Probably moving to Calvert

antco · Dec 24, 2018

traveller said:
I have found home inspectors not to be particular useful. They are great at pointing out that broken window lift spring or cracked caulk around a sill, but when it comes to septic, roof and HVAC they are pretty useless.

That broken window spring and some caulk are things I wouldn’t pay someone to look for. My inspector had very clear marching orders for what he was to look for. He showed up with a backhoe and septic pump truck.

antco · Dec 24, 2018

moparmike610 said:
Nice being a tradesmen.

As for home inspectors in this area they are only good in whatever trade they came from.

Very much so.

And very true. However, some do take guidance when instructed to spend more time and resources investigating certain topics. If they don’t, fire them and find one who will listen to the requests of their client. I focused mine specifically on the septic system and well. I wanted those two items to be very closely examined.

traveller · Dec 25, 2018

antco said:
This company was a septic inspection company first and foremost. Two months ago, I didn’t know much of anything about a septic system. They showed up with a backhoe and a septic pumper truck for the home inspection.

While they did that, I wandered all over the exterior and interior turning on lights and faucets. They did the attic inspection and GFI tests. They opened the electrical panels but I inspected the interior of the panels while the covers were off. I had a separate HVAC company come in just to inspect the entire HVAC system.

They brought things to my attention, and I brought some things to their attention. But I will always be of the belief that my $1,400 was well spent and allowed me to dodge a $31k problem.

Edit: I see where you all are coming from, and can relate. A home inspector I used once in AZ was a complete waste of his $400 charge. That dipshit didn’t catch the fact that half of the house had no heat source! I learned my lesson after that experience.

You learn on every house transaction. By now I show up with a team.
- a septic system inspector
- a HVAC guy
- a general contractor/roofer
It costs me more than the $399 'home inspection', but it has paid back in spades on the last purchase.
And I am not going to comment on the homes I have sold....

traveller · Dec 25, 2018

antco said:
Sandy loamy soil on this lot. Some of the holes they’ve dug look like piles of ocean beach sand.

Which makes it puzzling why the seller went through two drainfields. My money is on not pumping and flushing grease down the kitchen sink.

antco · Dec 25, 2018

traveller said:
You learn on every house transaction. By now I show up with a team.
- a septic system inspector
- a HVAC guy
- a general contractor/roofer
It costs me more than the $399 'home inspection', but it has paid back in spades on the last purchase.
And I am not going to comment on the homes I have sold....

It has more than paid off for us both then to show up for inspections with a qualified crew of problem finders.

antco · Dec 25, 2018

traveller said:
Which makes it puzzling why the seller went through two drainfields. My money is on not pumping and flushing grease down the kitchen sink.

I do have a suspicion that they lied when replying that they always had it pumped every 2-5 years.

My other suspicion is tree root intrusion of field #2. I asked the contractor yesterday to dig those pipes out for failure analysis but they kindly refused. They did happily offer to bring their equipment back to the site to honor my request after transfer of the property however.

Something just (still) isn’t adding up in my head about this problem. User habits, lack of maintenance, ground water levels, GPD discharge, tree roots, coffee grounds, grease, condoms, ... what killed two fields on this property?

antco · Dec 27, 2018

Septic contractor says the new system will be ready for startup and commissioning next week by 1/4, then the manufacturers rep and the county Sanitarian need to inspect and bless the install. I'll be visiting the site tomorrow to see progress for myself.

GoGoGadget · Dec 27, 2018

antco said:
The latest and greatest news is that a bunch of people from the county came out on Wednesday, along with the contractor hired by the seller. They dug a bunch of trenches and holes all over the back yard (water well is in the front) and the Sanitarian decided that she didn't like what she was seeing in these holes. So, the verbal directive at this time (nothing in writing yet) is that an Orenco AX-RT system needs to be installed. Here is a document describing that- https://odl.orenco.com/documents/ABR-ATX-AXRT-1.pdf

These Orenco things are in use all over PA, NC, CA, and gaining popularity in MD. PA.gov and CA.gov have some very in depth research papers on these systems, with good results and outcomes. There are no blowers or augers, and supposedly no smells. The monthly electric bill is projected to be $3-4, a yearly $200 inspection is required, and the easily-replaced pump has an expected lifespan of 20 years. It looks like it's $5k to buy an entire new Orenco package unit, so replacement is comparable to installing a new drain field in the future if this house stayed with a standard septic system.

A property survey was done on Friday at the demand of the Sanitarian to determine the north property boundary so she can finish her drawing.

As for the house purchase, the sellers did sign my last contract amendment that stated the buyers are not making any decisions or taking any actions on anything until three days after the county has issued their written directives. I still have an active clause in the contract that allows me to walk away for any reason based on "dissatisfaction". It's a very broad clause that leaves me plenty of room to walk away with my earnest money for basically any reason.

The loan is fully funded and done, and just waiting on a legal and operating septic system.

I plan to reach out to the Maryland Orenco distributor on Monday and get a list of their biggest installers. I'll then call and bug the shit out of them with a thousand questions, and probably attempt to tag along on any scheduled yearly inspections to see these units in person and in operation. I'm familiar and comfortable with the technology as my industry has been using it since ~2006 to treat our washrack wastewater before discharging to the sewer system. It's a proven technology that works as long as "trash" isn't introduced into it, and as long as you don't go over its designed daily flow capabilities.

Lastly, we wait to find out if the County can fully stamp this plan so the contractor can move forward with installation, or if it needs to go to Annapolis MDE for final approval. Getting the Md Dept of Environment involved could add two months onto this process, according to the Sanitarian.

I have this type of system at my place in costal NC. Other than requiring bi-annual inspections and a fairly expensive maintenance contract, it works fine... In 10 years, it's only had to be pumped twice and the media replaced once.

antco · Dec 27, 2018

How much did the media replacement cost?

GoGoGadget · Dec 31, 2018

antco said:
How much did the media replacement cost?

I believe it was included in the maintenance contract, so I don't know for sure.

There are some systems that actually use natural peat as the media. I hear those are very expensive and the life of the peat media is about 5 years.. I've been told to stay away from those...

antco · Jan 2, 2019

GoGoGadget said:
I believe it was included in the maintenance contract, so I don't know for sure.

There are some systems that actually use natural peat as the media. I hear those are very expensive and the life of the peat media is about 5 years.. I've been told to stay away from those...

A peat media just sounds like a disaster in the making to me. Similar to how I do not like sand filters on pools.

_ _ ____________ _ _

As of this afternoon, the entirely new septic system is installed, programmed, commissioned, started up, and signed off by the county. I put some of my own pee into it today. Three more trees are being dropped this week, and seed and straw are going down tomorrow. The impacted areas are going to be lousy through the winter and into the spring. I'll likely rent a skid steer in the spring and have a few truckloads of good soil delivered. The skid steer will make quick work of some little scrubby crap that I want to smooth over for a nicer lawn.

I did another basic walk-through inspection of the house while I was there. The sellers have moved 99.8% out. Final inspection will take place early 1/11, closing sometime after that on the 11th, and the moving company will move us in on 1/14.

My house projects list has already begun... I should stay away from garagejournal.com

SolomonsCommune · Jan 2, 2019

Not to derail the thread, but welcome to Calvert! Give John at GymRatz til Feb to replenish his stock. He was trying to sell everything in the store that was left (I helped ha) for 2018, in preparation for all the new 2019 stuff. You do HAVE to go see him regardless after you're settled.

traveller · Jan 2, 2019

antco said:
My house projects list has already begun... I should stay away from garagejournal.com

Pro-tip*. Buy a good firewall/internet router and block 'pinterest' and 'Houzz'. Also disable HGTV on the cable box. When your wife tells you that they don't work, make a serious face and start 'investigating'.

*pro-tip from the man who now has a kitchen that is on 'Houzz' as the showpiece for the kitchen designer :-0

antco · Jan 2, 2019

SolomonsCommune said:
Not to derail the thread, but welcome to Calvert! Give John at GymRatz til Feb to replenish his stock. He was trying to sell everything in the store that was left (I helped ha) for 2018, in preparation for all the new 2019 stuff. You do HAVE to go see him regardless after you're settled.

No gun shopping. I need to decide what state I’ll keep my official residency in. I’ll likely keep AZ for a few years or more. My wife might switch states through. She likes buying stuff.

But you know what’s funny? Talking to random people in Calvert and having them throw GymRatz compliments into the conversation and asking if I’ve been there. GymRatz has a following! It happened yet again today with an equipment operator!

antco · Jan 2, 2019

traveller said:
Pro-tip*. Buy a good firewall/internet router and block 'pinterest' and 'Houzz'. Also disable HGTV on the cable box. When your wife tells you that they don't work, make a serious face and start 'investigating'.

*pro-tip from the man who now has a kitchen that is on 'Houzz' as the showpiece for the kitchen designer :-0

Okay, now you need to post pics or links of this magazine kitchen of yours.

Unfortunately, I’m the materialistic one who likes nice things. My wife is much more grounded and less concerned with having the nice things. I grew up with nothing, dirt poor and at times with no heat in the house, and like to enjoy those things that were very far out of my reach growing up.

A Festool track saw found its way into my amazon list this weekend so I can build cabinets for my garage.

SolomonsCommune · Jan 2, 2019

antco said:
No gun shopping. I need to decide what state I’ll keep my official residency in. I’ll likely keep AZ for a few years or more. My wife might switch states through. She likes buying stuff.

But you know what’s funny? Talking to random people in Calvert and having them throw GymRatz compliments into the conversation and asking if I’ve been there. GymRatz has a following! It happened yet again today with an equipment operator!

That's how John at GymRatz works... he's like a disease

I don't pretend to know his strategy, but to me, he sells guns for cheaper than almost anyone else, and lots of them, with great customer service and that's how he makes it vs. selling few guns at high prices.

Mack C-85 · Jan 2, 2019

antco said:
As of this afternoon, the entirely new septic system is installed, programmed, commissioned, started up, and signed off by the county. I put some of my own pee into it today. Three more trees are being dropped this week, and seed and straw are going down tomorrow. The impacted areas are going to be lousy through the winter and into the spring. I'll likely rent a skid steer in the spring and have a few truckloads of good soil delivered. The skid steer will make quick work of some little scrubby crap that I want to smooth over for a nicer lawn.

Two words.....Winter Wheat......it will come up a couple of inches, make things nice and green, hold your soil until spring, and then you can do your ground work.

I did this at my new construction house to get through the winter. Friend that told me how to was in charge of the turf and seed section of MD Dept. Of Ag.

My neighbors were amazed at my beautiful green "lawn" all winter long!!!

Sent from my LG-G710 using Tapatalk

antco · Jan 3, 2019

Mack C-85 said:
Two words.....Winter Wheat......it will come up a couple of inches, make things nice and green, hold your soil until spring, and then you can do your ground work.

I did this at my new construction house to get through the winter. Friend that told me how to was in charge of the turf and seed section of MD Dept. Of Ag.

My neighbors were amazed at my beautiful green "lawn" all winter long!!!

Great idea. Reminds me of overseeing overseeing with Rye in the winter in Phoenix as the summer grass turned brown and went dormant.

In the event the contractor has already thrown down their grass seed, where can I find this winter wheat?

Mack C-85 · Jan 3, 2019

antco said:
Great idea. Reminds me of overseeing overseeing with Rye in the winter in Phoenix as the summer grass turned brown and went dormant.

In the event the contractor has already thrown down their grass seed, where can I find this winter wheat?

My buddy got me the seed I used, but any ag supply/farmers co-op should have it. It's a prevalent cover crop in MD.

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MightyWarMonger · Jan 5, 2019

Antco you're a brave man I would have walked away along time ago, but wish you good luck, if this deal falls through stick to St. leonard and above in Calvert county for homes

Probably moving to Calvert

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