Septic Replacement
When a septic system fails, we install the new tank or drain field the county's repair permit calls for. Call or text (336) 516-7170 for a free quote.
Learn More
North of the city, around Bahama and Rougemont, Durham County is still rural. Durham's planners map more than 100 square miles there as the Rural Tier. Sewer lines reach into that tier only in narrow cases, so houses there usually run on septic systems. In the Bahama ZIP code, about half the homes were built in the 1970s and 1980s.
JRC Construction is based in Burlington, and Durham County is part of our service area. We install complete septic systems here, for new houses and in place of failed ones. It is the same septic system installation we do around Burlington. Call or text (336) 516-7170, and we will look at the lot and put a free quote in writing.
Tell us about the septic system, lot, driveway, teardown or home project and where it is. We look at the job and put your free quote in writing.
Durham's development ordinance sorts the county into tiers. The Rural Tier lies outside the suburbs and largely within the critical areas around the water supply lakes. The ordinance says it should keep a rural focus, with large lots, to protect farmland and water.
Bahama and Rougemont are the county's two Rural Villages, and both sit inside that tier. Bahama is in the critical area around Lake Michie and the Little River Reservoir. Those two lakes are the City of Durham's two main sources of drinking water.
Most homes out here are single-family houses. In the Bahama ZIP code, the Census counts 98 percent of homes as single-family detached. The same county office that permits septic systems also permits private wells. State rules keep any part of a septic system at least 50 feet from a private well.
A septic permit follows the soil, and Durham's soil changes across the county. Around Bahama and Rougemont, the most common soils are Georgeville and Herndon. Both weathered from volcanic rock of the Carolina Slate Belt, and both drain well. NRCS still rates them somewhat limited for drain fields because water moves slowly.
South and east of the city, the ground is Triassic basin clay. White Store is the most common soil in Durham County, about a third of its mapped acres. It weathered from Triassic mudstone and shale, and water moves through it slowly. NRCS rates White Store very limited for septic drain fields.
NRCS data puts a wet layer in White Store about 15 inches down from December into spring. On ground like that, the county may call for a pump system instead of plain gravity trenches. The same clay shrinks and swells a great deal, which matters for footings under a new house.
Septic permits here come from the Environmental Health Division of the Durham County Department of Public Health. Its On-Site Water Protection section does the site evaluations for septic and well permits. The same staff inspect septic systems and wells during construction.
The state rules, 15A NCAC 18E, set the order of the steps. After the soil evaluation, the county issues an Improvement Permit, then a Construction Authorization. North Carolina judges the soil itself, with borings or pits, rather than a perc test. The county inspects the system before it is covered, then issues the Operation Permit.
State law puts the building permit after the Construction Authorization. In Durham, the City-County Building and Safety Department issues building permits for both the city and the county. Durham's ordinance also recommends an early soil evaluation by a qualified soil scientist wherever a septic system is planned.
Much of north Durham County drains to drinking water lakes, and the ordinance adds watershed rules there. Near Lake Michie and the Little River Reservoir, new subdivision lots in the Rural Tier start at 3 acres. Rural Villages and cluster layouts follow different numbers. In the critical area closest to those lakes, the ordinance limits hard surfaces to 6 percent of a site.
Durham County also requires a land disturbance permit once work disturbs more than 12,000 square feet, even inside city limits. The county counts the septic field in that area, along with the clearing and grading for the house. Streams draining to Falls Lake carry a 50-foot state buffer, and the first 30 feet is meant to stay undisturbed. That limits land clearing close to a creek bank.
From Burlington, I-40 and I-85 run east together toward Hillsborough, where I-85 splits off into Durham. NC 57 runs north from there toward Rougemont, and Bahama Road runs out past Lake Michie. East of the city, toward Gorman and Falls Lake, the county has seen heavy development in recent years. In Oak Grove Township, about half the homes were built in 2000 or later.
Communities and areas we serve around Durham: Bahama, Rougemont, Gorman, Mangum Township, Oak Grove Township, Lake Michie, Little River Reservoir, Falls Lake, Eno River State Park, Historic Stagville, Bahama Road, Old Oxford Highway.
Durham ZIP codes served: 27503, 27572, 27712, 27704, 27705.
Durham is part of our service area. We look at the job first, then put a free quote in writing.
(336) 516-7170 When a septic system fails, we install the new tank or drain field the county's repair permit calls for. Call or text (336) 516-7170 for a free quote.
Learn More
Excavation for new house sites and the trenches for septic lines, within about 55 miles of Burlington. We look at the job and put a free quote in writing.
Learn More
We clear wooded lots and acreage for a new house or a pasture. The stumps come out with the trees, and the brush is hauled off.
Learn More
Yard grading for drainage and site grading before a build. We shape the ground so rain runs away from the house.
Learn More
New gravel driveways and extensions for homes and land around Burlington. We also regrade worn driveways and top them with fresh crush and run.
Learn More
We dig footings to the plan for new homes, additions, garages and porches around Burlington. The trenches are ready for the footing inspection before any concrete goes in.
Learn More
We take down houses, garages, barns and sheds around Burlington and haul off what comes down. Call or text for a free quote in writing.
Learn More
We load and haul off construction and demolition debris around Burlington. We also haul storm wood and the brush piles from clearing.
Learn More
Overgrown fields and fence lines cut back to open ground with machines. Most people around Burlington call it bush hogging.
Learn More
New homes, remodels, additions and repairs within about 30 miles of Burlington. On our own builds, the site work comes from our excavation side.
Learn MoreA few of the questions we hear most around Durham. If yours is not here, call or text and ask.
Tell us where the job is and what you need done. Call or text (336) 516-7170, or send the form, for a free quote.
Tell us about the septic system, lot, driveway, teardown or home project and where it is. We look at the job and put your free quote in writing.