Serving Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Larimer & Weld Counties
Family-owned since 1976(303) 659-0610
Septic Inspections · Since 1976
A buyer wants proof. A lender wants a document. And you have no idea where the lids are, let alone what is under them. A septic inspection answers all three questions in one visit. A-1 Septic Service has been performing septic inspections in Weld County for generations, and we document what we find so you have a clear understanding of your system's health.
The six checks
An inspection is not one look in one hole. Six separate parts of the system get judged, and a system can pass on five of them and still fail.
The tank has one job beyond settling solids, which is staying watertight. We look for cracks, corrosion and any sign the barrier is leaking into the soil.
The inlet baffle slows incoming flow so solids can drop. The outlet baffle or tee stops the floating scum layer sailing out to the soil treatment area (STA). Where one has rotted off, solids have been reaching the STA for years.
Effluent should sit level with the bottom of the outlet pipe. Sitting low usually means the tank is losing water somewhere it should not. Sitting high means the outlet, the filter or the STA is not accepting flow.
Not every system runs on gravity. Where effluent is lifted there is a pump chamber, a float and wiring, and all three get checked. Pumps and controls often need replacing every ten to twenty years, so age matters here.
We will run water from inside the property for 15–20 minutes. This tests how water flows from the house, to the tank and out to the STA. Runback can mean that a portion of the STA isn't performing.
The tank is only half the system. We open the distribution box to see whether every line gets an equal share, because a tilted box starves half the STA. Then the STA is walked and probed for ponding, surfacing and soft ground.
Start to report
Inspections have to be performed by companies licensed within the county and NAWT certified; we are both. Tanks should be pumped at the same time as the inspection to help alleviate mistakes or inaccuracies.
Most Colorado counties hold a permit record and an as-built drawing for the system. That gives us its age, the tank size and the bedroom count it was approved for.
Most properties have a second or third lid that might have been overlooked during routine maintenance. We probe until the tank, the second compartment, any pump chamber and the distribution box are found. An inspection that skips a lid is a report with a hole in it.
With all lids open, we run water for about 15–20 minutes from inside the home. This tests the flow of water from the house, into the tank and out to the soil treatment area.
Yes, you heard that right, tanks plural. In a routine pumping, typically the first tank is the only one needing to be pumped. During an inspection, we are typically required to pump all gallons including a dosing tank or pump chamber.
After running water and pumping the tanks, we watch for runback from the field. A healthy field will have minimal to no runback. If present, we will check the observation pipes for water and assess levels.
Although inspections are not mandatory in Weld County, they often are included in the contract. A verbal “passing inspection” is worth nothing at the closing table. We will provide you the inspection report to provide to your buyer.
Triggers
Weld County does not require septic inspections when selling a home. However, there are still scenarios where we are called out to perform one.
Often in the contract
Although it is not required to inspect the septic system when selling a home, buyers often include the inspection requirement in their contract. Booking early helps ensure time to determine if the system passes or fails and what that will look like for the transaction.
Before you design
When adding a bedroom, bath or ADU you will need to submit a permit. Visit our install page for more information. Prior to submitting the permit, we would need to do an inspection to see the health and size of the system.
Check your HOA
Some homeowners associations require inspections at a set time. Check with your community to determine when and if any inspector can perform the service. Additionally, if your property is special, the county will contact you with your specific requirements. Otherwise, regular pumping every 3–4 years will do.
Common questions
Buyers, sellers, agents and owners ask different versions of the same handful of questions. The answers to these questions are general because the detail changes with your situation, system and County.
A visual inspection is what we do when we are there for routine pumping — looking at the tank health from the lid, watching for runback from the soil treatment area while pumping. A certified inspection opens all lids, examines the inside of the tank for cracks, runs water, and probes the soil treatment area.
Typically yes, because the walls, floor and baffles cannot be judged through a full tank. In some scenarios, if the tank was pumped within the last year and the scum levels are low, we can get away without pumping but we do have to mention that full tank health could not be inspected on the report.
In Weld County, there isn't an inspection requirement so it would be determined by the seller and buyer who is responsible for payment.
Tank degradation when opening the lids is the clearest sign of a failing tank. Effluent surfacing over the soil treatment area or in the observation pipes, a cracked, leaking or root-infested tank, a missing outlet baffle or a soil treatment area only taking water to one chamber are other telltale signs of failure.
If your inspection fails, whatever failed needs to be repaired / replaced to meet current County standards. It is the seller's responsibility to pay for the repairs / replacements. Depending on the repairs needed, we might be able to get them done prior to your closing. If not, there is usually more county paperwork that would need to be submitted and money can be put in escrow for the buyers to arrange the repairs after closing.
Book an inspection
A-1 Septic Service has been family-owned and operated, proudly serving Colorado since 1976. Tell us the address, whether a sale or an addition is driving it, and which county you are in. We will tell you what is required in Weld County before booking.
