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Treasure Hunter in your Yard?

Treasure Hunter in your Yard?
October 13, 2014 SNH Editorial Team

Treasure hunt in the front yard?  Sometimes it’s what you don’t find that matters!
In this case…. 

not finding a hidden underground oil tank is the win.  Home improvement starts with correctly assessing the condition of a home – that includes the long list of environmental factors.  After all: We all want to live in healthy surroundings !!!!

Today’s energy resources are so much cleaner- I reported on many great options.

Cleaning up the environment is important but can be expensive.  So, my advice is that before you buy a house check out a number of environmental factors – including having a licensed professional do a metal detection to see, if there is any metal, a.k.a. oil tank on the property.

When oil tanks were buried they were generally located just outside the foundation so that the distance to the furnace was short.  Therefore, test the area  band around the entire house about 10 feet off the foundation- even under an asphalt driveway. Who knows what was there so many decades ago.

Should an suspicious item turn up, the next step might be calling in the more expensive ground radar scan.  It depicts the full tank(s).

This still does not mean you know if oil is in the tank, or worse has leaked from the tank.  But you know there is a tank.  My advice is to excavate the tank and test the soil around it as part of the overall tank inspection prior to any house purchase.

Think you have gas and don’t have to concern yourself with this? No so fast: Gas furnaces came into existence in the 50’s.  If your house predates it, better do an oil tank scan – it’s the only way you can be sure!