Septic Woes

“I’m on my matt. All that work makes me tired.”

The contractor digging out the septic tank, which is right beside a buried 500 gallon propane tank.

You can stab ’n’ shoot ‘n’ spit

But they won’t be fixin’ it

They’re lyin’ an’ lazy

They’re drivin’ you crazy

—Frank Zappa

Our septic system is finally complete, and it passed inspection. Since we’re way out in the county, the septic was the only permit we had to pull and the only inspection we had to pass. But that was bad enough.

Our first contractor disappeared after finishing the installation. He told us the system had passed inspection, and we should be receiving the license to operate the septic “in a few days.” That was the last we ever heard from him.

When I went to the county to inquire about the license, they told me he had most certainly not passed the inspection and that it would be illegal to use the working restroom in the garage for anything. The inspector told me she had only known him to have about a 30% pass rate, and she was going to pull his license to work in Milam county. And this was a guy who had been recommended!

Damn! Not knowing how this works, I’d already paid the bastard, who wouldn’t answer his phone or emails. And his voicemail was too full to accept other messages—probably with other dissatisfied customers.

The only way to get it right is to get out of the machine and measure for yourself.

While the septic drama was going on, the cabinet maker began installing the cabinets. I love the 3-D effect.

After a couple of weeks, I decided I had to just eat the cost. My lawyer said I had a good case but the chances of the bad contractor having anything to collect would be infinitesimal.

I set about finding another contractor who would finish the work. It’s easier to find a contractor to do a job than it is to find one willing to fix someone else’s mess. But I did.

He showed up here a couple of days ago and went to work. Between my backhoe and his trackhoe, he got the tank dug out and moved. He had to be really careful because we had since installed a 500 gallon underground propane tank next to the septic tank.

Nothing blew up, and he managed to get the tank leveled, which involved replumbing the main supply line. When he attempted to lift the tank to level it, it moved almost a foot closer to the propane tank. It turned out to be level when it stopped.

Lesson learned: You don’t know what you don’t know. Don’t beat yourself up about learning a lesson. The school of hard knocks will do that for you.