Septic & excavation questions, answered for East Tennessee.

Yes. Every new or repaired septic system in Tennessee needs a permit before installation, issued through TDEC’s Division of Water Resources or, in a contract county, the county’s own septic program.

The permit comes after a soil and site evaluation and spells out the system type, size and layout. The installed system is inspected before it is covered. Installing without a permit can stop a home sale, a loan or a certificate of occupancy later.

Jefferson and Sevier are TDEC “contract counties” that run their own septic programs; Hamblen and Cocke are handled by TDEC’s Division of Water Resources.

TDEC’s list of contract counties is Blount, Davidson, Hamilton, Jefferson, Knox, Madison, Sevier, Shelby and Williamson. If you are not sure which office covers your lot, call TDEC or your county and ask before you start.

A soil evaluation checks whether the soil on your lot can treat and absorb wastewater, and it decides where the system can go, how big the drain field must be and what type of system is allowed.

Evaluators look at soil depth, texture, drainage, rock and signs of a seasonal water table, usually with test pits or borings. In East Tennessee clay and rock, the result can rule out parts of a lot entirely, so get it done before you buy land or settle on a house plan.

If the lot is not on public sewer, yes, or make the purchase contingent on a passing evaluation. A lot that cannot support a septic system cannot support a house.

It also tells you how many bedrooms the system can serve and how much of the lot it will take up, which affects where the house and driveway can go.

A conventional system is a septic tank plus gravity-fed field lines in trenches; an alternative system, such as low-pressure pipe, is used when the soil is too shallow, slow or wet for a conventional field.

The soil evaluation and permit decide which one your lot needs. Alternative systems cost more and usually need a pump, so it is worth knowing early.

Yes. The permitting office inspects the installed tank and field lines before backfill to confirm they match the permit.

That is why a good installer builds exactly to the permit’s layout and depths and leaves it open and ready for the inspector.

Much of the valley here is red clay weathered from limestone and dolomite, mixed with chert, and solid rock often sits close to the surface in ledges.

Dry clay can be as hard as brick and wet clay is slick and sticky, so weather changes how a dig goes. Ridges of shale have thin, rocky soil. We look at the site before giving a plan, and we tell you up front if it looks rocky.

We stop and talk with you before going further. Options include moving the footprint, working around the rock, breaking it out or adjusting the design, depending on what it is for.

Rock in a footer, pool hole or utility trench is common here. The point is that you hear about it when it is found, not on the final bill.

Sinkholes form where water dissolves the limestone and dolomite underneath, and they are common in Jefferson County and much of East Tennessee. They matter a lot: never put a house pad, drain field or storm water outlet in or next to one.

A sinkhole can connect straight to groundwater, and fill dumped into one can keep settling. Some sinkhole work and any use of a sinkhole for drainage needs state approval. Keep it out of your plans and have it looked at.

Clay drains slowly, so water sits on it and septic effluent soaks in slowly, which means bigger drain fields and careful grading.

Good drainage around a house in clay country means grading away from the foundation, keeping downspout water away from the footer and septic field, and not leaving low spots where water can pond.

Sometimes, but wet clay is a reason to wait. Digging or driving heavy machines on saturated clay smears and compacts it, which is especially bad for a drain field.

Septic installs in particular should not be done in soaked soil. A day or two of waiting can save a system.

Clearing the footprint and access, cutting and filling to a level pad, compacting the fill, digging footers or a basement, and grading so water drains away from the house.

On most lots the drive, septic system and utility runs are planned at the same time, because they all compete for space and slope.

Deep enough to reach firm soil and get below the frost line, at the size your plans and local building code require.

The exact depth and width come from your plans and your city or county building department where codes are enforced. We dig to those numbers and to firm ground, and if soft soil or rock turns up we talk with you before the concrete goes in.

Usually, yes, with a plan for the cut, the fill, the driveway and the water. Steep lots cost more to build on, so it pays to know early.

A walkout basement can use the slope instead of fighting it. Fill has to be placed and compacted in layers, slopes may need terracing or walls, and water must be carried around the house rather than over the fill.

Cutting dirt from the high side of a site and placing it on the low side to make a level pad, ideally balancing the two so little dirt has to be hauled in or out.

Fill under a building has to be clean and compacted in layers. Topsoil, roots and stumps never go under a pad, because they rot and settle.

Yes. Basement digs are part of house-site work, and on a sloped lot a walkout basement is often the natural fit.

Expect rock in some places. Backfill around basement walls has to wait until the walls are ready for it, and drainage around the footer matters as much as the dig.

Laying out the pool, digging to the size and depth the pool requires, building a level base (often gravel), setting the pool and backfilling.

In East Tennessee clay and rock, the dig can be the hard part. Plan for access for the machine and the delivery truck, where the spoil will go, and how the area will drain.

Pools must be kept a set distance from the septic tank and drain field, and the heavy equipment that digs and delivers a pool must stay off the field.

Check the required setbacks with your septic permitting office before you choose the spot. Driving over a drain field can crush lines and compact the soil.

From October 15 through May 15, Tennessee requires a free burn permit from the Division of Forestry for open burning within 500 feet of woodland or grassland. You can get one online or by phone.

Your city or county may have its own rules or burn bans, and permits are not issued on high-danger days. Check before every burn.

Only natural vegetation, like trees, limbs and brush. Never burn tires, plastics, treated lumber, shingles or building debris.

Old buildings and junk have to be hauled off and disposed of properly. Keep burn piles away from structures, power lines and the woods line, and never leave one unattended.

Enough for the house, the drive, the septic system and working room around them, and no more than you want gone.

Mark the trees you want kept before work starts. Septic fields and drives need tree roots out of the way, but a good stand of trees left on the edge of a lot is worth a lot.

Yes. Stumps in the footprint of a house, drive or drain field are dug out with the excavator, roots and all.

Stumps left under a pad or driveway rot and leave soft spots, so they should come out wherever something will be built.

Water. A drive washes out when rain runs down it instead of off it, usually because it has no crown or cross slope, no ditches and no culverts where water crosses.

Fixing a washed-out drive starts with drainage, then a compacted base, then the topping gravel.

Usually a compacted base of crusher run (crushed stone with fines, which packs hard) with a cleaner, larger stone on top, depending on how the drive is used.

The right mix depends on the slope, the traffic and the ground underneath. Soft clay may need a thicker base or fabric under the stone.

If the driveway crosses a ditch, a draw or anywhere water runs, yes. The culvert has to be big enough for a heavy storm, not just an average rain.

Where the drive meets a state or county road, the road department may require a permit and a certain pipe size. Check with them first.

Regrade so the ground slopes away from the foundation, and move downspout and runoff water to where it can drain safely.

In clay, small grade changes matter. Keep the redirected water away from your septic field and your neighbor’s property.

Yes. Tennessee law requires notice to Tennessee 811 before digging, at least three working days ahead, so utility companies can mark their buried lines. Call 811 or file online.

811 marks public utility lines only. Private lines, like a well line, septic pipes or power run to a barn, are not marked, so tell your contractor where you know they are.

Deep enough for the type of line and the code that applies, below frost for water lines and at the depth the electrical code requires for power.

Your plumber, electrician and inspector set the depth; we dig to it and backfill cleanly so nothing sharp sits against the pipe or conduit.

The ground, the slope, the access and the scope: rock, steep or wet sites, long hauls, trees to clear and the type of septic system all change the price.

That is why we look at the site and lay the work out before pricing it. We don’t quote prices on the website, because no two East Tennessee lots are the same.

Ask for their TDEC septic installer permit if they install septic systems, and check a contractor license with the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors for larger jobs.

Tennessee requires a contractor’s license for projects of $25,000 or more. TDEC keeps a lookup of permitted septic installers and pumpers. Also ask about insurance, read reviews, and get the scope of work in writing.

No. Never enter a septic tank or lean into an open one. The gases inside (hydrogen sulfide and methane) and the lack of oxygen can kill in minutes, including people trying to help.

Keep lids secured and keep children and pets away from any open tank. Work inside tanks is for trained crews with proper equipment only.

Stop using water, keep people and pets out of the area, and call for help. Sewage is a health hazard.

Don’t try to dig up or open the system yourself. A septic pumper can check the tank, and if the system has failed, a repair may need a new permit.

Don’t drive, park or build on it, don’t plant trees near it, and don’t send roof or yard runoff onto it.

Grass is the best cover. Compacted or flooded soil can’t treat wastewater, and roots can clog the lines.

Call 423-231-4094 or send the request form with where the land is and what you want done.

We’ll walk the site with you, lay out the work and the price, and get your approval before the machines move.