Before excavation starts on a new build, three things need to be in place: permits from the municipality (house, septic system and well), a locate request with Info-Excavation for buried utilities, and a clear plan showing where the septic tank, leach field, well and driveway will go. At Wilfrid David in Chénéville, we handle excavation and plumbing, and we also work as a general contractor. That view of the whole project lets us plan each step with you, in the right order.
Permits come first
Most people think of the building permit. The septic permit is less well known. In Québec, the regulation on wastewater disposal for isolated dwellings (Q-2, r. 22) requires a municipal permit before building a home that will not be connected to a sewer system. The application includes, among other things, the number of bedrooms and a site characterization study covering slope, soil permeability, and the depth of bedrock and groundwater.
The well also falls under the municipality. The drilling report required by Québec's water withdrawal and protection regulation includes the municipal permit number.
We recommend contacting your municipality's planning department early, ideally before you choose a house plan. Each municipality has its own zoning bylaw (setbacks, shoreline buffers and so on), and it is the municipality that can tell you which rules apply to your lot.
The septic system and well determine where the house goes
It is usually more efficient to locate the septic system and the well first, then position the house. The characteristics of the land guide those choices.
Québec's water withdrawal and protection regulation sets distances between a well and a septic system: at least 15 metres from a watertight system and at least 30 metres from a non-watertight one, which can be reduced to 15 metres if the well is sealed as the regulation requires. On a wooded or sloped lot, or one with exposed bedrock, meeting these distances takes careful planning. Wells and leach fields on neighbouring properties close to the lot line must also be taken into account.
Once the site characterization study is done, the possible location of the leach field is known, and the well and house are positioned accordingly. We describe the next steps in our article on installing a new septic system.
Info-Excavation: one request before digging
Even in rural areas, cables and pipes may be buried under your lot or along the road. Info-Excavation coordinates the locating of these networks. The request is free and is made at info-ex.com. The Régie du bâtiment du Québec recommends filing it at least 4 business days before work begins.
This step is essential to job site safety. Striking a buried cable or pipe with an excavator puts people on site at risk and can cut service to the whole area.
Site access
All the equipment arrives by the access road: the excavator, the concrete truck, the well drilling rig, material deliveries and the septic tank itself. The road needs to be ready before work begins.
Points to check include the width of the road, its slope, the load capacity of any culvert and low-hanging branches. If the driveway meets a municipal road, ask your municipality whether permission is required to build it. Keep spring in mind as well: during the thaw, only a well-built road remains usable for heavy equipment.
Plan for space around the excavation, too. The soil removed for the foundation has to be stored on site until backfilling, which takes up a significant area on a small wooded lot.
Drainage, planned from the start
A lot graded toward the house sends water to the foundation. We plan the grading during excavation so that water flows away from the building, and we install a French drain around the foundation with a proper outlet.
Installing a French drain after the house is finished, once landscaping and a deck are in place, is a much larger job. We discuss this in our article on French drains.
When to call a professional
Do you have a lot and a building project? Contact us at 819-428-3161 before booking any machinery. We will review site access, the location of the septic system and well, and drainage with you.
As a general contractor, we can manage the project from excavation through to the finishing work, or handle only the excavation and plumbing. For the wastewater side, see our septic systems service as well.
Filed under General contractor · Excavation · Septic systems
