Inspections for buyers, sellers and owners
Greeley Quality Septic Septic Inspection in Greeley
A look at every part of the system, from the pipe leaving the house to the leach field, with a written result.
- Greeley and nine towns within 20 miles
- Written price before any digging
- Licensed, insured local contractors
- Weld and Larimer County rules covered
Greeley Quality Septic arranges septic inspections around Greeley for people buying a house, selling one, or simply wanting to know what is buried in the yard. An inspection opens the tank, measures what is in it, checks the parts that keep solids out of the leach field, and walks the field for signs of trouble, then puts the result in writing.
A $475 inspection before you buy is cheap next to inheriting a field that has already failed, which around Greeley means a $22,000 to $29,000 replacement plus a county permit and soils work.
$475 to $1,275 including a pump-out
A septic inspection around Greeley typically starts at about $475 per system, which is what a Northern Colorado septic company publishes, with more for travel or a hard-to-reach tank. Many inspections need the tank pumped so the inspector can see the baffles and the tank walls, and a pump-out for a tank up to 1,000 gallons adds $475 to $800, so the total usually lands between $475 and $1,275.
Get a price: (970) 442-7072When an inspection is worth booking
- You are buying a house with a septic system and have an inspection window in the contract
- You are selling in Larimer County, where an inspection is required before closing
- The system is older than the house's current owners and nobody has records
- Drains are slowing, or the ground over the field stays soft after a dry week
- A bedroom, a basement apartment or an outbuilding has been added since the system went in
What a septic inspection covers
A proper inspection follows the wastewater. It starts at the house, where the sewer line leaves through the foundation, and ends at the edge of the soil treatment area, which is the regulators' name for the leach field.
- Locating and uncovering the tank and any pump chamber
- Measuring the sludge and scum layers before pumping
- Checking the inlet and outlet baffles or tees, the effluent filter and the tank walls
- Testing the pump, floats and alarm on a system that has them
- Opening the distribution box where it can be reached, and checking that flow splits evenly
- Walking the field for wet spots, odor, settling or lush grass
- A written report, with a drawing of the system where one is not on file
Weld County and Larimer County treat a sale differently
In Weld County, which covers Greeley, Evans, Severance and Milliken, no inspection is required when a house is sold. The county's own guidance says there is no Transfer of Title program, and then recommends having the system inspected and the tank cleaned by a licensed cleaner before a new owner takes over anyway.
In Larimer County, which covers Timnath, Fort Collins, Loveland and most of Berthoud, an inspection is required before closing unless an exemption applies, and the report goes to the county. The transfer of title page covers that process and its fee.
Not sure what the system needs? Describe what you are seeing and get a straight answer on what it usually takes.
Call (970) 442-7072What an inspection cannot tell you
An inspection reports what the system is doing on the day. It cannot promise how long a field will last, and a field that sits in irrigation season groundwater can look fine in October and struggle in June. If the house is on river-bottom ground near the Cache la Poudre or the South Platte, ask whether the inspection can be timed for the wetter months, or ask about the soil evaluation a replacement would need.
It also cannot find what nobody can reach. A distribution box buried four feet down with no access may only be checkable by digging, which adds time and cost and is worth agreeing in advance.
Reading the report
Most findings fall into three groups. Maintenance items, such as a tank that needs pumping or a filter that needs cleaning, are cheap and routine. Repairs, such as a broken baffle, a cracked lid or a failed distribution box, typically run hundreds of dollars to a couple of thousand. A failing field is the expensive one, and on a purchase it is the finding that changes the conversation about price.
In Windsor and Johnstown the first line of the report should say which county the parcel is in, because the two towns straddle the line and the rules follow the parcel.
Closing date coming up
Call with the closing date and the address. The county the parcel sits in decides whether an inspection is required, who can do it and what paperwork has to reach the county before the sale.
Call (970) 442-7072Questions people ask
How much does a septic inspection cost in Greeley?
Typically from about $475, and $475 to $1,275 in total when the tank has to be pumped so the inspector can see inside it.
Is a septic inspection required to sell a house in Weld County?
No. Weld County has no Transfer of Title program, though it recommends an inspection and a pump-out before a sale.
Is a septic inspection required to sell a house in Larimer County?
Yes, unless an exemption applies, such as a system given final approval less than three years before closing or a transfer between family members.
What are the signs a septic system will fail an inspection?
Water flowing back into the tank from the field, broken baffles, a field with wet or sunken spots, and a sludge layer far deeper than the pumping history explains.
How long does a septic inspection take?
Usually a few hours on site, longer if the tank or distribution box has to be found and dug up first.
Does the tank have to be pumped for an inspection?
Often, yes, because the baffles and walls cannot be checked under a full tank. Ask before booking so the pump-out is on the same visit.
Often done together
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Transfer of title inspection
Larimer County requires a septic inspection and a county Acceptance Document before most homes with a septic system change hands. Weld County does not.
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Septic tank pumping
Emptying the sludge and scum layers before they reach the leach field, on a schedule set by the tank and the household.
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Septic tank locating
Plenty of houses around Greeley have a septic tank nobody has seen in years. Finding it is the first step of every other job.
Talk it through before anyone digs
Say what the house is doing, how old the system is and when the tank was last pumped. You will hear what the job usually involves, what it tends to cost, and whether it needs digging at all.
Call (970) 442-7072