Since my last visit to the site, a lot has happened. One of the more obvious changes in the installation of the septic system. The excavator had to dig from the house to a 1500 gallon tank to the base of the hill where a 40×30 foot leaching field was placed.

I chose to size the septic system for a 5-bedroom home to allow for a bit of extra capacity and/or potential future expansion. Maine uses Septic Evaluators, rather than engineers to size septic systems. This results in a fairly prescribed system based on whichever technology is selected to match the soil conditions of your lot.

The Evaluator initially sized an Eljens system for the property, which would have resulted in a smaller footprint leaching field. However, Eljens carry a premium price and there is some debate as to their effectiveness. So, after some discussion of the pros and cons with the Evaluator, I decided to go with a standard stone-bed leaching field.

The foreground of the picture below shows the 40×30 hold they dug to install the leaching field. Mid-way up the hill is the septic tank. And of course, in the background you see the house. The septic system waste pipe enters footing of the foundation and is buried under the floor to allow the lowest-level fixtures in the house to gravity drain.