Septic tank fun. Clogged field line.

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The repair is apparently a 'T line' across the existing lines to improve drainage(?) but both quotes I've gotten so far are $1600. Not even a penny difference.

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You could just spend $5 bucks on a shovel at Harbor Freight and $100 bucks at ACE on a few sticks of PVC field line and some fittings if you think they are charging you too much to dig your shite up and re-route the line.

I would prefer to spend my time doing other things.

Where do you live that feels the need to permit digging?

You poor bastard. You are just getting nailed from all sides, aren't you.

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So had a septic guy pump the tank (it had been 4 years)

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I get mine checked every year. I think the max you should go is about two years personally (Most sites say 3-5). Another thing that you need to be checking for frequently is vibrations/humming with your motor. Sometimes it can get gummed up and it will cause damage to your motor.

I will actually be completely overhauling mine this weekend. The city in Harris County requires an aerobic system / sprinkler setup which is about a 20k expense. Besides the money, I don't really want even 'treated' discharge covering the surface of my lawn where kids play tackle football. So I'm going to dig it all up and lay down new field lines in gravel beds.

FWIW between renting a backhoe / front loader, the gravel, and piping / fitting I am looking at 3.5k plus a whole weekend of work.

I've researched it about as much as I can and feel pretty good about it.

My system is a pressure system though, meaning I have a pump instead of just gravity feed so leveling isn't QUITE as critical for me.

To the OP, that is likely tough digging with a shovel as the pipe should be under a geotextile barrier and 6 inches of gravel or so. Not to mention it is probably all wet which makes digging / seeing what you are doing more difficult.

I have learned to not underestimate the amount of pain in the arse that can come with a seemingly 'simple' repair on a septic system...

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I think the max you should go is about two years personally

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I owned a house for 15 years and never checked the septic tank. My neighbor there checked his after 20 years and there were no problems.

Built a new house 3 years ago and the septic tank was overflowing in just over a year. They have a new filter for the water to the drain field and it clogged up. I did not re-install that filter.

Thanks everyone.

This seems like a reasonable price.