Most people think that all septic contractors are the same. That our only difference is the price. And this cannot be further from the truth.
Competitor who is much cheaper decommissioned this septic tank and hooked up this house to city sewer. Reason for this was the client wanted to build an addition over his septic system, which is not allowed, so hooking up to city sewer was required.
Septic tank was not decommissioned correctly, and now the client wants to sell his home.
Home Inspector climbs under the house to inspect the crawlspace and sees that the footing for a support beam is about 4 inches lower than the beam. Indicating that the ground beneath the footing is sinking. This was a red flag to him. It didn’t take long for him to realize that there might be an old septic tank down there collapsing. He said it was time to refer the experts.
Which is where we come in. I removed the plastic off of the area. You can see a crack in the dirt around the area of the lid of the septic tank. It’s a 6 foot diameter sinkhole, which is the diameter of the septic tank precisely.
The client saved $1,200 by having the cheaper competitor hook up his house to city sewer. But now the floors need cut in the house, so flooring contractors will be involved. General contractor as well. Then the tank redug out, tank mechanically collapsed upon itself with guys with jackhammers. Finally to be filled with pea gravel and recovered with dirt.
This will be in the thousands of dollars. I don’t have to do the math for you on this one.
When hiring a contractor, check online reviews, check with friends and neighbors, check BBB.org, look at how long has the company been in business.
Thanks for reading,
Ronnie
