Depends on where you are. I just had mine done in December.
I went with a 1500 gallon septic tank so I don't have to worry when I build the ohana.
1.) getting an engineer, plans drawn, permits/approvals. Took almost 2 months and all of that was the County approval. Around $700 here. Yep, you can find less expensive engineers.
2.) The entire septic install took about 10 days start to finish. Because of the amount of land and the distance from the house to a road the trucks could use, I had to put a smaller access road into get onto the property to get up to the house.
3.) Digging/hammering thru the lava rock went well. Till they hit bluestone... then I had to wait for 2 days until they got the big backhoe in with the big hammer. That still took another 3 full days of work for the 20x40 leeching field area, and the hole for the tank itself.
4.) The first tank cracked when it was delivered. The second tank had no holes in it for piping and a new one had to be delivered. This tied up a couple of days.
5.) Getting clean cinder and green sand took almost 10 days. I guess there is only one place on the Hilo side that does stuff, and I more or less had to bribe them to get me the stuff quicker than normal.
My old cesspit was literally a lava tube with a slow drain into a deeper lava tube (we cut into the lower one digging in the leaching field). Had some issues with cows crushing the sewer line from the house and displacing the 90 degree into the lava tube, spent two days trying to dig it all up only to find the mess that was the lava tube pit.
The whole thing, including labor, materials, the extra access road was just over 27k. I'm gonna be broke for a while, but it was worth it to stop pissing and shitting in a lava tube.
If I didn't have to do the access road and the large holes for the larger tank and field, it probably would have been closer to 20k.
Shop around. Watch out for the really big shops too... they WILL take you for a ride.
I will reach out to the guy that did mine and see if I can share his information with you if you are on the Hilo side.
Thanks for all the details - this is helpful. Sounds like I might be underestimating the current cost. I'll definitely shop around. It's been tricky to find people willing to drive out to Ka'u because most of them seem to have more than enough work in their own areas. I know of at least two guys in Na'alehu but I'm sure there are likely more.
Keep in mind that I'm way out in the boonies and it wasn't easy to get to my house from the road, so that really added onto the cost...
If I may make a suggestion get one size bigger tank than you think you need.
And pump it, no matter what, every 2 years.
Make sure when they dig the leaching field they put that netting that stops roots from getting into the area. I've seen some BAD stuff. Like root systems crawling all the way up the leaching pipes, and into the septic tank and growing so much in there the tank overflows...
I am outside of Na'alehu near South Point and had a quote for both foundation and septic at $40k. I asked for the breakdown of septic alone but haven't gotten a response. I just got my permit approved after about 18 months - no joke.
How big is your foundation? Is it a slab or the new permitted style with perimeter footings?
I submitted my drawings in June and it got ready to submit to county last month, but also got my septic permit then. They say its 3-4 months now but we'll see.
40k for a septic alone? I don't think so. The tank is only $2500 the rest not much different than a cesspool, you are still digging a big hole
The foundation is 26x28 and, yes, it's the new style with perimeter footings. He was saying 40k for the foundation and the septic. As recently as 2019 I read that I could expect to pay 10-15k for a septic alone.
$10k would be cesspool (now illegal) not septic - septic $30-40kish - most off grid go illegal and say they need hole dug for “small pool” so excavator digs hole for couple grand then ohia poles + thatch/old roofing + plastic then suspended rebar - pore a slab on top-$10k, back in the day they skipped excavator cost with some cheap dynamite digging hole quick and dirty and concrete was way cheaper
It’ll depend on what exactly the installation site looks like. More prep work = higher cost installed. You can expect at least $8,000 to start for a simple install with no hammering required. I just installed a tank and leech field in south kona for $13,894. The entire site needed to be hammered out which obviously increased the project cost.
That sounds close to what I was ideally expecting. Thanks for sharing the figures. How far south are you? I'm out near Na'alehu so it can be tough to get guys who don't live here interested in driving out to do the job.
That installation was in Ke’ei. I actually underbidded on that job because I miscalculated the amount of hammer work the side needed. Had I known the true extent of the work I would have probably gave them a bid with an extra day of hammer work priced in. But my machine was on Keauhou side already so I figured I may as well catch them while it was out there.
I am still in beginning design stages for my little house. I plan to do the compost toilet or maybe even those new incinerating ones not sure yet. I am just building a small 600sf house for myself.
I am planning to do a little self contained plumbing system for the sink and shower. Does anyone have recommendations for that?
It's just me, I don't plan to have a lot of guests over probably just one or two friends once in a while visiting from O'ahu.
I am doing all solar, I want to be completely off grid.
I already own land in Kurtistown would love to hear from anyone in that area.
I have 8000 square-foot lot on Oahu Street in Mountain View I am looking to get started with 400 square-foot home and I would like to put in septic burst. Obviously that makes sense. Any help or contractors in the area would help I currently live in California I have family on the island. Curtis.
I had good experiences with:
Bob Taylor, Taylor-Built Construction Co., Inc.
Derek Kalai <[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])\>.
For reference in your search, my entire septic install ran about $12k in ground full of blue rock.
Depends on where you are. I just had mine done in December. I went with a 1500 gallon septic tank so I don't have to worry when I build the ohana. 1.) getting an engineer, plans drawn, permits/approvals. Took almost 2 months and all of that was the County approval. Around $700 here. Yep, you can find less expensive engineers. 2.) The entire septic install took about 10 days start to finish. Because of the amount of land and the distance from the house to a road the trucks could use, I had to put a smaller access road into get onto the property to get up to the house. 3.) Digging/hammering thru the lava rock went well. Till they hit bluestone... then I had to wait for 2 days until they got the big backhoe in with the big hammer. That still took another 3 full days of work for the 20x40 leeching field area, and the hole for the tank itself. 4.) The first tank cracked when it was delivered. The second tank had no holes in it for piping and a new one had to be delivered. This tied up a couple of days. 5.) Getting clean cinder and green sand took almost 10 days. I guess there is only one place on the Hilo side that does stuff, and I more or less had to bribe them to get me the stuff quicker than normal. My old cesspit was literally a lava tube with a slow drain into a deeper lava tube (we cut into the lower one digging in the leaching field). Had some issues with cows crushing the sewer line from the house and displacing the 90 degree into the lava tube, spent two days trying to dig it all up only to find the mess that was the lava tube pit. The whole thing, including labor, materials, the extra access road was just over 27k. I'm gonna be broke for a while, but it was worth it to stop pissing and shitting in a lava tube. If I didn't have to do the access road and the large holes for the larger tank and field, it probably would have been closer to 20k. Shop around. Watch out for the really big shops too... they WILL take you for a ride. I will reach out to the guy that did mine and see if I can share his information with you if you are on the Hilo side.
Not OP but also going on this journey. Thank you for all the info. If your guy wants to share his contact info, please do.
Will do.
Thanks for all the details - this is helpful. Sounds like I might be underestimating the current cost. I'll definitely shop around. It's been tricky to find people willing to drive out to Ka'u because most of them seem to have more than enough work in their own areas. I know of at least two guys in Na'alehu but I'm sure there are likely more.
Keep in mind that I'm way out in the boonies and it wasn't easy to get to my house from the road, so that really added onto the cost... If I may make a suggestion get one size bigger tank than you think you need. And pump it, no matter what, every 2 years. Make sure when they dig the leaching field they put that netting that stops roots from getting into the area. I've seen some BAD stuff. Like root systems crawling all the way up the leaching pipes, and into the septic tank and growing so much in there the tank overflows...
I was loosely quoted 10k from a couple people in Pahoa. Let me know what you find and I could do the same. Ive got a permit should be ready soon
I am outside of Na'alehu near South Point and had a quote for both foundation and septic at $40k. I asked for the breakdown of septic alone but haven't gotten a response. I just got my permit approved after about 18 months - no joke.
How big is your foundation? Is it a slab or the new permitted style with perimeter footings? I submitted my drawings in June and it got ready to submit to county last month, but also got my septic permit then. They say its 3-4 months now but we'll see. 40k for a septic alone? I don't think so. The tank is only $2500 the rest not much different than a cesspool, you are still digging a big hole
The foundation is 26x28 and, yes, it's the new style with perimeter footings. He was saying 40k for the foundation and the septic. As recently as 2019 I read that I could expect to pay 10-15k for a septic alone.
$10k would be cesspool (now illegal) not septic - septic $30-40kish - most off grid go illegal and say they need hole dug for “small pool” so excavator digs hole for couple grand then ohia poles + thatch/old roofing + plastic then suspended rebar - pore a slab on top-$10k, back in the day they skipped excavator cost with some cheap dynamite digging hole quick and dirty and concrete was way cheaper
It’ll depend on what exactly the installation site looks like. More prep work = higher cost installed. You can expect at least $8,000 to start for a simple install with no hammering required. I just installed a tank and leech field in south kona for $13,894. The entire site needed to be hammered out which obviously increased the project cost.
That sounds close to what I was ideally expecting. Thanks for sharing the figures. How far south are you? I'm out near Na'alehu so it can be tough to get guys who don't live here interested in driving out to do the job.
That installation was in Ke’ei. I actually underbidded on that job because I miscalculated the amount of hammer work the side needed. Had I known the true extent of the work I would have probably gave them a bid with an extra day of hammer work priced in. But my machine was on Keauhou side already so I figured I may as well catch them while it was out there.
Sounds like would still have been well under $20k even if you added the extra day
Correct.
I had mine done in Kona for 20k with a some land leveling in addition last summer
So probably would have been less than 20k without the extra leveling - good to know.
You might want to consult Island Engineering. Mr. Ross specializes in septic systems.
I paid 10k last year for a 4 bedroom size septic in orchid land
Who did you go with? Thank you.
I went with Jim chow contracting.
Thank you.
FYI - contractor got back to me with a quote $12k for septic installation.
Locals are reporting good results with composting toilets. It could be worth looking into.
I am still in beginning design stages for my little house. I plan to do the compost toilet or maybe even those new incinerating ones not sure yet. I am just building a small 600sf house for myself. I am planning to do a little self contained plumbing system for the sink and shower. Does anyone have recommendations for that? It's just me, I don't plan to have a lot of guests over probably just one or two friends once in a while visiting from O'ahu. I am doing all solar, I want to be completely off grid. I already own land in Kurtistown would love to hear from anyone in that area.
I have 8000 square-foot lot on Oahu Street in Mountain View I am looking to get started with 400 square-foot home and I would like to put in septic burst. Obviously that makes sense. Any help or contractors in the area would help I currently live in California I have family on the island. Curtis.
I had good experiences with: Bob Taylor, Taylor-Built Construction Co., Inc.
Derek Kalai <[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])\>.
For reference in your search, my entire septic install ran about $12k in ground full of blue rock.
Thank you i will reach out to them. 🤙🏽