber, they can reach your soakaway system, potentially clogging it and reducing the lifespan of your drainage field.

If you believe this may be happening in your system, we highly recommend booking a CCTV drain survey with ASL to identify the source of your drainage problem. We use a state-of-the-art, flexible camera to capture detailed footage and images of the inside of your drains, identifying any flaws, faults, or damage that may be causing them to not work correctly.

If the cause of your drainage problem is discovered this way, we will be able to repair the drain for you. If the cause is not found in the drain, we will suggest testing your surface water gullies and downpipes to see if the problem is there.

How septic tanks work

Septic tanks work through three significant processes;

There is:

1. The initial separation of solids from liquids,
2. The limited bacteriological action,
3. Absorption.

A septic system should always have a minimum of two chambers (or occasionally, a single chamber divided by a separation wall with dip pipes). Effluent enters the tank, where initial separation of larger solids occurs, and fats float to the surface. Because the first chamber receives waste straight from the drains, the contents can get stirred up as new effluent enters, especially if it is a large volume all at once, such as emptying a bath. This is why the first chamber is limited to the initial separation of larger solids and fats.

Effluent will then pass through the dip pipes into the second chamber (or additional chambers), which provide a calmer environment. Smaller particles of suspended solids will also have the opportunity to settle to the bottom of the tank. While this process is underway, there is limited bacterial breakdown of the effluent. The separated effluent then passes along a further dip pipe to the land drains. These are installed in light aerated soil. The separated liquid will be absorbed by the surrounding soil, providing a secondary level of treatment for the wastewater and serving as a supplementary natural filter.

How do dip pipes work?

Dip pipes are essential to the separation process, as without adequate separation, suspended solids and fats can pass through the septic tank and on to the soakaways. There, they can coat the surface, causing irreparable damage and progressively waterproofing it. This will diminish the soakaway’s ability to dissipate water, eventually leading to it ceasing to work altogether.

To learn more about septic tanks, costs and how they work, or to get your septic tank cleaned or repaired, call us today on 0800 181 684. As experts in the drainage industry, we can explain any part of the tank process and send our experienced engineers to assess your septic tank.

Costs for test hole surveys

Before we begin any work on your property, we will conduct a test hole survey. This survey will help us find out how porous or firm the ground of your property is, then determine where it is possible to install a septic tank, sewage treatment plant, or drainage field.

Prices for a stand-alone test hole survey can range from £150 to £1,500, depending on:

• Your ground conditions,
• The type of survey required,
• Access to the site.

Contact us if you would like to learn more about our test hole surveys, percolation tests, and how we conduct them. If you have been looking for a cost-effective, efficient septic tank at a price that suits your budget, get in touch with ASL Limited.