7 steps · 46 questions to choose from
Septic project planner
The first twenty minutes of a septic visit are usually spent working out what you already know: where the system is, when it was last serviced, what you have noticed, what changed. That time is yours, it is billable, and it produces information you could have written down beforehand.
This organises it. It does not diagnose anything, it does not tell you what work you need, and it does not replace an inspection — it makes sure the person who does inspect starts further along.
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What the planner covers
- Why you are planning septic work. Everything else on the planner is shaped by this answer. Pick the closest match — you can change it later.
- The property. Enough for a professional to know what kind of property they are coming to. No address, no name, nothing that identifies you.
- What is known about the system. For each part, say what you actually know and how you know it. "The previous owner said so" is a real answer and stays labelled as one.
- What you have observed. What you can see, from a safe distance. Selecting an observation records what you noticed — it does not identify a cause, and nothing here concludes that a component has failed.
- What has changed recently. Anything on this list is context a professional may want. None of it establishes that a change caused a problem — that is a judgement for someone who has seen the property.
- Getting to the system. Access is the most common reason a visit achieves less than it should. Nothing here asks you to uncover, move or open anything.
- What you want evaluated. What you are asking a professional to look at. Selecting a goal does not mean any particular provider offers that service.
- Review and generate. Print a scope request, open the visit checklist, carry stable facts into the system record, or decide to request professional help — reviewing exactly what would be sent first.
What the planner will not do
Worth stating plainly, because several of these are things a tool like this could easily be built to do and should not be.
- It will not tell you what is wrong. Selecting an observation records what you noticed; it does not identify a cause or a faulty component.
- It will not size a tank, estimate capacity, or tell you what your system should be.
- It will not tell you whether the property complies with local requirements. Those are set locally and differ between neighbouring jurisdictions.
- It will not estimate a price, and it publishes no benchmark for your quotes to be measured against.
- It will not rank contractors or tell you which proposal is best.
- It will not read your inspection report as a pass or a fail. Where you transcribe report wording, that wording is yours, not a conclusion of ours.
Common questions about the planner
Is anything I enter here sent to SepticOwner or a contractor?
No, not until you choose to continue and review exactly what would be submitted. The planner saves to your own browser under one versioned key, and there is no network request in it at all. Analytics records that the planner was used, never what you entered.
Will it still be here tomorrow?
Yes, on this browser and this device. It is saved in local storage, which survives closing the tab. It is not saved to an account, so it will not follow you to your phone — and clearing it removes it completely.
Does completing the planner replace an inspection?
No. It records what you know and what you have noticed. It cannot establish what is wrong, what condition the system is in, or what work is required — those need a professional on the property, and the planner is designed to make that visit more productive rather than to substitute for it.
Why does it ask how I know something?
Because a permit record and a previous owner’s recollection are both useful and are not the same thing. Keeping them distinguishable is most of the value in handing this to a contractor — and nothing in the tool ever upgrades a belief into a confirmed fact.
Why does it not ask for my name or address?
Because it does not need them and storing them would create a liability with no benefit. The request form asks for contact details separately, and you fill those in yourself at the point you decide to send something.
What if I do not know most of the answers?
That is a normal starting point and it is worth recording. A documented list of unknowns is the agenda for the visit, and it tells a professional where to spend their time.