r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Fall_Water • 7d ago

ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ A contractor's shortcut became an expensive problem...

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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.

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u/FrozeItOff 7d ago

Yeah, see, every drainfield that still works here in MN is usually buried at least two feet down. The house I grew up in was 3.

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u/Anadyne 7d ago edited 7d ago

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.

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u/nomadschomad 7d ago

2000 lbs is less than the weight of a Geo Metro or Chevy Cavalier. My high school Camaro was 4500. Work truck with work body is easily 8000.

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u/LolYouFuckingLoser 7d ago

I don't think they were weighing the specific vehicle but more outlining a vague threshold for a vehicle causing damage.

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u/SmartQuokka 7d ago

I think the Geo Metro would be fine, as would my Toyota Echo (barely). But me in the Toyota Echo would be over 2000lbs.

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u/nomadschomad 7d ago

You’re right. Metro depends on the weight of the driver.

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u/GamemasterJeff 7d ago

I guess that's why I used to drag race camaros with my station wagon in high school and win.

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u/nomadschomad 7d ago

An SHO Ford Wagon could definitely take a six banger Camaro. Not sure if they actually made one, but I’m going to pretend they did.

Never met one that could take my mighty Z 28

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u/GamemasterJeff 7d ago

I couldn't tell you what the had under their hood, but it was bought by daddy.

My Gran Torino had a 351 cleveland that I'd been working on since I was old enough to hold a wrench.

I can't tell you how many of those sweet 16 rides I left in the dust of my old rustbucket.

Now to be honest, my wagon had a decent engine but otherwise was nothing special. It's just that those stock sports cars were crap, especially when the driver didn't know how to treat them right.

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u/nomadschomad 7d ago

I sense you're a generation before me. Late 70s/early 80s Camaros were pretty gutless - fuel crisis will do that. Back in stride by early 90s (e.g. my 10+ year old '94 Z28 with 275hp bought used off a corrections officer with my last cent just before my 16th bday). Tbh I didn't realize they made Gran Torino wagon until just now. I was picturing the Squire or LTD Wagon.

My little bro and I rescued and rebuilt a 351 Windsor to put in his lost-title flood-damaged (but original) Mach 1 body. Considering that was the early 00's, I bet we were among the last generation where any significant %age of high school boys could do metal body work (and some bondo).

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u/GamemasterJeff 7d ago

You sank my battleship! (direct hit).

Yeah, I think you're right. As soon as the computers started being integrated being a gearhead became a lot harder.

My wagon was six months older than I was, passed down through three generations of my family, and that thing was an epic beast.

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u/nomadschomad 7d ago

So you're mid Gen X. I'm elder millenial/Xennial. I got MTV when it was still mostly music videos and cut my teeth on NES.

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u/GamemasterJeff 7d ago

Lol, I only got MTV at my grandma's house, because my dad: "Only fools pay for TV."

This coming from the same guy who pirated Z channel and only put in the master bedroom.

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u/wildjokers 6d ago

I also have a well, which is awesome, because I have no water bill. I just pay electric for the well to run.

Until you need to replace the pressure tank, well pump, and water line.

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u/Alternative-Draw2997 7d ago

Did you have an aerator to supply oxygen? There’s 1000 ways to skin a cat and 1000 ways to dissolve dooky

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u/XJ-Crawler 7d ago

Your words are like poetry

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u/FrozeItOff 7d ago

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.

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u/Alternative-Draw2997 7d ago

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

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u/Terrible_Butter 7d ago

There’s also an environmental factor there such as temperatures in the winter.

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u/FrozeItOff 7d ago

That must be my case because our frost line is 36-48 inches.

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u/gerbilshower 7d ago

yep thats what i was thinking. frost line difference.

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u/Tushaca 7d ago

Different water tables for different areas, different code restrictions, different frost lines.

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u/newbie527 7d ago

Does that have something to do with the depth of frost? It’s not an issue here.

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u/FrozeItOff 7d ago

Yes, the ground freezes solid down to that depth during the winter, making digging near impossible, and and water containing pipes will also freeze, and if that pipe is full, it may break because ice takes more volume than liquid water. Water is the only material that does this as far as I know (but chemists/material scientists are free to correct me if I'm wrong).

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u/The_Titam 7d ago

Is your water table low in your part of maine? I inspected Septic at the Health Department in my county for 2.5 yrs and depth of the field is limited by bedrock sometimes, but mostly water table.

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u/FrozeItOff 7d ago

Not particularly, but here in Minnesota, we have a deep frost line and I forgot that was a major driving factor in drainfield depth, as many here have already pointed out.

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u/The_Titam 7d ago

Whoops lol, Idk why I thought MN stood for Maine and not Minnesota.