Installation
A & L Septic has 40 years of experience when it comes to new installations of complete septic systems. Don't leave your investment to chance. Have one of our specialists come out and do a complete evaluation.

A normal septic system will come out of the house into the holding tank. This tank holds all the solids and the liquids move to the other side of the tank. The liquids drain usually by gravity to the leeching field.

That is the quick version of what needs to be done, but saying what needs to be done and delivering a no hassle, no surprises and on budget service to you as a home owner is where experience plays a big part. Soil evaluation, engineering, and efficient use of resources is what A & L Septic takes pride in. There are many variables that have to be taken into account to make sure your job is completed smoothly and on time. Our 40 years of experience guarantees your job is done right.
Old school drainfields are built using traditional gravel. However today most new septic systems use the plastic vault technology to create the drainfield (as long as the vaults are allowed in the jurisdiction.) Construction process is almost the same for each type with less shoveling with the vaults.

The traditional gravity drainfield employs long trenches filled with special gravel (inch-and-a-half, round, uniform and washed clean) with perforated pipes running down the center of the trench to spread the effluent into the soil. The vault technology uses no drainrock and no center pipe. The floor of the trench is used to distribute the effluent to the soil. The vaults, besides providing much greater effluent storage capacity than traditional drainrock, also have the advantage of being easy to transport and place in the trench compared with tons of drainrock. Some county health departments will allow a reduced drainfield size if vaults are used. However, the cost of vaults will be higher than drainrock.
 
Almost all pipes used in septic systems are now plastic, although older systems used clay or concrete pipes. Plastic is the best available material for construction of septic system pipes and components to resist corrosion. However, concrete septic tanks are still much preferred over fiberglass and particularly polyethylene tanks because of structural and cost reasons.

In gravity drainfields with gravity distribution, the drainfield is supposed to distribute the effluent evenly from all the holes in the 4 inch perforated pipe (1/2 inch dia holes every foot or so along both sides of the pipe) as the effluent ripples up and down inside. Common sense and numerous demonstrations have confirmed that it is impossible to lay the pipe perfectly level. Health rules usually give the installer one inch of latitude up or down. Further, even a level pipe will spill effluent from only a few holes

In finer soils, loamy sands and finer, the floor of the trench will wind up being the distribution system. This requires that the backhoe operator be highly skilled to provide a flat trench without over excavating. Most jurisdictions used to assume that pressure distribution was of limited additional value in soils that do not end with the word sand. In some more populated counties and municipalities, gravity systems are no longer approved regardless of soil.

A regular septic system cleaning and maintenance program is the only way to ensure years of trouble free operation and long lasting service. Once your system is successfully installed, A & L Septic will set up regularly scheduled maintenance with your approval to ensure decades of reliable service.