Step 1- Septic System

Our budget for the remainder of 2015 must cover the following

• Septic System
• Getting the well drilled 
• Getting the power company to install the transformer
• an ATV to help with clearing land and everything else
• An RV or some other temp housing situation. 

So Step one is the septic system. We have priced out 1250 gallon septic tanks, researched all that goes in to actually putting it in the ground, now to just fill out the permit and get started! 

EXCEPT.

The county seems to flip flop on what is and is not required. The first document I was given stated that a soil test was recommended but not a requirement. I immediately called the developer of our subdivision and asked him about this. He let me know that he had tested soil all over the subdivision and all the neighbors that have build have septics so he thought paying to have the soil tested was unnecessary. We agreed and went on with designing the system. Well then last night I get an e-mail back from someone with the county stating that they require a certified soil tester to come out to test the soil and design our system. Well what the heck! Get on the same page and give consistent information! So now I need to call some on the list for soil testing and get a quote. This is only frustrating because we were expecting to come in UNDER budget for the septic system which would have been nice since I have a feeling some of the other things may go OVER budget. 

It is amazing the things that they certify people for these days. The soil test is something that we were actually going to conduct ourselves. You simply dig a few holes, keep them filled for 4 hours, wait 18 hours and then refill the hole and time how long it takes for the ground to absorb the liquid. What part of this requires special certification. I feel like this is a scam to take my money, I'm not very happy about it.