Rental Property Investor · Jersey City, NJ · Member since 2013 · 88 posts · 7 votes
I just got a tank sweep done by a reputable company here in NJ. They scanned the sidewalk, backyard, and checked the basement and outside around the house for signs of oil piping. Nothing was found. This house was built in 1920 so it’s either they stuck with coal until gas lines were installed, they had above ground tank and they removed all the piping, or they removed the tank long time ago (town doesn’t have record of tank removal permit) or it’s somewhere under the front porch which is reinforced concrete porch. The company wasn’t able to scan it because of that.
They said that if I want to get the porch scanned, I would need to hire another company that does radar scan (which is much more expensive)
How likely is it that the tank is under the concrete porch?
Current furnace was installed in 1987 (very old) and it’s forced air furnace (no radiators)
Any recommendation on what I should do? Thanks! (Seller is selling the house as is)
Front Royal, VA · Member since 2016 · 306 posts · 240 votes
8y
I would look in basement for any signs of old piping or holes leading out that way to give clues of any tank installed in that area. I would think highly unlikely tank be in front but never know. If I saw any signs of pipes, holes, or repairs to foundation I would get it scanned. If nothing then I would say forget about it.
Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
8y
If there aren’t any other signs of oil tanks, I would forgo the radar scanning. While there may be a chance of something under the patio, I’d figure it’s highly unlikely if there are no remnants of supply lines or fill pipes.
Rental Property Investor · Jersey City, NJ · Member since 2013 · 88 posts · 7 votes
8y
the only sign was a patch job on the chimney in the basement, lower than the current chimney pipe. But that could have been for either coal or oil (or both). The chimney is toward the back of the property.