Anonymous
04/27/2024 20:21
Subject: Please help this city dweller: what do well water and on site septic mean?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have only ever lived in cities and close-in planned communities. I'm looking at a exurb/country place on Redfin right now that has "well water" in the listing. Also "on site septic". What does this entail compared to my urban place with water and sewer that are integrated into the city systems?
Also, it's 5 acres (with stable, horse allowed!). Horse aside - my daughter will go nuts - is that much land manageable for a regular family? On large exurb plots like this, I suppose people outsource the mowing and shrubbery maintenance? How much does it cost?
Any other questions I should be asking myself, regarding moving to somewhere more rural? I've considered commute and schools.
It means more land, longer commute, more things to fix but for less upfront cost.
How many kids do you have and is it a neighborhood with an HOA or private road?
OP here. 2 teens, one in college already, no HOA, no private road, but a cul de sac. All the properties are 5 acres min. Some restricted farming allowed, but I don't think the properties close to the one on sale do any of that (maybe a hen coop, but hard to tell).
Pull the deed and title records to see what the restrictive covenants are on the neighbors properties, if any. My neighbors have restrictions, they cannot subdivide their property, own more than 6 horses or 3 alpacas, chickens (up to 20 I think) are allowed, but no roosters, no pigs and no cows.
They might not now, but you can never assume what will happen in the future especially when people have plenty of space, no hoa, and rural zoning.
Anonymous
04/27/2024 20:18
Subject: Please help this city dweller: what do well water and on site septic mean?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have only ever lived in cities and close-in planned communities. I'm looking at a exurb/country place on Redfin right now that has "well water" in the listing. Also "on site septic". What does this entail compared to my urban place with water and sewer that are integrated into the city systems?
Also, it's 5 acres (with stable, horse allowed!). Horse aside - my daughter will go nuts - is that much land manageable for a regular family? On large exurb plots like this, I suppose people outsource the mowing and shrubbery maintenance? How much does it cost?
Any other questions I should be asking myself, regarding moving to somewhere more rural? I've considered commute and schools.
It means more land, longer commute, more things to fix but for less upfront cost.
How many kids do you have and is it a neighborhood with an HOA or private road?
OP here. 2 teens, one in college already, no HOA, no private road, but a cul de sac. All the properties are 5 acres min. Some restricted farming allowed, but I don't think the properties close to the one on sale do any of that (maybe a hen coop, but hard to tell).
Cul De Sac is good. This sounds like a good option me. You have your own space, no thru traffic, and some neighbors if you want to socialize with people.
Anonymous
04/27/2024 19:56
Subject: Please help this city dweller: what do well water and on site septic mean?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have only ever lived in cities and close-in planned communities. I'm looking at a exurb/country place on Redfin right now that has "well water" in the listing. Also "on site septic". What does this entail compared to my urban place with water and sewer that are integrated into the city systems?
Also, it's 5 acres (with stable, horse allowed!). Horse aside - my daughter will go nuts - is that much land manageable for a regular family? On large exurb plots like this, I suppose people outsource the mowing and shrubbery maintenance? How much does it cost?
Any other questions I should be asking myself, regarding moving to somewhere more rural? I've considered commute and schools.
It means more land, longer commute, more things to fix but for less upfront cost.
How many kids do you have and is it a neighborhood with an HOA or private road?
OP here. 2 teens, one in college already, no HOA, no private road, but a cul de sac. All the properties are 5 acres min. Some restricted farming allowed, but I don't think the properties close to the one on sale do any of that (maybe a hen coop, but hard to tell).
They might not now, but you can never assume what will happen in the future especially when people have plenty of space, no hoa, and rural zoning.
Anonymous
04/27/2024 15:45
Subject: Please help this city dweller: what do well water and on site septic mean?
Anonymous wrote:
OP here.
Wow, thank you for the great advice! You've been very helpful
Yes, there are woods on about a third of the property, and on satellite view and photos/videos, this and neighboring properties look well-maintained. I dug into the Master Plan for that area and apparently the residents and powers that be wish to keep their area rural and not too developed. It's designated a conservation area type IV, which is the least developed (even though it's not that far from DC). I agree with PPs about keeping a portion of the property wild.
Adding a question: I've heard of people keeping a few goats or sheep, as pets, but also to keep their lawns "self-mowed" and free of encroaching jungle. There is a stable and field on the property already. What do you guys think? Is this crazy? Maybe I could just rent them when I need to. I know a couple of people who do that.
Mow a perimeter along the woods 6-7 times and you’ll be fine.
Depending on topography/layout, you could get a sub compact tractor with a belly mower. If you have acreage, the functionality of a loader on a small tractor is really huge.
But, if you have a lot of trees, tight turns, small spaces, you’ll need a zero turn.
You’ve really graduated when you have a sbs, zero turn, and tractor.
Anonymous
04/27/2024 13:22
Subject: Re:Please help this city dweller: what do well water and on site septic mean?
We had 6.25 acres before we moved here. We had about 3 acres of woods, 2 acres of grass around the house and then about an acre that we put in a wildflower prairie. Get a good zero turn to mow, it took maybe 1 1/2 hours to mow the whole yard. We also had a large tractor with a front loader that also had a snow thrower. We were in an area that got a good amount of snow though and the drifts could get 2-3 ft high in places. Def get a whole house generator, preferably one that automatically turns on when the power goes out and can handle at least the major items ( well, heat, outlets that any fridges/freezers are on).
Anonymous
04/27/2024 12:07
Subject: Please help this city dweller: what do well water and on site septic mean?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
OP here.
Wow, thank you for the great advice! You've been very helpful :-)
Yes, there are woods on about a third of the property, and on satellite view and photos/videos, this and neighboring properties look well-maintained. I dug into the Master Plan for that area and apparently the residents and powers that be wish to keep their area rural and not too developed. It's designated a conservation area type IV, which is the least developed (even though it's not that far from DC). I agree with PPs about keeping a portion of the property wild.
Adding a question: I've heard of people keeping a few goats or sheep, as pets, but also to keep their lawns "self-mowed" and free of encroaching jungle. There is a stable and field on the property already. What do you guys think? Is this crazy? Maybe I could just rent them when I need to. I know a couple of people who do that.
Is the field separate from the main house? How big of an area is it? Is it attached to a neighbor’s property/part of a larger field?
OP here. Eyeballing, maybe one fenced acre, past the landscaped back yard. Abuts to property line.
Anonymous
04/27/2024 11:49
Subject: Please help this city dweller: what do well water and on site septic mean?
It means you don’t have water coming into your house via a city water line. If the well dries up, you’ll need to dig another. You’ll need to pump the septic tank sometimes.
Anonymous
04/27/2024 11:49
Subject: Please help this city dweller: what do well water and on site septic mean?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It means that your water will come from a well that is drilled on the property. You'll want to make sure that it is drilled to a depth that hits a significant aquifer, and that there aren't any concerns about that aquifer running dry. You also may need to treat your water if it is hard, and have fluoride treatments on your teeth by your dentist (because there won't be any fluoride in your water). And you won't be able to access water when the power goes out.
Instead of your waste going to a sewer, it will go into a septic tank, which you'll have to have emptied periodically. You won't have a garbage disposal.
I don't think either is a big deal, but I grew up with both.
Get a riding mower, and put your kids to work. It was my chore to cut 3 acres starting in about 4th grade. I started with a weed wacker in about 7th.
This, except we have a garbage disposal.
Well & septic are non issues, low maintenance.
Love neighbors aren't too close, and no one walking up our long driveway to vandalize our cars.
This is true.
And also, some weird advice in this thread.
5 acres isn’t that big.
Switching drain fields is a thing on a specific type of system that is uncommon.
You don’t need to do anything to “maintain” trees if part of your land is in woods. (Source: I own a property with 13 acres of woods, also the Washington and Jefferson Forests are hundreds of thousands of acres… I don’t think there’s an army of forest gnomes fertilizing and trimming the trees, but maybe I’m wrong)
Gotta watch out for tree-strangling invasive vines. Oriental bittersweet is awful!
Anonymous
04/27/2024 11:48
Subject: Please help this city dweller: what do well water and on site septic mean?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
OP here.
Wow, thank you for the great advice! You've been very helpful :-)
Yes, there are woods on about a third of the property, and on satellite view and photos/videos, this and neighboring properties look well-maintained. I dug into the Master Plan for that area and apparently the residents and powers that be wish to keep their area rural and not too developed. It's designated a conservation area type IV, which is the least developed (even though it's not that far from DC). I agree with PPs about keeping a portion of the property wild.
Adding a question: I've heard of people keeping a few goats or sheep, as pets, but also to keep their lawns "self-mowed" and free of encroaching jungle. There is a stable and field on the property already. What do you guys think? Is this crazy? Maybe I could just rent them when I need to. I know a couple of people who do that.
Is the field separate from the main house? How big of an area is it? Is it attached to a neighbor’s property/part of a larger field?
Typically it's yours and yours alone. We have a small farm as a getaway with septic. Be very thoughtful of what goes down the drain. The more stuff you send down that the bacteria can't digest, the more often you'll have to get it pumped out.
We feed it bacteria (RidX) a couple times a year. Not sure it makes a difference.
Anonymous
04/27/2024 10:50
Subject: Please help this city dweller: what do well water and on site septic mean?
Anonymous wrote:
OP here.
Wow, thank you for the great advice! You've been very helpful
Yes, there are woods on about a third of the property, and on satellite view and photos/videos, this and neighboring properties look well-maintained. I dug into the Master Plan for that area and apparently the residents and powers that be wish to keep their area rural and not too developed. It's designated a conservation area type IV, which is the least developed (even though it's not that far from DC). I agree with PPs about keeping a portion of the property wild.
Adding a question: I've heard of people keeping a few goats or sheep, as pets, but also to keep their lawns "self-mowed" and free of encroaching jungle. There is a stable and field on the property already. What do you guys think? Is this crazy? Maybe I could just rent them when I need to. I know a couple of people who do that.
I live on two acres in an area of 2-3+ acre lots. When we moved in, one of our neighbors had a small fenced-in area with a shelter and like 4 sheep. The sheep lived in that area but free-roamed their lot plus the next-door neighbor's (I'm assuming the two of them worked that out), I would see them occasionally when walking my dog--their lot had a wooded border that didn't encourage the sheep to roam further. They would stare for a minute and then run away even though we were never actually close to them, they definitely stuck close to home but that isn't always the case.
It was charming, because my neighborhood definitely feels more suburban than farm-y. But eventually they got rid of the sheep, they aren't around any more. The sheep would get SUPER shaggy and scrubby-looking, though--keep in mind that you're going to have to find someone who will shear them yearly, it makes it harder to go on vacations and whatnot because you have to find someone willing to come and tend them (no sheep boarding!) and they will require on-site visits from vets, etc. It's more complicated than you think to have even a small number of livestock.
We have a well and septic. We're in LoCo and an annual inspection of our septic is required, pump-outs are about every 3-4 years (we're a family of four). Our well is very deep and I really like the water, but we had to add an iron mitigation system -- lots of iron staining in the toilet bowls and tanks when we moved in, we scrubbed the bowls with pumice stones and that has gotten better with the additional treatment. We also have a softener (otherwise we get an egg-y smell and the taste degrades) and DH regularly hauls 50-lb bags of salt to fill that system.
OH, and the other thing is, depending on the age of the system and your tolerance for risk, actual septic-safe toilet paper is the thinnest single-ply out there (Scott brand, again, single-ply). I know not everyone does that, but we do on the recommendation of our plumber. Let me tell you, it takes some getting used to and I still miss Charmin, lol.
If your well isn't deep enough or the aquifer starts having issues, though, you are SOL. That happened out in Round Hill this summer, where some of the houses' wells were going dry because we were in drought conditions for an extended period (but not even *that* long!).
We currently pay about $90 a week to have our two acres mowed. If we lived on more, I would seriously consider doing what a pp suggested and re-wilding it to cut down on maintenance and provide more habitat. The other thing to think about on large and partly-wooded lots is that you will inevitably deal with things like mice, rats, voles, and sometimes larger animals like skunks or diggers like woodchucks (which cannot legally be relocated, I believe), falling or sick trees, etc. We have a pest company regularly spray the house perimeter and we have traps strategically placed so we catch mice before they get into food (it took a bit of figuring out where best placement was--if we catch them in the basement, they never make it into the pantry). We check the traps regularly and catch probably 5 or so a year, mostly in the fall when it starts getting cold. Get good snap-traps, NOT glue traps.
Anonymous
04/27/2024 10:37
Subject: Please help this city dweller: what do well water and on site septic mean?
Anonymous wrote:
OP here.
Wow, thank you for the great advice! You've been very helpful :-)
Yes, there are woods on about a third of the property, and on satellite view and photos/videos, this and neighboring properties look well-maintained. I dug into the Master Plan for that area and apparently the residents and powers that be wish to keep their area rural and not too developed. It's designated a conservation area type IV, which is the least developed (even though it's not that far from DC). I agree with PPs about keeping a portion of the property wild.
Adding a question: I've heard of people keeping a few goats or sheep, as pets, but also to keep their lawns "self-mowed" and free of encroaching jungle. There is a stable and field on the property already. What do you guys think? Is this crazy? Maybe I could just rent them when I need to. I know a couple of people who do that.
Is the field separate from the main house? How big of an area is it? Is it attached to a neighbor’s property/part of a larger field?
Anonymous
04/27/2024 10:20
Subject: Please help this city dweller: what do well water and on site septic mean?
It means "don't do it!"
Anonymous
04/27/2024 10:02
Subject: Please help this city dweller: what do well water and on site septic mean?
You don’t need a tractor or goats. Just get a good zero turn. If you keep the property mowed there will be no encroachment.
Anonymous
04/27/2024 09:52
Subject: Please help this city dweller: what do well water and on site septic mean?
OP here.
Wow, thank you for the great advice! You've been very helpful
Yes, there are woods on about a third of the property, and on satellite view and photos/videos, this and neighboring properties look well-maintained. I dug into the Master Plan for that area and apparently the residents and powers that be wish to keep their area rural and not too developed. It's designated a conservation area type IV, which is the least developed (even though it's not that far from DC). I agree with PPs about keeping a portion of the property wild.
Adding a question: I've heard of people keeping a few goats or sheep, as pets, but also to keep their lawns "self-mowed" and free of encroaching jungle. There is a stable and field on the property already. What do you guys think? Is this crazy? Maybe I could just rent them when I need to. I know a couple of people who do that.
Anonymous
04/27/2024 09:49
Subject: Please help this city dweller: what do well water and on site septic mean?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It means that your water will come from a well that is drilled on the property. You'll want to make sure that it is drilled to a depth that hits a significant aquifer, and that there aren't any concerns about that aquifer running dry. You also may need to treat your water if it is hard, and have fluoride treatments on your teeth by your dentist (because there won't be any fluoride in your water). And you won't be able to access water when the power goes out.
Instead of your waste going to a sewer, it will go into a septic tank, which you'll have to have emptied periodically. You won't have a garbage disposal.
I don't think either is a big deal, but I grew up with both.
Get a riding mower, and put your kids to work. It was my chore to cut 3 acres starting in about 4th grade. I started with a weed wacker in about 7th.
This, except we have a garbage disposal.
Well & septic are non issues, low maintenance.
Love neighbors aren't too close, and no one walking up our long driveway to vandalize our cars.
We also have a garbage disposal. Modern code allows for garbage disposals on septic.
You can’t flush tampons into a septic system, but I don’t think people do that anymore on city sewer, either.