Signs you need a riser installed or replaced
The clearest sign is that every service call on your tank starts with digging. If a pumping company has had to expose the manhole each time, you have paid for that labor repeatedly. Another sign is that nobody can say for sure where the tank sits, so the last visit meant probing the yard. A riser that has cracked, shifted or gone missing is a third. It leaves a gap between the tank opening and the surface where soil and water can get in. A lid that no longer seals has the same effect.
How we scope the job and quote it
We find the tank and the manhole opening first. Then we measure the depth from grade down to the manhole, or check the existing riser if there is one, because that depth sets the riser height we need. We also check that the manhole opening is sound enough to take a new sealed joint.
The written quote lists the riser and lid, the labor to expose the manhole, and the sealing and backfill. Near the St. Joseph River, the Elkhart River and some of their tributaries, groundwater is less confined and site conditions vary more, so we look at how wet the ground is before we price the job.
What we use and how we do the work
Materials are a riser lid that fits the top riser, and butyl rope or sealant tape for the joint between the riser and the tank. We expose the manhole and set the riser. Then we fit the lid and secure it with screws, and seal the riser-to-tank joint in the way the installation system calls for. Last, we backfill around the riser.
If water is seeping into the hole, we deal with it before sealing. A joint closed up in standing water is the one most likely to leak later.
What a riser installation costs
A single septic tank riser installation typically runs $200 to $400.
The main variable is depth. The deeper the manhole, the more riser it takes to reach the surface. Ground conditions come next. Wet or loose soil slows the excavation. So does frozen soil. Elkhart gets about 64.5 inches of snow a year, with January the peak at around 21.6 inches, and in a winter with thin snow cover the frost can go deep. We can work through winter when we have to, and we allow the extra digging time in the quote. The payoff is a lid at grade you can find and clear in January, instead of a buried manhole under snow and frozen ground.
What to Expect
Step by step, here's what's involved:
- Drill the marked holes, set the concrete wedge anchors, and check that they hold in place.
- Apply sealant tape to the underside of the adapter ring, position it over the anchors, and secure it with washers and nuts.
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Straight Answers
A short call is usually enough, with no sales pitch.