The landscapers probably will not admit to anything. Take pictures of things as they are now, including the debris. Get an expert opinion of your equipment condition. If the expert says there is, or might be, a problem and that it apparently is due to actions of the landscapers, write to the landscapers with registered letter asking them pay for the repairs. In any event, a failure to restore this system properly will result in even larger expenses in the future.

It would seem to me that if you are supposed to have a "septic diversion valve" situated in your backyard, then you should be able to find it right now. Logically, this valve should be close to the outlet of the actual tank.

You pay taxes. Therefore, there should be a division of the public health department or the plumbing inspection department in your town or city that looks after the issuing of permits and inspections of all the septic system installations.

They will have a file for your home. In that file will be a drawing of your property lines and where the tank, valve and fields are on the property. Go get a photocopy and then look for this valve.

It may well be that the operator of the skidsteer hit this valve but that does not mean that a proper repair did not take place. They may have just dropped the extra dirt into the adjacent lot, along with the broken bits and pieces.

In other words, don't go off half-cocked. Make sure that you have been damaged before crying uncle or you will look like an idiot. Should it be determined that there is a problem, then get your lawyer to write to the party that actually sold you the property. It is their responsibility to contact the landscaper, not you. You didn't hire them.

What's important here, is putting the seller on notice, in writing, that a problem exists. But there has to be an actual, provable problem. Once the notice is given, then it's up to the seller to arrange for the repair to take place. Engage the inspector in the town to make sure the repair is done according to Code. That way, you can get some sleep, once again.

Thanks you for your replies. The builder of this house was foreclosed on by the bank as it sat for awhile without selling. It was way overpriced. Anyway, the bank we bought it from is the hirer of the landscapers. I called the guy at the bank we dealt with through this whole buying process and explained to him the details. He is going to contact the landscapers and also call my developer/soiltester neighbor to get more details.

My neighbor's brother evidently put in the septic system. I asked my neighbor if the valve would be close to the tank, which has the cement cover sticking out of the ground, and he stated that it isn't always close by. I plan to go to the zoning office tomorrow to try to get a copy of the septic plan. I hope also to talk to the actual septic installer to see if he has any insight.

My neighbor is going to be building a custom home in the spring in the empty lot next to me from where he saw the broken cap/pvc in the dirt, and he stated he has walked the lot with his customers a few times and never noticed the broken stuff until yesterday. He's pretty sure he would have seen it and the only people on the property with equipment were the landscapers so the simplest explanation is that they broke it. Of course, we don't know for 100 percent sure if it is broke until it is dug up, but the ground is frozen, so that would seem to be a major obstacle. If it is broken, I'm hoping the bank (seller) takes care of it ($), as it postively happened before we closed on the house.

I'm hoping that either the zoning map shows where the valve is or that the installer remembers where he put it.
Of coure, another large concern is whether or not any other parts of the septic drain fields has been damaged that I don't know about. I hate the uncertainty of it all!

I'll keep you posted

sam

Sam,
Do yourself a favour by following up on your telephone call with the person at the bank with a LETTER. That letter will document that you believe a problem may exist and that you are now attempting to determine this, on way or the other. Make sure it is properly dated. Send it by facsimile and ask for an acknowledgement.

Right now, you don't know where all of this is going or how much damage may be involved. If dirt is constantly find its way into the tile field, then the life of the field will be shortened dramatically. Fields in my area are about twenty grand to replace currently. Who knows what the cost will be ten years from now.

It's much easier to throw away that letter next summer when you find out that there is no problem than to wish you had written it, should you find out that this is a major issue and people are total denial.

Good advice, castoff, I believe I will do just that. I got the septic plan today. The whole system is in the front yard. Septic tank is 5 feet from the front of the house towards the road. The first drain field start 10 feet further towards the road running parallel horizontally with the house and the road. There are 3 of these horizontal drain fields in a row moving towards the road and then there is the diversion valve before the final 2 horizontal drain fields.

To my uneducated eye I take this to mean that we should be in no IMMEDIATE danger of sewage backing up into the house, as if the diversion valve is busted, it's only blocking the final 2 drain fields which are the farthest from the house and the lowest elevation.

I plan to talk to the sewer installer tomorrow and maybe have him come out and inspect it if he can. The bank guy, who provided good service throughout the home purchase, hasn't called me back yet. I'll likely call him again tomorrow to see what is up.Once again, thank you for your advice.

sam