[SRR]

Dug my tank up to have it pumped only to find it in bad shape. So I hired this guy (recommended by a septic company, licensed)to repair it, told me he would fix the walls inside and repair the top. $3200. Now remember everyone in this state pays more for everything. My wife feels that we were ripped off and unloaded on him. He called her a "Karen" refuses to give us an invoice for materials and work done. I think he did a crappy rush job. He wanted to bury the tank before the cement was even dry. The lids are crooked and I added rebar after he refused to do so. I told him I wanted stainless hardware holding the lids down. He put plated steel. He told my wife I messed with the lids and that's why they are crooked.

[Firedup6975]

See a lawyer about getting someone else to re do the job correctly, then suing him for whatever you al ready paid him plus the cost to get another contractor. I’d also call the Better Business Bureau.

[dhutton]

Septic work is expensive. Personally I think it looks pretty good for a repair of an existing tank. It would have cost a lot more to replace the tank.

Don

[tooski]

Base on the appearance of the open hole and that the walls inside needed repairing it appears that the concrete is crumbling. I would say the tank is compromised. I'd be very interested in how the interior walls were repaired. (Much like putting body filler on a rusty panel.) In the same scenario, I imagine I would have a difficult time choosing between repair or replacement.

[West Coast GTO]

Was he a California state licensed contractor qualified to do the repair work? Did you check with the CSLB for the condition of his license and bond? Did he give you a required quote detailing what he was to do before work was started? Was the tank certified after the repairs? Did he take out a permit for the repair work required by the city of San Diego code authority? If there was no permit taken out( and if the city requires one) and something ever happens to the tank/ system, your homeowners insurance will not cover any potential loss. If you have already paid him in full, you can always sue him in small claims court but be prepared ( maybe paying a different contractor for an evaluation) to present evidence to the court.
After looking at your photos, it appears that there probably was no rebar in the top cap of the tank, at least none visible at damaged area. He had to have gotten down inside the tank to shore up a support before he poured the initial top cap repair. That in itself is a nasty job. I have no idea what work he had to do to the walls . The addition of the rebars across the top. while providing concrete support and strength to the new cap, don't help the old original cap. I don't see direct attachments to old cap and the added rebar other than the weight of the new concrete laying on the old/ repaired cap. Hopefully he cleaned the old concrete really well and added a bonding agent to the old cap before the pour.
As for calling your wife a " Karen", that would have been enough for me to kick his azz off of my property.

[mgarblik]

I know you have been through a bunch of drama and chaos with this repair. But being generally non-confrontational, take a deep breath and consider the outcome you want. Is the repaired septic tank functional? Will it pass any local inspections required? Do you feel you can get some additional years of use out of it as it is? If your answer is yes to all these questions, I would let it go and worry about the next project. I say this because I have a septic system as well. It is 40 years old and thank God is working perfectly fine. To have the 1500 gallon tank replaced with all the new regulations and all the BS required for the leach field, it would cost, $22,000.00 to replace. That's in Ohio. I can't imagine what it would cost in San Diego? Hope it works out with the least hassle for you.

[Ed Fitzgerald]

Did you check the baffles on the inlet and outlet to verify their integrity. They in themselves are one of the most important parts of the tank. Was this tank even installed in the late 60's or early 70's with a permit?. Most local codes will ask for the tank to be a minimum of 5 feet from the structure. At first glance I would say this is at the back of a garage and with 3 lids it is 50 years old. There appears to be a heavy soap scum or spalling of the concrete on the inside walls caused by the decomposition process which produces a gas that causes damage inside the tank. I think you got a deal if there was work done on the inside of the tank regarding the baffles. You go complaining to the health department and they will condemn that tank. That tank could last for another 10-15 years. Just don't go and sell it or the buyer will check for permits now because of the new lids and open up another can of worms. Ed

[TAKerry]

Without hearing a bit more detail, looks like you got a good deal for what you paid. I would surmise it was all hand work, looks too tight to have a machine in there. I would bet he had a close to a third in that in materials! If he was legit, he has payroll, insurance, overhead, and when all the smoke clears a little left over for profit. I know I wouldnt have done that job for that amount of money. As far as being crooked, its a septic tank, as long as it does its job I would be happy with it.

[SRR]

Update. He sent me a receipt finally:

"Repaired Bafflewall with redwood form & concrete
Excavated dirt around septic tank down to water level
Preped Septic Tank for A new concrete Top with adobe blocks , rebar
and 2 -18 inch riser adapter with plastic lids and 1 -24" riser adapter
and plastic lid.
Poured a new concrete top
Owner said They will back fill dirt on top of septic
Owner was messing with rebar and tie wire on septic tank. Not sure what
else and caused one lid to be crooked"


Paid $ 3200.00 in full.

Is wood inside a septic tank acceptable???

He used very little rebar I added 5 more pieces to it to make it stronger, he refused to do it. The lid mounts were crooked from the start. He wanted to wash out the cement mixer in my yard. I said no. I just have a problem with crappy rush work and him not not being responsive to my concerns. I know the tank is working just fine but that's not the point.

All three lid risers are crooked. Does it really matter? Not really but for that amount of money it should have been done more professionally IMHO.

I wish I had just fixed it myself.

[Ben M.]

Originally Posted by SRR

Is wood inside a septic tank acceptable???

Redwood in tanks was how they did it 75-100+ years ago. I don't know the specific details on codes in San Diego but up here you are NOT allowed to retrofit an old or failing tank, it MUST be replaced (Santa Cruz county). They have a ridiculous permitting and engineering system that must be followed, the engineers are good about getting it done in a timely manner but the overworked and underpaid county people are a pain to deal with. The septic system was similar to yours at my house and it got the house red-tagged. The previous owner had to spend almost $55,000 for an active water treatment system with multiple pumps and tanks and large leach field - all required by the county because apparently Santa Cruz sources no water outside the county and thus has higher standards on waste management. My neighbors are paranoid about their septic systems failing because of how expensive it was for mine to get done.

So... did you get screwed? To a degree, probably, only because of the guy's shoddy work. He may have actually done a job that he wasn't legally allowed to do without the proper permits and paperwork being filed. The permitting alone is worth what you paid in some cases. If you sue him or go after him, it may open you up to exposure from the county and require the system be replaced in its entirety. The guy may also be counting on you to not go after him and him screw people because he knows this.

The guy was still a jerk. He probably figured it'd be fine to toss dirt over wet cement, he does it all the time! Doesn't mean it's the right way to do it. Same with him blaming you for it being crooked. His "I don't know, the customer must have $))#ed it up" is classic lazy contractor BS.

[Region Warrior]

We had our 750 gal tank and broken field tile from 1964 replaced with 1200 or 1500 gal with new field five years ago.
Company did it in 1 day.
Cost around $5500-$5700...? Have to check invoice.

Now the city is running sewer lines this spring.
They said should run about....$2500 for hook up with a 1 year warranty on grinder pump.
Need 6 or 7 notary signatures.
Sounds great 1st...

Not running a city water line.
Have to donate 15' of easement.
They drain, remove septic tank, and fill.
Cant run sump pump into city system. Have to install your own a dry well, or let run in yard. No, can not use original septic tank. Has to be removed and field blocked off.
Cant run line to drainage ditch.

All my neighbors sumps been running for 2 weeks since the snow melt.
Guy next door figured 750 gallons pumped during last spring's rain storms.

And the best part? They don't know what monthly bill will be

Had ours pumped 1st time last summer. Guy said system should last another 50 years.

[Jim Zeek]

I'm almost $8000.00 into my new septic system and a shovel has not even touched the ground. perc test, survey, design and permits. end cost gonna be somewhere between 30 and 40k.

[TAKerry]

SRR, Playing devils advocate here, did you get a second estimate/opinion when you had the job done?

Again, in the septic system universe you got a deal, and will the band aid that was put on your tank last another 10-15 yrs.? Probably. BUT, if you decide to sell I can just about guarantee that it will need replaced.

It looks like the tank is right against your building, is your lot so tight thats where it needs to be? I am surprised you are not on a public system.

[bird72]

Originally Posted by Jim Zeek

I'm almost $8000.00 into my new septic system and a shovel has not even touched the ground. perc test, survey, design and permits. end cost gonna be somewhere between 30 and 40k.

You are where I am at. Have 10 acres here in NW Montana. That county requires a civil engineer design, and when built, a mechanized pumped system. I figure 25K or more. Haven't done yet (for summer cabin). First, I am doing one in a county in New Mexico (winter cabin) on another 10 acres. That county doesn't require even a perc test, just a post build inspection. Gravity flow allowed, and we have great slope for that. I figure under 10K.

[Ben M.]

Originally Posted by TAKerry

It looks like the tank is right against your building, is your lot so tight thats where it needs to be? I am surprised you are not on a public system.

He's got a large lot (almost an acre) but the house is from 1942, so a lot of things that make sense and are done right now weren't done back then. You should have seen some of the wiring and other plumbing adventures! I dug and built the leach field with him almost 15 years ago.

[turbo69bird]

Tanks are cheap should have bought a new tanks and dropped it in no one wants a repaired tank
That’s a lot of money but he’s working on a used crap tank so can’t blame anyone for getting good money for that. Didn’t really look at he repair pics so don’t want to comment on his workmanship

[turbo69bird]

I’m a realtor and builder .I’ve seen people quotes $40k for a system I ended up getting done for $8k
Same exact system
I’ve seen these guys fail systems 75% of the time that function perfectly. There are no bigger thrives than septic guys they can inspect and fail and system then do the work. They literally generate their own work this way . Look around when doing a job find who the builders use and use those guys .they are typiclally the guys that will work for less . And the realtors have agreements with people and those are NOT the guys to use. Go where the builders go.

You can pull the recent permits of builders it’s public information.

[bdk1976]

The only way to do this repair for a reasonable cost these days is to do it yourself under the cover of darkness. Otherwise you are prisoner to the insane money grabbing bureaucracy (and sky high permit fees for everything) and “connected” contractors. It’s like a GD mob operation up here and I doubt Cali is any better.

I guess there is option 3 - be the GC and hire a few “day laborers” to do the grunt work while you supervise (provided you know what to do!) - they will probably keep their mouth shut after they get their cash.

[carcrazy]

It really depends where you live. If my tank was to fail I would have it pulled out and a new tank installed. $75 permit would be required. Tank itself costs about $1000-$1200. Installed cost would probably be less than 5k!

[Jim Zeek]

Originally Posted by Jim Zeek

I'm almost $8000.00 into my new septic system and a shovel has not even touched the ground. perc test, survey, design and permits. end cost gonna be somewhere between 30 and 40k.

finally got the quote for my system. $37,000.00. and that is on top of the 8k I already paid.