Warning Sign

Signs That a Property has an Undisclosed Buried Oil Tank

• If the home or building was constructed prior to 1975 and has natural gas heat. 

• An above ground oil tank provides fuel for heat or hot water. 

• Pipes are visible sticking up from the ground or driveway at the property. 

• Extra lines are entering the basement from the outside and do not appear to be productive. 


If any of the above conditions exist, there is a strong possibility that there may be an undisclosed buried oil tank on the property.


Inspection Includes:

The technician will start the inspection inside of the home, starting at the lowest level of the dwelling generally basement, garage or crawl space looking for any evidence of copper fuel lines, trenching towards the furnace area or patching on the walls.

The technician will perform a visual inspection of the outside of the home looking for evidence of oil tank piping along the exterior structure of the home.

The technician will then start the scan using a Fisher TW-6 Pipe & Cable Locator Metal Detector and the equipment is capable of detecting metallic objects to a depth of 8' below grade. The technician will walk in a grid pattern scanning the property 30’ out from the residence for the presence of any oil tanks. If any large metallic objects are detected, the area will be marked for further investigation.


Please note: all large metal objects should be moved from the search area prior to the work being conducted. These objects include: cars, boats, trailers, dumpsters, moving containers or any other large objects that cannot be moved by our technician.

If the property is not entirely clear of these objects, Otis will exclude these areas from the search and it will be noted in the final report.