Septic Tank Repair
Plenty of tanks that get quoted for replacement do not need replacing. Baffles fail, lids crack, risers leak and inlet lines separate, and those are repairs. The tank itself is usually the last part to go.
Septic Tank Repair
When to call
What usually brings people to this
Decades of hard water leaves scale in every fixture, valve and heater it passes through, and it does not undo itself.
These are the symptoms that usually prompt the call. Any one of them is worth a conversation, and most of them get cheaper to deal with the earlier they are looked at.
Backups shortly after the tank was pumped
Solids carrying through to the outlet side
A lid that has cracked or sunk
Water running into the tank from the surface after rain
Odor from a leaking riser or a broken inlet line
The cost of waiting is rarely the repair getting bigger. It is the damage to everything the water reached in the meantime.
How we work it
We document what the camera sees so you are not taking our word for the condition of something buried in your yard.
Pump it down so it can be seen
Nobody can assess a full tank. Repair work starts with getting the level down and the lids open.
Inspect the baffles first
A missing outlet baffle is the single most common repair we find, and it is the one that quietly kills a drain field by letting scum out of the tank.
Check the structure
Walls, dividing wall and lid. Concrete over a sulfide-heavy tank corrodes at the top where the gas sits.
Repair what is repairable
Baffles, tees, risers, lids and inlet lines are all replaceable in place.
Say plainly if it is past repair
A collapsed wall or a tank that has lost its dividing wall is a replacement. You will hear that instead of paying for a patch.
Worth knowingWhat septic tank repair actually involves
Pricing a job properly means an actual assessment, not a number given over the phone by someone who has not seen the problem.
The outlet baffle is the cheapest part of a septic system and the most expensive one to lose. Its whole job is to hold the scum layer back so that only the clear middle of the tank leaves for the drain field. When it corrodes off, and on older concrete tanks it does, grease and solids start going out to the field, and the field is the part that costs real money to replace. We have found missing baffles on tanks that had been pumped regularly for years by people who never opened the outlet side to look.
Cable machines handle obstructions, jetters handle buildup, and cameras tell us which one the line in front of us actually needs.
From Yucaipa we reach the San Bernardino and Riverside valleys routinely, and the outlying desert and foothill communities as well. If you are outside the usual radius, call and ask. We cover more ground than most shops our size.
We document what the camera sees so you are not taking our word for the condition of something buried in your yard.
Keeping it from happening again
The cost of waiting is rarely the repair getting bigger. It is the damage to everything the water reached in the meantime.
If you have had a line cleared more than once, ask for a camera inspection rather than a third clearing. Repeated blockages nearly always have a physical cause worth finding.
Water heaters benefit from an annual flush in this region more than almost anywhere else, because our water leaves sediment on the bottom of the tank where the heat has to pass through it.
Knowing your own system is worth real money. Where the main shutoff is, where the sewer cleanout is, how old the water heater is, and whether the property is on sewer or septic. Those four facts shorten every future service call you will ever have.
Look behind and under appliances once in a while. Washing machine hoses, dishwasher connections and ice-maker lines are common leak sources and they are all hidden from normal view.
Who you are calling
We will tell you honestly when we can be there. An optimistic window that slips is worse than a realistic one.
When you call, a person answers, day or night. That has been true since Big Mike ran the phone himself, and it is one of the reasons people keep calling us.
The range of licensing we hold is a direct consequence of the work in this area, where properties on septic and aging underground infrastructure are routine.
We answer the phone at two in the morning because the problems that need us most do not happen at noon.
Big Mike's · Yucaipa, California
Questions we get about septic tank repair
If yours is not here, call and ask. We would rather talk it through than have you guess.
Can a cracked septic tank be repaired?
It depends where. Hairline cracks above the water line and damaged lids are routine repairs. A cracked or collapsed wall below the water line is a replacement.
What does a broken baffle do?
The outlet baffle holds scum back so only clear effluent leaves the tank. Without it, grease and solids go straight out to the drain field and shorten its life.
Why does my tank fill up right after pumping?
Either groundwater or surface water is getting in, or the outlet is blocked and the field is not taking flow. Both are findable.
Should I add a riser?
If the lids are buried, yes. A riser brings the access to grade so the next pump-out does not start with digging, and it makes inspection possible.
Is a repair worth it on an old tank?
Often. Concrete tanks here routinely run forty years. We will tell you what we can see of its remaining life before you spend anything.
Does a real person answer when I call?
Yes. The line is answered live around the clock, so you are talking to somebody who can send a truck, not leaving a message for the morning.
Can you handle septic as well as plumbing?
Yes, and it is a big part of what we do. We are licensed for sanitation systems, so tanks, leach lines and the plumbing that feeds them are all one contractor.
Do you pull permits?
Where the work requires them, yes. Permits and inspections are handled as part of the job rather than left to the customer.
What areas do you serve?
Yucaipa and out across San Bernardino County, Riverside County and the eastern edge of Los Angeles County. If you are not sure you are in range, call and ask.
How this fits the rest of the system
Properties on septic in this area range from carefully documented systems to ones nobody has looked at in thirty years. If records exist, county files usually have the original permit with tank size and location. If they do not, locating the components is straightforward work and worth doing before there is a problem rather than during one.
Before we come out
Before we arrive it helps to know where your main water shutoff is and whether it turns. Clearing access to the work area and putting pets somewhere else speeds things up considerably too.
The service area reflects where our customers actually are. It has widened steadily since 1982 and it keeps widening for the same reason it always has.
Related work and where we do it
Other septic and underground work
- Septic Tank Installation
New tanks and full system installs.
- Pump Installation
Sewage, effluent and sump pumps.
- Septic Inspection
Camera and condition inspections of the system.
- Septic Tank Pumping
Routine pump-outs and full tanks.
- Pump Replacement
Replacing failed pumps.
- Leach Line Repair
Restoring a field that is surfacing or slow.
Where we go
We run septic tank repair out of Yucaipa across Pomona, San Jacinto, La Verne, Bradbury, Hesperia, West Covina and Walnut, and the rest of San Bernardino, Riverside and the eastern edge of Los Angeles County.
Call the shop. A person picks up.
Tell us what it is doing and we will tell you what it takes to fix it. Plain language, no sales pitch, and the number before we start.
Yucaipa, California · Serving San Bernardino, Riverside and eastern Los Angeles counties · Open 24 hours