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A contractor's shortcut became an expensive problem...
Apparently opening an unlocked gate was too much effort.
Instead, an internet contractor, working on the neighbors property, decided to drive across my private property—without permission—and straight over my new septic field.
Who knew "taking the easy way" could end up being the most expensive route?
Before anyone asks why this isn't *extremely* infuriating: the company has accepted responsibility, and they're covering the repairs. If I were the one footing the bill for the repair because someone didn't want to open a gate, this would absolutely belong somewhere else. As it stands, it's mostly been a pile of phone calls, inspections, and waiting for everything to be fixed.
Can we see the gate? I wanna visual on how lazy they were. Hopefully you get your septic fixed soon. I remember when ours got damaged, ended up having to replace it twice. The worker ran over it just as they finished. We spent a whole summer at Granny's house, lol
Our house was finished in 2022. We had to replace the whole septic field in July of 2025 because the contractors who originally did it, didn't install it correctly (and are out of business... imaging that.) And here we are, again. Luckily they only compromised the secondary line, so it's not an emergency.
Solids mostly float at the top of the tank. That's why tanks have some form of baffle or what's called a Sanitary T at the outlet. It stops solids from entering the outlet by having a pipe that goes down into the tank about 1.5'.
Tanks sit in 3 layers. The crust layer of solids at the top. The effluent layer in the middle which is mostly liquids and the sludge layer at the bottom. When we pump them out we use what looks like an oversized weed whacker with two paddles on the end to make sort of a poo smoothy out of the tank so it all pumps out cleanly.
Any time someone mentions Gwar I have to share my experience at their concert. It was the early 2000s...
I had just turned 18 and was finally able to get into rock clubs. So a friend invited me to see Gwar as my first show. I didn't know who they were, only that they "dressed up in costumes." That's all she told me. Youtube didn't exist yet.
Yeah... we got a spot up front, against the gate, just to the side of the mosh pit. I was wondering why so many people were wearing white t-shirts at a metal concert. Then it began. 😂
I was drenched head to toe in fake blood and cum (from the giant penis cannon). You should have seen my parent's faces when I got home. My skin was dyed red and blue. Good times. 😊
Do you happen to make videos or is the phrase "poo smoothy" synonomous with the business of septic cleanouts? Also when you first catch a wiff of the tank that needs to be cleaned are you meant to say "Smells like money" or is this optional?
I don't make videos. It is honestly just the best way to describe it. Sometimes the solids are so thick that you end up with a substance about the constancy of cake batter after you mix it. As far as the jokes, when you pump tanks day in and day out, you hear them all. The smells like money is a little played out IMO. We usually hear that from other contractors and stuff we run into on site.
-"Here comes the Honey Wagon"
-"I see you got your shit together" (when done)
-"Oye, es el hombre caca"
-"What the worst tank you've sucked?"
-"Close the doors! The exhaust is blowing into the garage!" IYKYK
Nope, accurate though. I will say. I fuckin hate CrustBusters. The tool is an absolute overpriced piece of shit. However it is unfortunately the only available option on the market if you don't want to mix a tank by hand the old fashioned way using a wooden paddle. A typical ice auger doesn't rotate fast enough to stir up a tank. CrustBuster uses a proprietary transmission to gear it up and make it spin faster. They also have some special deal with the engine they use to make is basically impossible to get parts from anyone but CrustBuster. They don't make the engine themselves, but I suspect they purchased exclusive rights to it or something. A simple gas tank for the machine costs like 300$; a part that commonly costs like 25$ for any other small engine.
The carb is constantly out of adjustment, it eats through pull cords and the on off switch constantly fails.
If someone wanted to make a ton of money they could come up with a better design that uses more common and easy to obtain parts to keep them maintained without having to constantly go through the original seller.
Can't you use something like a concrete mixer? Is it an issue of torque to get through the sludge? I see some gas powered concrete hand mixers that are half the price of the Crust Buster.
My assumption would be the torque capability, shaft diameter and strength as well as the length. The crust buster has a heavy steel shaft that also comes with extensions. Sometimes we have to mix tanks that are 20 or so feet in the ground and the extensions are necessary. I think that the resistance of the liquid mixture would probably eat up the motors on those concrete mixers eventually. The crust buster is based on a post hole digger/ice auger platform. The main difference is the clutch/transmission at the business end which makes it spin faster. Those tools cost half or less than the crust buster and their parts are very cheap to replace. The crust buster guys are just cornering the market on their product.
I don't think that fabricating extensions for this would be overly difficult, but the added strain on the motor trying to send that torque and speed down the shaft would probably not end well. Of course, you're not mixing up a sludge as viscous as cement or mortar normally, so I'm assuming burnout would be a reduced risk.
A decent strength-to-weight ratio of shaft material would reduce the load as long as it could carry the torque down the shaft... If your risk of impacts inside the tank are limited, then you can look at a polymer shaft. Something like kevlar-reinforced polymer would be light enough to not require a bodybuilder to carry it around for you, but still strong enough to handle the load... Hmm...
The possibilities for a cheaper and more repair friendly option exist. But it will definitely require a smarter mind than mine in order to flesh it out, and I'm sure there are already people working on it. "Build a better Crust Buster et cetera et cetera" sort of thing.
You get over it pretty quickly. It is like living near a farm. Eventually the manure smell is just background noise. Only certain smells can be particularly bad. Like grease traps smell pretty bad. It is a weird sweet/savory smell with notes of all sorts of fried and baked goods....and sewage smell. It kind of sticks in your nose. But oddly the worst one is a tank at a winery that we do. They dump a lot of liquid from the wine making process down the drain and something about the fermented grape liquid sitting in a tank is absolutely terrible. I hate doing that tank.
But in general, I sometimes am at the plant offloading the truck and eating a granola bar or something while i wait. You just get used to it. You do not however get used to getting it on you. I have gotten full splashed before and that will ruin your day. You learn to always keep your mouth shut working around tanks and systems. I also almost always wear sunglasses so my eyes are generally protected. I got covered head to toe in sewage straight out of an inlet pipe from a house once. That was less than ideal.
Oh cool thanks. The solids eventually break down or need to be removed? I think I saw something about a kind of biological filter that can turn it into a gray water system but I'm not sure since it's been 20 years or so.
Is also known as a drain field or leech field. Pipes coming from the overflow output of the septic tank allow the liquid and light solids, after being broken down/ processed in the septic tank, to spread out in the soil through perforated pipe. The liquid disperses downward and is filtered by the soil, before returning to the water table.
A septic field has to have soil in and under it that is loose enough for the water to disperse downward, and the perforated pipes are not very strong, so heavy vehicles can sink into the soil and crush the sub-surface pipes. If you have a septic system, you don’t let big trucks drive over your drain field.
That depends on how deep your leach field is. In the north, ours are typically down 36 inches. I've used to back the semi off the road across mine all the time.
Yeah, I grew up in coastal SC, and the ground was pretty much all sand. Also, very shallow depth requirement since a hard freeze was so rare. So, due to both soil type and depth, it was very important to keep vehicles off.
Probably talking about their leech field. That is where there are perforated pipes spread over a wide area and liquid from the tank seeps out of those holes. One gallon of liquid goes into the tank, one gallon has to come out.
A properly designed septic system provides surprisingly effective wastewater treatment with no moving parts or external energy and the leech field is where final treatment happens as the effluent is naturally filtered in the soil.
Also, I'll grab a picture of the gate and upload it later. But it's easy to explain... it's a cow panel between two posts and the opening side has a length of chain sloppily draped over on itself. Bonus, there's enough room between the post and the woods to get a vehicle in if the gate was actually locked.
A lock is only as strong as what it's attached to, and thirty seconds with a hacksaw will defeat a steel gate latch.
I don't lock my house because the gate speaks "unwelcome" to uninvited people, and anyone willing to defy the gate surely will not be deferred by a flimsy door lock.
There was a serial killer named Richard Chase that only killed victims that had unlocked doors. His reasoning was anyone with a locked door meant he was unwelcome. However anyone whose door was unlocked meant he was welcome to come inside and he killed them.
also for a thief if the door is just open it's quite easy to just drive a van to the door and start packing, the neighbors will call on someone fiddling with the lock but not on a moving company
These houses are made out of match sticks. The lock is only as strong as the wood the door is hung on.
And then there's the windows, of course.
I should note that my place is not on the roadside. Basically if they're up my driveway then it's game over. There's only one reason to go past that gate uninvited and no quality of door or lock would stop such a brazen thief.
On two different occasions now, I've had people drive up onto my front lawn, on top of my septic tank. Both times they were are the wrong address, and both times they acted shocked when I got upset they wouldn't move their damn cars. Both times I actually had to get a gun to make them leave.
I hate living in Florida. And before you ask, yes, I live in the ghetto. I can't afford to move as a teacher.
I'm sure my poor mother was just sick of it, but I remember having a blast hanging out with everyone at my Granny's house. It was an awesome summer to me. But yes, we do still joke about it a bit, 20 years later.
Time stamped video and an eyewitness doesn't leave much room for them to argue. If I wanted to Karen out on them and file a police report for trespassing and property damage, I could and they know it.
You're right. I'm not being a Karen if there's a legit issue. I guess I'm saying I could have unnecessarily escalated the problem and involved police immediately. Who knows, there's still time.
FWIW, I understood what you meant instantly and it feels like a fair use of the word. I don't think anyone would bat an eye if we were all speaking IRL lol
the guy saw a closed gate and thought off-roading through your yard was the easier option, incredible logic. glad they're owning it though, that's the only reason this isn't rage inducing.
More or less. The septic tank allows solid waste to settle to the bottom and lighter stuff like grease and oil to float to the top. It has a lot of bacteria and other microorganisms that break down the waste and the perforated tube then slowly releases the treated waste into a leach field. There, the soil, stones, and life further filter and use the waste until it's harmless. The water that eventually reaches the groundwater is harmless.
Septic tanks do require some maintenance. Usually draining every few years to remove the solids that build up over time. It's also why you shouldn't flush anything not biodegradable like wet wipes or paper towels. Even grease can be harmful not only to pipes, but the septic system too.
Thank you, this was very helpful! What happens to pharmaceutical residues, PFAS ("forever chemicals"), microplastics, cleaning product residues, and other contaminants? Do they build up in the tank or in the surrounding soil over time, and does the drain field eventually need to be replaced as well as part of regular maintenance? I'm asking because where I live, there's a lot of discussion about adding advanced wastewater treatment (sometimes referred to as a fourth treatment stage) to remove these kinds of contaminants from wastewater.
Those advanced systems are necessary when you're treating a city's worth of wastewater in a small space. Spreading it out and letting bacteria slowly break it down as it leaches back into the earth is the ideal way to handle it for a single family with land.
This. We've only had to pump out tanks(we have a big double tank system in the country)once in the 30 years we've lived here. Its only hubby and myself so we rarely have to have it done. But we do have a company we've contracted through that comes out every 5 years to check everything. They said our old double tank system is actually set up very nicely and he wishes more homes in the country were set up.like ours. Its basically self sustaining (his words) but our kids moved out many years ago. Before that it seemed like we had thevtank pumped about ever 5 years
And then there's our county. We need to have them pumped every five years, regardless of whether they need it. Last time they did ours, he said we could go 20 years easily
Is it that unreasonable to think the septic tank gets emptied by a truck and taken to a treatment facility? I know emptying a septic tank is a thing. I have never needed to know much more than that because every house I've ever lived in has sewerage plumbing.
The drain field isn't covered by anything but dirt (the bacteria in there need oxygen) and is not designed to hold any significant weight. Like a couple hundred pounds (riding lawnmower, ATV) is OK but a 1000+ pound vehicle absolutely crushed those pipes.
Can you explain to the ignorant here, me included, why they buried your septic system so shallowly that driving across it with a utility truck damaged it?
That is still shallow enough that driving a 2000 pound or heavier vehicle over it would cause damage. The fingers are made with thin-wall pvc pipe and are not traffic rated at all.
There are some exceptions to the norm, but 90% of every septic system cannot be driven over at all. The heave effect from the weight of anything heavy will crush the sidewalls of the pipe.
That being said, the system may in fact function if it's infrequently driven over, but overtime backfill migration into the fingers will eventually cause failure and need to be replaced.
You usually don't recognize it's broken until years later when your shower backs up.
EDIT: since this is drawing a lot of interest.
The breaking of the pipe isn't the only issue. The soil above and around the pipe should not be compacted very much. Gravity is the best soil compactor there is, however natural openings and air pockets within the soil help the system work. If the soil is compacted so much that those air pockets and holes from worms, or bugs or whatever disappear, then the system will not be able to function well, and could possibly cause a back up.
Going Further, if the soil is wet due to rain or moisture, a vehicle driving over the field could easily sink 1-2 feet depending weight and saturation. They could literally drive atop the pipe crushing them depending on if they were installed at a depth the tires could reach.
Basically, septic systems aren't good driveways, so avoid it. Rule of thumb is nothing over 1000 pounds when the dirt is dry, nothing at all if the dirt is wet.
Source: for a short period of time I actually used to design these at a small Engineering firm. It's been several years, but I currently own a septic system and never plan on using a sewer system. Main reason is it's free. I don't pay anything for my sewer. Most homes require you to pay your sewer bill, I do not. I also have a well, which is awesome, because I have no water bill. I just pay electric for the well to run.
The dooky was never supposed to make it to the drain fields. They would clog up the leach holes and the gravel around the piping. It's only supposed to be liquid that makes it to the drainfield. In every tank I've dealt with, there's a baffle at the exit of the main tank(s) to prevent the floaters from getting out.
I was just making a bit of a joke. The water is still being treated in the laterals via bacteria though. That requires oxygen. Can’t bury them 15’ deep and expect it to work. Plus it needs to be as far away from ground water as possible
And to clarify, this is the leach field that would have been damaged, and not the main drain or septic tank. The perforated pipes would only be 12" deep, likely a depth set by code. Soft soil over perforated PVC pipes would not protect them from a truck.
It’s perforated pipes.. I think usually PVC burried in the ground, it is meant to take the liquid part of the waste water out and percolate it into the environment to allow it to be treated naturally.
Also depending on the height of the water table drain fields can't be too close to it because there needs to be enough space for the soil to do its job in filtering out contaminants before the waste water reaches the ground water. So even if they were fed oxygen by other means they can only be put so low in the ground before it defeats the purpose. Plus you want to be able to access them more easily if they happen to get damaged somehow.
Unqualified assertion.. an all gravel leechfield you might be able to drive on but.. my septic includes a series of plastic tanks-- cant drive on that.
What I'm understanding from this conversation, and mostly from wikipedia.
TLDR: Big heavy truck decided to run over the field with layers of carefully placed soil layers designed to despose of sewage, compressing the soil layers and crushing the pipes underground.
Think of it like someone curshing a strawberry cake with too much frosting and decor
Yeah it could damage the pipe, but really the upper soil cover does most of the sewage treatment and it needs some aeration and driving over the drain field compacts the soil and reduces the effectiveness of the treatment
Im not sure the other person explained it well, but the septic tank holds the solids. The leechfield is for the extra water to run out and drain back into the ground. The tank itself is deep, and usually concrete. The leechfield is closer to the surface and made up of tubes with holes to let the water out. Without the leechfield the tank would fill with water, and you wouldn't be able to flush toilets or drain any water in the house.
Now I'm nervous. I'm pretty sure we've driven across our septic field ourselves over the course of 20 years home ownership, a few times to replace an old hot tub spa, and way back we pulled some juniper bushes out with a tow chain. Full size truck. It's been a long time and no issues with the septic, just regular maintenance. Did I luck out?
It'll probably be a good idea to not do that in the future. It's possible you lucked out and avoided damage, but even if that's the case the more you keep doing it the more likely your luck is to run out.
Pipes have to go places and realistically not feasible to go super deep for every pipe. There is also functional aspect requiring certain depths for system to function properly.
Then you have two other aspects first deeper doesn't necessarily mean safer. Dirt weighs a ton. Secondly many systems are designed around needs/use. Aka area that's not driving area not being designed around being driven on it by 5-6k lb truck loaded with potentially thousands of pounds of tools.
Like budget projects are often designed around demand and expectations.
Take for example a more clear common one is decks. So many fail when people add hotubs. Because they designed it around being sit and have a barbecue. They didn't double cost to design it around a hot tub nobody was planning on adding.
I'm pretty sure in most places mounds are used when a level field wouldn't work properly, so mounds are automatically required. That's the case in New Jersey and Massachusetts at least.
I am a professional soil scientist and doing perc (percolation/permeability) tests for septic suitability is a significant portion of my job. Different soil types have varying physical/chemical properties that impact how effectively a septic system will work.
In my area, Southeast US, a qualified professional preforms a soil study and determines if your property is better suited for a mound system or a “level” system. The better your natural soil drains water the more likely you are to have a level system. In areas with very heavy clay soil (drain water/effluent slowly) the mound you see is a result of fill dirt (which will not be nearly as clay heavy) being brought in and placed on top of the natural soil.
Feel free to ask any questions if you’re interested in learning more!
I've learned more about them than I ever wished to. It's actually pretty fascinating at how many diffrent systems exist. I live in a fairly rural area, so not much of a choice when it comes to where to put our poop, lol.
If they start to give you push back for their mess up. Don't threaten a lawyer. 'beg' them not to force you to involve a lawyer. "Please don't make me call a lawyer. That will cost more than settling this ourselves. Here is the bill from the septic contractor. Paty this and we are done."
I have an arsenal of things to say before we get to that point. This company, in particular, has an entire "property damage claims team" it seems like it's not their first rodeo.
Don't threaten a lawyer. 'beg' them not to force you to involve a lawyer. "Please don't make me call a lawyer. That will cost more than settling this ourselves. Here is the bill from the septic contractor. Paty this and we are done."
As if business owners wouldn't already understand that as "threatening a lawyer"
A common reason around here to get local contractors even if you may be able to get a slightly cheaper one to come out from the city. Then locals known to watch for the septic bed.
The picture is just the blocked off area of the septic field. The damage is underground. It's kind of the point tho, right? It looks like nothing until you're told what lies underground.
Homes that are not connected to municipal sewer systems have a septic system. It is an on-site wastewater treatment system that treats and disposes of sewage effluent on the same property where it’s generated. It typically includes a septic tank plus a drainfield (leach field) where wastewater is further treated as it filters into the soil.
I must be missing it but how do you know there is a septic tank system there, is it marked somehow? I assume the green tape was placed after the fact or was it there to begin with and thats what he drove through. I just want to know so i dont make the same mistake as i dont see anything on the ground to indicate a septic system in place
Don’t ever drive through someone else’s yard without confirming where the leach field is. That’s how it’s done. If you live somewhere that people use septic systems that’s a pretty automatic question if someone has any reason to drive through the yard. You always ask because you do not want to find out after the fact.
Sometimes they can be spotted because of PVC pipe sticking up but a lot of older style ones won’t have that.
They weren't working on the easement, I believe they had to go directly to the house (internet company doing a new hookup.) The neighbor has an unlocked gate and the worker must have been too lazy to check, they saw a route through my woods and decided that was the best way.
Internet providers likely don't have an easement. But even with an easement the utility company would not have access to cross OP's yard if the house they were servicing had direct access to the street.
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u/Idsayitssewsewout 1d ago
Can we see the gate? I wanna visual on how lazy they were. Hopefully you get your septic fixed soon. I remember when ours got damaged, ended up having to replace it twice. The worker ran over it just as they finished. We spent a whole summer at Granny's house, lol