Installers and owner-builders ask us the same thing every spring: what do I need on site for a septic install, and for how long? Here is the equipment list by task, with the machine we would send.
The tank hole: excavator
A concrete or poly tank sits below the house outlet, which means a hole typically eight to ten feet deep and wide enough to work around the tank. That is beyond a U17 and squarely in Kubota U35 territory: about ten feet of dig depth and enough breakout force to open clay without fighting it. The tank itself is set by the delivery truck's boom or by the excavator with proper rigging, never by hand.
The trench from the house: excavator
The building sewer runs from the house to the tank, then from the tank to the distribution box and bed, on a steady fall. The U35 digs it in one pass; the U17 can do it where access to the side of the house is tight and the tank is shallow.
The leaching bed: excavator and loader
A conventional bed is a shallow, wide excavation with trenches for the runs; a raised or filter bed is a pad built up with imported sand. The excavator opens the bed and digs the runs to grade; the SVL75-3 track loader spreads and levels the sand and clear stone, which arrives by the triaxle load. Grades matter, since the whole system works by gravity, so a laser level is on every good installer's truck.
Backfill and finish: loader
After the inspector has seen the open system, backfill in lifts, avoid driving over the bed, and topsoil and seed it. The loader does this; the excavator is usually gone by then.
Trailer
Spoil from the tank hole has to go somewhere. If it is leaving the site, our tilt trailers haul it; if it is staying, the loader moves it to where you want it.
Typical rental
Installers usually take the U35 for two or three days and the SVL75-3 for two, or both for the week at $1,500 and $1,250 delivered. Owner-builders working with a licensed installer often prefer an operated rental so our operator runs the excavator to the installer's grades.
Rules that apply to every septic dig
A Part 8 Ontario Building Code sewage system permit before starting. Ontario One Call locates, free and required by law, at least five business days ahead. Nobody in an unshored trench or tank hole deeper than four feet. Inspections before backfill. Our full septic guide covers the permit process for Georgina, Durham and Kawartha Lakes.
Call or text 905-251-2521 with your install date and we will have the machines there the morning your installer starts.