A failed septic inspection can cost sellers far more than they expect.

Shelby is an editor with an affinity for covering home improvement and repair, design and real estate trends. She also specializes in content strategy and entrepreneur coaching for small businesses, ...

Q: I recently moved from a house on a city sewer system to a rural retirement home that has a septic tank. What can you tell me about septic tanks? At my last home, I had clogging issues in my main ...

Q. Howdy, Tim. I discovered on askthebuilder.com that you’ve been a master plumber for 40 years. I recently moved from a city house on a city sewer to a rural retirement home that has a septic tank.

Question: The home we’re buying was built in 1947, and it still has the original septic tank. We’ve never had a home with a septic system. The seller promised to pay for an inspection and then backed ...

For reasons I do not fully understand, sewer lines are most likely to get clogged when one is having a big gathering at the house. Sometimes it’s just because a well-meaning volunteer in the kitchen ...