What is an Oil Tank Sweep?
A tank sweep is an evaluation of a property for an undisclosed intact buried oil tank.
You do a tank sweep so you don't buy a property with a $60,000 oil tank leak cleanup.
With homes built or experiencing renovations between the early 1940s and the 1990s, oil heat was highly possible as the era of construction limits possible fuel sources.
For example, the following property was listed for sale in 2022:
According to records research, the approximate 2,262 square foot residential dwelling was constructed in 1979. The current structure is a two-story, single-family dwelling. The dwelling is currently heated by a natural gas-fired heater.
Curren was contracted to perform a tank sweep due to the age of construction. Our findings were as follows:
Evidence of former heating oil use was noted during the interior inspection consisting of an oil burner emergency shut-off switch present on the wall in the basement stairway.
The red switch in the center of the photo is oil heat shut off
Former piping indicative of oil heat was noted in the basement by the heater. Curren was able to find an oil line, that protruded from the basement wall and went to the rear yard.
The investigation then continued to the outside of the dwelling at which time Curren performed a walking inspection of the exterior of the structure.
No visible evidence of former heating oil use was noted during the exterior inspection. It should be noted that an elevated wood-framed deck is present along the back of the dwelling; specifically, over the area where the oil lines exit the foundation to the exterior. Decks will attenuate radar signals and accordingly data acquisition was not optimal. A metallic signal was found via the use of two different units, but again the deck prohibited desirable data acquisition conditions. In short the decking prohibited required access to the area to scan.
Center of the photos is where a suspect tank is expected.
The photo below shows a house built in 1970, that is on natural gas. Curren located an undisclosed UST in the side yard. The tank is defined by the orange cones.
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