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Never build an addition on top of a buried oil tank!

buried oil tank
buried oil tank

What an exciting time! You’ve saved up the money, found your contractor, picked out the interior finishes, and you are finally ready to get started on building that long-awaited addition to your house. Wait a second! You have an old buried oil tank below where your new state-of-the-art entertainment center will be. Your contractor says not to worry about it; you will not be using the tank now that we are converting your heat to electric. They insist the tank is not in the way of the footings, so it can be left alone. It will be in the new crawlspace anyway.

            Greentrax has seen the above scenario many times, whether it be a large addition, a screen porch, an enclosed patio, a deck, or a large concrete seating area. The bottom line is that if you have a buried tank in or right near where you will be adding something new to your house, you need to remove the tank BEFORE you start work.

            An underground storage tank (UST) removal is a simple process that only takes a few hours onsite to perform the work. However, if you build something on top of it; then later when it comes time and you have to deal with it, you can double, triple, or even quadruple the cost of dealing with the tank in a proper manner. Not to mention the fact that you run the risk of having to cut a hole in your brand new concrete patio, remove a section of that new deck, or yes, even have to cut a hole in the floor of your new addition to properly remove or abandon that fuel tank you thought was no big deal.

            I know what you’re thinking, “We are never moving so I won’t have to deal with that buried oil tank!” But then just 1 year after you built that new deck your spouse might land the job of their dreams and you will be moving out of state. Or perhaps you’re in the military and you get orders for a new station?  Or maybe you unexpectedly fall on hard times and have to sell the house? There could be numerous situations that come up that you were not expecting that cause you to move. An old underground tank is a big deal when it comes time to sell the house. Do not wait; deal with it now.  Selling a house can be a stressful process, do not add the problem of dealing with the tank removal, and potentially the cost of a leaking tank, to the process of all the other things you have to do to sell the house.

Thankfully, Greentrax is here to help you get your UST sorted out simply. Contact us today to learn more about our methods and how we can help you so that you can get moving on that new addition.

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