New Septic Tank Cracked

[rutwad]

My neighbor had a septic tank just installed. With over 3"'s of rain just 2 days after installing it, the hole and tank were both completely filled with water. A trench was dug to drain the water from the hole. Then we noticed that on one side of the tank at the bottom, the weight of the mud/water seemed to have pushed in on the concrete enough to crack and bust part of the side. The crack runs completely from top to bottom, but the hole appears to be approx. 15" long and 8" tall at the very bottom of the side wall.

I am shocked that the concrete would not withstand the pressure. Does anyone know what the minimum wall thickness is required for a small residential precast concrete tank? I think the wall may have been too thin, previously cracked, or something else.

 

[Treemonkey1000]

That is pretty bizzare. I am surprised that a Fiberglass tank wasn't used. From the few tanks I have seen they were 2" thick. Most of the tanks that I am familiar with were installed 20-40 years ago and never had problems.
I am thinking it was loaded onto the truck for delivery improperly or dropped into the hole improperly.

 

[rutwad]

That's what I am thinking. Maybe it was already cracked, was made of poor concrete, or maybe a small section of the wall ended up being too thin.

 

[Treemonkey1000]

Is the company that sold it or installed it going to replace it? It could be patched probably but why not start out with one that is right from the get-go? They don't want that system malfunctioning for the next 20 years...

 

[LBrown59]

I'd be knocking on the partys door that sold me this defect real hard real quick.

My neighbor had a septic tank just installed. With over 3"'s of rain just 2 days after installing it, the hole and tank were both completely filled with water. A trench was dug to drain the water from the hole. Then we noticed that on one side of the tank at the bottom, the weight of the mud/water seemed to have pushed in on the concrete enough to crack and bust part of the side. The crack runs completely from top to bottom, but the hole appears to be approx. 15" long and 8" tall at the very bottom of the side wall.

I am shocked that the concrete would not withstand the pressure. Does anyone know what the minimum wall thickness is required for a small residential precast concrete tank? I think the wall may have been too thin, previously cracked, or something else.

 

[rutwad]

I guess I will start with the tank manufacturer and see what he is willing to do. Sometimes you can attract more flies with honey than with .......

 

[atgreene]

It will not pass an inspection. It will need to be replaced and any company worth anything at all will change it out.

It may have been the water pressure, but could it have lifted? I've had a few float in wet ground when a heavy rain hits unexpectedly. Not fun at all.

 

[rutwad]

I've heard they will float, but I would not want to be rescued at sea with one.
It will most likely be replaced, but I just wanted to get other opinions to make sure.

 

[Danno1]

I guess I will start with the tank manufacturer and see what he is willing to do. Sometimes you can attract more flies with honey than with .......

Sometimes you can attract more flys if you drive the honey wagon..........

.

 

[WVBill]

I guess I will start with the tank manufacturer and see what he is willing to do. Sometimes you can attract more flies with honey than with .......

I think I'd start with the Installer - he was the last one to "touch" the tank. Was it bought directly from the manufacturer or through the installer?
May come to a pointing match between the two but let them sort it out.
My $.02...