Septic and Excavation Questions

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) approves the design in writing before a septic system goes in. The system's designer inspects the work at the key stages before it is covered. RIDEM then issues a Certificate of Conformance, and the system goes into use after that. We work under Contractor Registration #2681 and DEM License: L1362.

We install conventional systems, with a septic tank, a distribution box and a leach field. The design sets the leach field type: trench and stone, flow diffusers or a shallow narrow drain field. Harder sites may need a bottomless sand filter or an advanced treatment unit. In the Salt Pond and Narrow River critical resource areas, RIDEM requires nitrogen-reducing treatment for new homes and most repairs.

Rhode Island's septic rules set the minimum by bedrooms. A house with up to three bedrooms needs at least a 1,000-gallon tank, plus 250 gallons per added bedroom. A four-bedroom house starts at 1,250 gallons, and every new tank has two compartments. The leach field is sized from the bedroom count and the soil.

Under Rhode Island's Cesspool Act, a cesspool must be replaced within 12 months after the house is sold. The law has exceptions, such as some family transfers and towns with their own cesspool phase-out rules. Cesspools within 200 feet of the tidal shore or a public water supply faced a January 1, 2014 deadline. The fix is a new septic system, or a sewer connection where a public sewer reaches the lot.

The state's rules call a system failed when sewage backs into the house or surfaces over the system. A tank that needs pumping more than twice a year counts too. Some problems are one part, like a crushed pipe or a failed pump, and septic system repair covers those. A failed leach field can mean a new field or a full septic system replacement.

Not always, but an added bedroom in Rhode Island needs a septic application to RIDEM first. A cesspool or a pre-1968 system must be upgraded when a renovation adds a bedroom or a floor. A newer system may pass as is or need a bigger tank or leach field. The town building office waits on RIDEM's approval before it issues the permit.

We look at the job first, then put the quote in writing with the work spelled out. On a new system, the soil, the system type, the tank size and machine access drive the price. A high water table can call for fill, and RIDEM notes that advanced systems cost more than conventional ones. On a repair, the price follows the part that failed.

Our service area covers all of Rhode Island, with North Kingstown at the center. That takes in Warwick, South Kingstown, Coventry, Westerly and Narragansett, along with East Greenwich, Exeter, Charlestown, Richmond and Hopkinton. Jamestown, West Warwick, Cranston and Newport are part of it too. See the towns we serve for the town pages and the full list.

We handle sewer line repair and installation, water line repair and installation, and drain cleaning with hydro jetting. On new construction, we dig foundations and take a raw lot to a graded, drained site. We also build drainage systems such as French drains and dry wells, plus retaining walls and walkways. We work on residential and commercial properties.