How A Home Is Built, Article 3 by Custom Home Builder Southborough MA

Building the Septic System Leach Field

This is the 3rd article in a series by Gilmore Building Co., Inc., a custom home builder in Southborough Ma that will describe the building of a New England style new old home.  In the last article the discussion was about building the foundation. To review any of the previous articles, click here to browse under the Custom Home Building category. New Old home for Weastborough MA 

If you have wondered how a new home is built, just follow the construction story in each new article.  The articles will take you through the construction process using pictures and descriptions.  It is expected that a new article will be published about every week. 

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What Is Done

If there is no municipal sewer system to connect to, an on-site wastewater disposal system must be installed.  It is called a septic system and consists of a gravity drain, a tank where the biological wastewater treatment takes place (the septic tank) and a treated wastewater ground infiltration / disposal area (the leach field).  This article is focusing on construction of the leach field.  The photos taken during construction are shown below.

The 1st step was to remove the natural soils from the location where the leach field was to be built.  The excavation is done in the location and to the depth where soil percolation rates are acceptable according to government regulations.

The excavation site is then filled with a layer of specially prepared sand. On top of the sand is placed the Quick4 Standard Chamber system by Infiltrator Systems Inc.  The purpose of this chamber is to efficiently allow bacteria to complete the wastewater treatment that began in the septic tank.  They also facilitate the percolation of the wastewater into the soil beneath the leach field. 

The next step is to cover the chambers and piping across the entire field with more sand.  Finally, the entire leach field is covered with loam and then seeded. 

The on-site wastewater disposal system is constructed according to a licensed Professional Engineer's drawings and specifications that have been approved by the Municipal Health Department.  The final installation is also inspected and approved by the Health Department. 

 custom home builder Southborough MA leach field initial excavation  Custom home builder Southborough MA add sand to leach field
 Custom home builder Southborough MA leach field drains  Custom home builder Southborough MA cover leach field with sand

Project Description

The home owners, with the assistance of Gilmore Building Co., Inc., (a custom home builder in Southborough MA) collaborating under the discipline of the design build process, are constructing a New England style new old home.  The new old home shown in the picture above is typical of a new old home.  New Old Homes are so named because they are designed to have the look and feel of the elegant homes that lined Main Street 200 or more years ago.  However, they are built with the floor layouts desired today and the latest in low maintenance, high efficiency systems and materials.   

The home being constructed is a decorated Greek Revival style from the 1860's era.   It will be a single-family, two-story home having approximately 3500 sq. ft., 2 1/2 baths, 4 bedrooms and a 2-car garage. 

The Next Article

The next article, Article #4 will cover framing the home. 

Gilmore Building Co., Inc. serves homeowneres in Westborough, Hopkinton, Southborough, Northborough, Shrewsbury, Boylston, Sutton, and Upton, MA.