Sink Hole in Yard

Friday while pulling out of my driveway to go to work, I noticed a small spot in my yard that looked like a hole. When I got home I investigated it a bit more. It is about 2' in diameter and a foot deep. The ground is real soft and wet. I also noticed that my sewer line runs right below it. I also noticed that across the highway in my neighbors yard, he has one also. His is about 6' from the road while mine is about 15' from the road.

I don't know if this is going to be the county sewers problem or mine. Guess I'll call the county tomorrow and find out. It just doesn't seem right that all of a sudden two spots that are sinking with the road between them.

If it was the sewer line washing out, it would seem that I would be having a problem with my drains. I have no problem,,,,,,,,,at least not yet. I put a 2x4 in the hole so that people won't step into the hole. I knew things were going to well .......... Weather was nice today, boat is now uncovered ready for preseason maintenance........................SS

Re: Sink Hole in Yard

SS MAYFLOAT said:

Friday while pulling out of my driveway to go to work, I noticed a small spot in my yard that looked like a hole. When I got home I investigated it a bit more. It is about 2' in diameter and a foot deep. The ground is real soft and wet. I also noticed that my sewer line runs right below it. I also noticed that across the highway in my neighbors yard, he has one also. His is about 6' from the road while mine is about 15' from the road.

I don't know if this is going to be the county sewers problem or mine. Guess I'll call the county tomorrow and find out. It just doesn't seem right that all of a sudden two spots that are sinking with the road between them.

If it was the sewer line washing out, it would seem that I would be having a problem with my drains. I have no problem,,,,,,,,,at least not yet. I put a 2x4 in the hole so that people won't step into the hole. I knew things were going to well .......... Weather was nice today, boat is now uncovered ready for preseason maintenance........................SS

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Can you tell where the water went? Sounds like the prime candidate is the sewer line, or along side of it.

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Haven't seen any standing water. The sod was just pushed down where the soil has washed out from underneath it. Here is a few pics. I punched the hole through the sod with the 2x4. The 2by was easily pushed into the dirt by about a foot. The 2by in the pic is 36" long.

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You might have a series problem.

I don't know if your responsible up to the connection at the road?

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I do believe anything between your house and the street is your responsibility.

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Old grave sight. Possible undead wondering around your streets lately. You know the under world looking to escape. Maybe shoot it and have oil come out like the Beverly Hillbillies. You just have to explore all of your possibilities.

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Beware!! I've seen those exact holes before!! Watch out for a giant sand worm! <vague b-movie reference>

If you see one, call the local over-armed off-the-grid couple. They can at least provide comedic relief

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Could be a couple of possibilities.

One, the sewer line is cracked and is leaking, washing out the dirt along the line. I would think it unlikely though due to lack of pressure.

Two, when they back filled the line, they dumped in some big dirt clods, and over time it finally broke down and settled.

Re: Sink Hole in Yard

puddle jumper said:

Old grave sight. Possible undead wondering around your streets lately. You know the under world looking to escape. Maybe shoot it and have oil come out like the Beverly Hillbillies. You just have to explore all of your possibilities.

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Not long ago, behind my house and several properties north, the sheriffs found a woman that had been buried there for 2 years. You could see the CSI tent from my dining room window. Turns out it she was killed for messing with a mans wife.

The sewer line was put in 18 years ago. I don't think that it shouldn't have failed so early. I know we have had lots of snow followed by rain, but nothing unusual from the past. I just find it more strange that there is one right across the road from mine.??????? Same size and depth. Maybe shoddy workmanship? There has been lawsuits against the contractor who had performed the work. There was large sections that sunk in the middle of several streets. Maybe this is some of his work that is just now showing its fault. I'll find out tomorrow..

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gonefishie said:

I do believe anything between your house and the street is your responsibility.

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In my town we are only responsible to the cleanout. I'm sure every place is different.

Re: Sink Hole in Yard

SS MAYFLOAT said:

Haven't seen any standing water. The sod was just pushed down where the soil has washed out from underneath it. Here is a few pics. I punched the hole through the sod with the 2x4. The 2by was easily pushed into the dirt by about a foot. The 2by in the pic is 36" long.

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Well, I can think of a couple of things: there was a stump/log that was buried 18 years ago when the line was put in. It had rotted out over time, and now the rain caused the soil to cave. That's the happy scenario.

Now, the bad scenario is that you are having water run into, or along-side the pipe. When they installed the pipe, did they put gravel around it - then the dirt to fill in the hole? If so, it is possible that the gravel created a path for the water. If your sinkhole is in a low spot on the yard, or in the path of a run-off, then it may be that the water found a weak spot to the pipe, and is running along side (or actually into the pipe if it is broken). Since it is a sewer line, there should be no pressure inside the pipe and it would allow the water to flow downward (away from the house/point where the hole is) and to the larger sewer main. It could be flowing along side the pipe to a hole in it, if there is one. At any rate, the water - and the dirt, and whatever else it is pulling along with it - needs to go somewhere.

You could try to dig out the hole to see what you can see. Run a garden hose out there too - and see where the water goes.

Now, if your'e feeling *really crazy* and don't mind the risk of exploding yourself, your house, or the road, you could try to blow some smoke down the hole. [You could get a large PVC pipe, a 90 degree elbow for it, a small fan, and a bunch of smoke bombs. Remember, you MUST say the words Yeeeehaw! Hey, y'all watch this! before and during the attempt at this totally unrecommended manuever. Make a U out of the pipe, larger section goes into the sinkhole, at the smaller end righ a pan a couple of inches up - then attach the fan. Light the smokebomb, run the fan, and RUN away yelling the above words and cackling.]

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Double reply, sorry - deleted.

Oh, it does look -in the second picture- as though the pipe runs left to right, slightly diagonal - is there a depression that runs that way too? (and the hole is in the middle of the depression).

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A number of years ago I had a similar event where I stepped on my lawn and my leg went down into the soil above my knee. When I opened the hole up I found debree in there that no honorable the contractor would use as fill. There were various scraps of rotted plywood, other wood and a truck tire. The contractor was no longer listed as they either went out of business or changed there name.
The bottom line is that after I filled the hole with sand and dirt, the problem never returned.

Good luck, hope your problem turns out to be as easy as mine was (after I got over the aggrivation).

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I think the lid of a wooden box full of gold has rotted out and caved in

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Yah, well, if you had a leak in your sewer line, your nose would know it. Was there ever a septic tank or cesspool on the property? If so, it may not have been properly decomissioned.

I know of these things, having fallen into a collapsing cesspool nobody knew about when I was 10 years old. Fortunately, it was in the summer, so I could stand outside for the ritual hosedown without shivering. It is still an annual joke in my family...my sister especially likes reminding me of it, since she was standing in the yard laughing her 9 year old butt off while I was standing there nekkid getting hosed off by my father, who kept falling down from laughing so hard.

Watch yourself!

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Heee...heee....heeee! Now that's what you call "your in deep s...t"

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I think you have answered the question as to 'WHAT HAPPINED TO JIMMY HOFFA" . If it were in my yard I would fill it up with dirt and forget it. Now if you see poo poo pellet the size of baseballs scattered near the hole you might need to call someone.LOL

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Mix and Pour in a bag id ready mix concrete tamp the wet cement in the hole and ignore it for 2-3 days then fill with dirt.

If there is a water intrusion or flow the concrete will stop it or slow it up. It os a cheap fix aside from digging it up.

Mayfloat you are comitted to fix it. You have shown it to us and we are going to hound you forever until we see pictures of it repaired

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Call you local sewer department and ask them to do a die test.If a funny color shows up down stream in the pipe (manhole) you know that it is a broken pipe.
It is smart to fix that,because roots will find the hole,grow inside and clog your pipe.
If they do not find a trace of color,get a few sand bags (full ones) dump them in the hole and tamp them down,fill the rest with topsoil and forget about it for the next 5 years

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rolmops said:

Call you local sewer department and ask them to do a die test.If a funny color shows up down stream in the pipe (manhole) you know that it is a broken pipe.
It is smart to fix that,because roots will find the hole,grow inside and clog your pipe.
If they do not find a trace of color,get a few sand bags (full ones) dump them in the hole and tamp them down,fill the rest with topsoil and forget about it for the next 5 years

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Die test won't work until after St. Patricks Day way too many people drinking green beer and filling the sewer system for that.