James E
Well-known member
Funny that LB-1911--a guy from Washington--finds the local information indicating that Alexander County will inspect the system for the OP.
Anyway, there are a lot of good suggestions here. As an NC resident who has owned several houses on septic and who currently owns a lake house with a septic system, I will chime in to say the following:
1. If you seriously intend to build a detached garage--especially one with an apartment over it--you need to make sure that you can build that BEFORE you buy. And you absolutely CANNOT rely on the realtor or seller to tell you whether you can or cannot. You need to get that from the COUNTY. And, you ought to get it from multiple people at the county because one person's word won't count for much if the permitting has to be approved by another person.
2. The county knows where your drain field is. They have a map from when the house was built. The lot is only an acre, it shouldn't be too hard to find with that map. The county also knows how many bedrooms your system can support. It's about bedrooms, not bathrooms.
3. Being on a lake adds regulations and complexity. Check and double-check what you can do before you close your purchase.
4. You can't always add a new septic system to a property. Most counties in NC require enough room on your lot to have a repair field. This is where you would put a new system if your original system fails and is condemned. If you add a second system, you still have to have room for a repair area. So, your lot really has to have room and has to perk well enough to fit three systems. That's pretty tight on an acre, especially a lakefront lot which I'm sure has an easement along the shore that eats up a lot of the lot, and you've got a house, a driveway and you're planning on building an additional building.
5. Having living space over a garage is much more difficult to permit. When I built my shop, I have a second story that is open to the garage area. I had to make it very clear on the plans and permit requests that that area was NOT an apartment or bedroom. If they thought it was, a whole new set of construction regs would kick in because the living area has to be isolated from the garage space because of fumes and fire.
On a side note, the POs of my house finished the third floor and added a bedroom. When they did, the addition of a bedroom necessitated the addition of a second septic system because the original system could not support an additional bedroom. BUT, when I built my shop, which has a bathroom and a shop sink, we were able to tie in to the original system because even though we were adding a bathroom, we were NOT adding a new bedroom. Dopey, but it worked out for me.
Finally, I recommend going down to the county health and construction management departments in person. Be nice, make friends and ask a lot of questions. Rural counties here are usually great to deal with if you can find the one or two older ladies that have worked there for decades and who know everyone and who essentially run the departments. Most of those counties are starving for revenue and the people who work for the county still have the mindset that they are there to help you, not to block all of your plans.
HTH, and good luck!
Anyway, there are a lot of good suggestions here. As an NC resident who has owned several houses on septic and who currently owns a lake house with a septic system, I will chime in to say the following:
1. If you seriously intend to build a detached garage--especially one with an apartment over it--you need to make sure that you can build that BEFORE you buy. And you absolutely CANNOT rely on the realtor or seller to tell you whether you can or cannot. You need to get that from the COUNTY. And, you ought to get it from multiple people at the county because one person's word won't count for much if the permitting has to be approved by another person.
2. The county knows where your drain field is. They have a map from when the house was built. The lot is only an acre, it shouldn't be too hard to find with that map. The county also knows how many bedrooms your system can support. It's about bedrooms, not bathrooms.
3. Being on a lake adds regulations and complexity. Check and double-check what you can do before you close your purchase.
4. You can't always add a new septic system to a property. Most counties in NC require enough room on your lot to have a repair field. This is where you would put a new system if your original system fails and is condemned. If you add a second system, you still have to have room for a repair area. So, your lot really has to have room and has to perk well enough to fit three systems. That's pretty tight on an acre, especially a lakefront lot which I'm sure has an easement along the shore that eats up a lot of the lot, and you've got a house, a driveway and you're planning on building an additional building.
5. Having living space over a garage is much more difficult to permit. When I built my shop, I have a second story that is open to the garage area. I had to make it very clear on the plans and permit requests that that area was NOT an apartment or bedroom. If they thought it was, a whole new set of construction regs would kick in because the living area has to be isolated from the garage space because of fumes and fire.
On a side note, the POs of my house finished the third floor and added a bedroom. When they did, the addition of a bedroom necessitated the addition of a second septic system because the original system could not support an additional bedroom. BUT, when I built my shop, which has a bathroom and a shop sink, we were able to tie in to the original system because even though we were adding a bathroom, we were NOT adding a new bedroom. Dopey, but it worked out for me.
Finally, I recommend going down to the county health and construction management departments in person. Be nice, make friends and ask a lot of questions. Rural counties here are usually great to deal with if you can find the one or two older ladies that have worked there for decades and who know everyone and who essentially run the departments. Most of those counties are starving for revenue and the people who work for the county still have the mindset that they are there to help you, not to block all of your plans.
HTH, and good luck!
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