One of the biggest questions consumers face when dealing with septic system troubles is ‘what is the cost going to be to have a new system installed on my property’. While pricing varies greatly throughout the country, the cost of your home seems to play a role in the cost of a new system.

In many areas, a new drain field or leach field can be installed for about 5000.00 to 12000.00 for a traditional system while in others that cost can skyrocket to 35,000.00 to 65,000.00 or more! Some homeowners simply do not have that amount of disposable cash laying around and opt to have a ‘construction buddy’ do the work without obtaining proper permits or licensing. While this method may shave a few thousand dollars off the current bill, having a fly-by-night install poses a lot of legal and financial risks. If the town inspector finds out, or you sell the property and the new buyers demand permit records, your can face legal costs far in excess of what it would have set you back installing the system ‘on the books’.

Some of the less expensive systems on the market may perform terribly compared to more traditional systems which utilize a pipe and stone drain field method. You will need soil tests so that the local engineer can design a system suitable for your soils and based off of what the township currently considers ‘code’.

In some cases the recommended system falls within the ‘under 10k’ range while other homeowners need 2 or 3 stage systems which can shoot the price up considerably. Many new systems must have a multi-chamber, pump chamber, pretreatment tank and on top of all that, needs to be a mound type system.

Mound systems are somewhat of a double-hit to your finances. Not only are they more costly that traditional systems, you wind up paying again if you decide to sell your home. You see, when new buyers are in the market for a home, they are looking at many properties in a specific price range which suits their budget. If there are 3 homes on the market, all in your price range and all somewhat similar in amenities to yours, which home do you think the buyers will lean towards when yours is the only home in their range that has a giant septic hill in the back yard?

Most buyers will actually pay more to avoid a home with a mound type system simply as a result of the stigma attached to that type of system. In order to be competitive with non-mound homes, you may need to reduce your asking price to help return attractiveness to your property.

All in all, the average cost of a new septic system does vary greatly. On the other hand, the cost of treating your system with an aggressive bacteria based septic tank cleaner is a fraction of that cost. Before you sign on the dotted line, try a potent septic cleaner. Many homeowners have saved tens of thousands of dollars using such treatments as in many cases, a replacement can be avoided.