How to Perform a Percolation Test | This Old House

Richard Trethewey learns how a perc test is used to assess the soil on the North Shore site.
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Richard Trethewey meets town official Brendhan Zubricki, who's performing a percolation test to assess the soil at the North Shore property.
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How to Perform a Percolation Test | This Old House
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[@RickWeberEcon]

"What do we need for a perc test?" "Well first we have to dig a shallow grave."

[@jacksplumbingvideos7147]

It would be funny if they said that.

[@hedonisticzen]

Not shallow full depth! 😆

[@ptaylor4923]

🤭😅

[@ditlab2345]

How about a video about soils testing? Any other videos about site suitability would be awesome. Working on hillsides vs flat areas, etc.

[@ela111961]

This video has help me with a 3 acre lot I purchased 22 days ago. Thank you. Garry from California

[@ninjahirodude658]

So you dig a hole... pour some water in it, measure how fast or slow the water drains with a $8 measure tape; then bill me $1500 for a piece of paper with your signature on it.

[@drewj50]

😂

[@teehenderson4816]

Right. A major scam

[@55tmilam]

Exactly!!!!!!!

[@jasonbaker2198]

Or you can do it yourself. Oh yeah, you’d have no idea what you are doing. Hence paying someone licensed for their:1) Time, 2) effort and 3) certified stamp of approval.

[@ninjahirodude658]

@@jasonbaker2198 I actually do, do it myself now; and for others ;)... and I show them how to get permits for it. You want in? I can save you alot of money too or you can pay me $2000

[@aprev039]

Not a single “it’s time for the percolator” joke

[@robertscott4182]

Awesome thank you

[@ronb6182]

They did not go that deep on my North Carolina property they just dug a hole about 8 inches to a foot and put water in it. It passed . Brfore i had the perk test done i dug a hole three feet drep and filled it with water i don't know how long it took but the water was gone the next day. I would say my test was better than theirs but regardless the test passed . My permit was for a thee bedroom home. Which i never built. 73

[@bailey5542]

Always praying for Roger!

[@blasta42]

What a useful test! Who knew this was important.

[@jeffwilson1399]

Who knew this was important? Pretty much everyone who's not hooked to a municipal sewer.

[@Brandon.Fischer]

It’s important, but incomplete..

[@mfry91]

We haven't done a perc test in 30 years in Indiana. There are too many variables to screw up. A soil scientist can describe the soil and the state has known loading rate (in gallons per day) for each soil type to size septics on.

[@jej3451]

It's Massachusetts. This guy's probably in a government union and can't be fired.

[@ryanroberts1104]

@@jej3451 And he needed a permit for that shovel.

[@cdyoung976]

@@jej3451 lol I thought so too but no hard hat and only one other guy was watching him dig. So, no union I'm guessing.

[@dansanger5340]

When my septic tank went bad I just rerouted the pipe into the storm drain system. Much simpler!

[@camdenadler235]

you must be joking -face palm-

[@herculesbrofister265]

I was gonna ask if i could just do that instead. Seems a lot easier. Glad to see i can

[@uzizle]

! wow where are the rocks! ive had similar experiences on a job where diggin was cake, likely because of glacial soils

[@bart5300]

In Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania we now have to have sand mounts no septic system. $18,000 to 22,000..

[@ptaylor4923]

Yikes.. I looked it up. You even have to have a 2nd protected area in case the sand mound fails. You have to have service people deal with the pump area because of gases.. . I'm cringing

[@Jason1Pa]

I haven't heard of a sand mound in Pa.costing that low in years. A house down the road from me had 90k in his. Seems like the minimum is 40k then goes up. It's crazy a lot people stop the idea of building a house because of it.

[@QuietStormX]

👍😎

[@ChaiLatte13]

If a town or business wants to put something somewhere they'll build it regardless of the soil conditions. I've seen it now with a gas station across the road from me. The soil testing showed it only moved 0.5 inches an HOUR! They still built it and put the rain garden in that area. My soil is absolutely garbage (as shown by a perc test done 15 years ago) and they are funneling all of their stormwater down into my septic field and land. These tests are just a way to screw over homeowners, but businesses can do whatever they want to whomever they want.

[@Tavbiy]

It's time for the Perculator

[@Brandon.Fischer]

Ok... so now I want to know the sqft per bedroom rating of the bed, or trench. What’s that formula? We know it’s ok for a septic, but how big will the bed need to be? The soils where I live range from 80sqft per bedroom to 300+sqft per bedroom. Whats that number at 6” per half hour?

[@llib90630]

you dont need to worry about septic in your bedroom

[@Brandon.Fischer]

@@llib90630 , well no, but that’s how septic sizes are measured. A 3 bedroom septic in my area requires a 1000 gallon tank and if the soils perk at say a 200 rating then you need 600sqft of leach field. A 4 bedroom is a 1250 tank and 800 sqft of leach field... So on and so on. They figure X amount of people will be living in a 3 bedroom house then calculate water consumption per person to get their ratings I suppose. I know the answer to my own question, I have installed septics in my area for near 25 years now.. If they are putting out info, I think they should put out all the info. I’d also like to know if its done differently in different parts of the country.

[@aschnaub1]

That shovel is a prop....

[@attemptive]

Right haha I saw that trench and said no way he dug that by hand

[@Silky_boi]

Classic pun

[@cameronbouchard8265]

There’s always shovel work to clean the hole up even with a machine to dig the bulk of the material plus it makes it look like you’re doing something

[@Crudeoil794]

@@attemptive *We dug it with shovel back in the 60 but there are so many backhoes around nowadays.

[@phauser3817]

Doesn't water evaporate up from the leech field, more than drain down?

[@gregai8456]

Yes!

[@hotdogs5265]

Tittle V in MA is a racket

[@LetsGoBrandon-FJB]

@@Kevin-mp5of - 🍈🍈 👀

[@LetsGoBrandon-FJB]

@@Kevin-mp5of - lol, i had to check it twice. the person still spelled it wrong after the edit.

[@artdude8059]

Just go back to building outhouses. THOUSANDS SAVED!

[@Greghh1960]

Doesn't a mound system take care of a lot of failed perc tests?

[@CrazyDaltonP]

Those are considered engineered septic systems and they cost ALOT more then a normal septic system

[@Nttt739]

Yes

[@sterlingodeaghaidh5086]

The question is, if it fails what do they do? Find a new spot, or beginner something to make it work?

[@MrJramirex]

If it fails your septic engineer could try to find a better area to test. Otherwise they will have to design a more complex septic system, and with that comes a really steep price.

[@Mihogan]

In PA the ground hardly ever passes. We have to install septic sand mounds. $40k give or take.

[@sterlingodeaghaidh5086]

makes sense

[@rupe53]

Sterling O'Deaghaidh ... the other posters here make valid points, but to spell it out in an easy to digest format, there are few total failures. This is why they watch the water level for a period of time. If it's within certain parameters you can build right where you are and the water drop will dictate how many linear feet of pipe go into the system. If you are just a little short they may allow you to replace the existing soil with something that gives better drainage or maybe use more linear feet of pipe. Worst case is ALL of the drainage material will need to be trucked in and placed on top of the existing soil because you have solid ledge or clay. (no drainage at all) Obviously the total cost will be on a sliding scale of exactly what needs to be done. One of the things that makes it more expensive is these above ground systems may require an extra holding tank and a pump to make it work. IOW, not just extra material brought in. What they didn't mention in the video is all systems are designed around the number of bedrooms in a home. That dictates the size of the septic tank and the size of the leach fields based on a daily average of waste generated by the people in the house.

[@shayvecc7849]

wondering if anyone can tell me about how much a perc test costs, and how it might be done in a remote lot? We have a lot in Tiverton, RI, opposite from Westerly.

[@markbrown2296]

Beautiful town, I used to live In Newport.

[@mr_4point681]

@@jimmy821 a local septic company told us a perc test would cost us 3000...I find that outrageous...

[@joeman6730]

Perc Test L.A. County = 3200, wtf!!!!

[@michaelrief4424]

This is funny for us. When we moved out here in 1973 we had no idea what a septic tank even was. We were assured that it worked perfectly fine. One week later after a heavy rain the toilet wouldn’t flush and we went into Camping mode. There’s NO need to perform a perk test in this wet Clay soil. If you did dig a hole it would fill up with ground water automatically.

[@ptaylor4923]

😅🤣 I moved into a cottage rental next to a house two women from the city had just purchased. They had the same problem and no one even knew where the septic system was. I called an old timer who back in the day had worked on most every house in the canyon. He said start at the bottom of the steps, go 6 paces east then 4 paces north. I walked it off and pointed it out to the septic guy who put a rod through the lawn and bang hit the septic lid. He grinned. Spot on and they didn't have to tear out the yard to do it. By the way... people in old houses who have working shutters, don't paint them and nail them to the house. They're there for a reason. Their house was by creek and had been there for over 80 years. I saw them nail the newly painted shutters to the house and suggested they not do that, in case of flooding. The women said the house had been there over 80 years and it would be fine. I pointed out the house had lasted that long because it was defended and closing the shutters during the flooding helped keep logs and debrie from breaking the windows and entering the livingroom. 🙄 They didn't live there long. 😅😂

[@stemmentor9700]

nothing like old school stuff.

[@happy_dad4211]

1970 big block loafer

[@truckerdaddy-akajohninqueb4793]

Anyone can do it, but not certify it 🙁

[@cetyl2626]

Agree totally. Some basic facts is all that's needed. Sure a professional is a good idea, but I agree, it's almost like a guarded secret.

[@truckerdaddy-akajohninqueb4793]

@@cetyl2626 costs $$ to certify in my neck of the woods

[@rupe53]

Trucker Daddy... in some areas the building or sanitary inspector may want to be on site to watch the test.

[@ratdude747]

Still good to know... that way if it's bad, you know before you shell out the $$$

[@jrmartinezymtz]

Closed captions... Please!!! 😩😫😭

[@jrmartinezymtz]

@@Kevin-mp5of They the auto-generated type (not so accurate many times...).

[@mr.g1683]

What is the cost of a test like that in that community?

[@mr.g1683]

@@brianglade848 Thank you kindly

[@mr.g1683]

@@Kevin-mp5of Then share with us what is the knowledge YOU have that supports YOUR post..

[@LetsGoBrandon-FJB]

10 easy payments of $49.99

[@LetsGoBrandon-FJB]

@@Kevin-mp5of but wait, there's more! 🤣 🤣 🤣

[@lsmft9576]

Outlet on the perc tank animation is way way way way too low. C'mon Rich!

[@mrcuddlebuns1567]

Hey guys 😊😂

[@LetsGoBrandon-FJB]

.......kzbin.info/www/bejne/aofZZnaphZajd8k

[@BigZeus]

No way that man dug that with a shovel lol

[@BigZeus]

@@Kevin-mp5of exactly. Thanks for taking my bait genius

[@BigZeus]

@@Kevin-mp5of thx for continuing to reply and letting me dominate you

[@mr_4point681]

@@BigZeus poor Kevin was so embarrassed he deleted his comments

[@razony]

But an odd house is ok?

[@hasbeendrummer]

Now, I can sleep, at night.

[@bruizzz13]

I once took a perc test and failed 🥴

[@Ted_E_Bear]

Miss Molly loves Sewers !!

[@e.l.norton]

That's govt. for you.

[@prototypeglory]

Was that water or piss?

[@LetsGoBrandon-FJB]

a truck driver donated the liquid

[@2chipped]

It was three quatto deep, where is miss Molly?

[@TheGuyThatEveryoneIgnores]

@@Kevin-mp5of Your mustache was the breakfast she gave him.

[@glahut93]

Not correct method

[@casdob]

Sorry it's Brendan with an H.

[@cronx1337]

Just make your own wetlands, its not that hard or expensive.