Need some advice

[check 6]

My neighbor , we are related is having his roof replaced and the low budget crew he chose showed up today. We had 2.4” inches of rain last night and the soil is already very moist. The workers drove their trucks and trailers on his front lawn and left ruts some 10” plus deep. Naturally he, my cousin called me and said would you use your tractor and repair my lawn. I have a front loader but no rear implements except a mower. I told him at a minimum he needed to get at least three to four yards of good topsoil delivered.
what I’m looking for is advice of what implement may be best to re grade the lawn with minimum damage to the existing lawn. Oh by the way it is over his septic leach field . Ok experts looking for comments
thanks

 

[jaxs]

My choice of impliments are fel and box blade. Get it level enough to mow then tweak it after a few rains/watering.

 

[CausticUrbanCoast]

Keep the tractor off it, hopefully the trucks didnt damage the field.

Your going to have to rake/drag it by hand, nothing heavier than a small lawn tractor.

 

[check 6]

That was my view to keep anything heavy off it I went by tonight and the dump trailer filled with roof singles has sunk almost to its axles , should be fun getting it out . He needs to use he money he foolishly saved to get some labor to hand rake the topsoil or sandy loam he needs to order in and then drag it with a golf cart or equivalent

 

[dougtrr2]

He might want to get his leach field evaluated. Even with the rain, it seems like the area is a lot softer than it should be. I had a leach field that got soft very quickly and eventually had to add more laterals to cure the problem.

Doug in SW IA

 

[JJZ 109]

Does "low budget" contractor translate to no liability insurance? They messed his yard up, they should be responsible for repairs.
Sometimes the old adage "pay once, cry once" is actually true.

 

[arto98607]

Sounds like a pretty good mess, all that's missing is leaky new roof and the low bidder come back for repairs!

Oh, and I would double check to make sure the roofing material supplier got paid....

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Does "low budget" contractor translate to no liability insurance? They messed his yard up, they should be responsible for repairs.
Sometimes the old adage "pay once, cry once" is actually true.

This.

I would also *strongly* encourage him to have his septic field checked out by an expert (pay for an inspection, be prepared to sue the roofer to recover costs & damages).

Depends on his septic field type, depth and soil type, but where mine is concerned, I cannot drive an empty pickup truck across the field (let alone my tractor). I was enthusiastically told "NOPE" by our septic system inspector when we purchased the house last summer.

If these guys really are driving heavily laden trucks and dump trailers across it, they very likely have seriously damaged it, and the whole thing will end up needing dug up and replaced. I wouldn't touch the yard in any way until all this gets figured out. You will be covering up the evidence of the damages, and this could all end up in a nasty court case/law suit before it's over with.

I would take MANY pictures NOW and try to get a licensed septic inspector to come out and look at it NOW, before these yahoo's get a chance to conceal any damages.

 

[newbury]

Where did this evolve into the roofer damaging the leach field?
The discussion started about the front lawn.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Where did this evolve into the roofer damaging the leach field?
The discussion started about the front lawn.

It was right there in the OP's opening statement.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

My neighbor , we are related is having his roof replaced and the low budget crew he chose showed up today. We had 2.4” inches of rain last night and the soil is already very moist. The workers drove their trucks and trailers on his front lawn and left ruts some 10” plus deep. Naturally he, my cousin called me and said would you use your tractor and repair my lawn. I have a front loader but no rear implements except a mower. I told him at a minimum he needed to get at least three to four yards of good topsoil delivered.
what I’m looking for is advice of what implement may be best to re grade the lawn with minimum damage to the existing lawn. Oh by the way it is over his septic leach field . Ok experts looking for comments
thanks

 

[Jchonline]

My neighbor , we are related is having his roof replaced and the low budget crew he chose showed up today. We had 2.4” inches of rain last night and the soil is already very moist. The workers drove their trucks and trailers on his front lawn and left ruts some 10” plus deep. Naturally he, my cousin called me and said would you use your tractor and repair my lawn. I have a front loader but no rear implements except a mower. I told him at a minimum he needed to get at least three to four yards of good topsoil delivered.
what I’m looking for is advice of what implement may be best to re grade the lawn with minimum damage to the existing lawn. Oh by the way it is over his septic leach field . Ok experts looking for comments
thanks

I would tell the contractor doing the roof replacement they need to have it professionally repaired and re-sodded. No way I would put up with that.

Now on the repair...

What is the current composition of the soil and grass? Was it Bermuda or st Augustine or just a bunch of weeds? What type of soil do you have in the affected area?

And over the leech field? I wonder if they damaged the infiltrators...again I would have them cover the cost to get it inspected, then repaired. Driving your 4000lb tractor over them again isn't a great idea.

 

[Jchonline]

That was my view to keep anything heavy off it I went by tonight and the dump trailer filled with roof singles has sunk almost to its axles , should be fun getting it out . He needs to use he money he foolishly saved to get some labor to hand rake the topsoil or sandy loam he needs to order in and then drag it with a golf cart or equivalent

Again I don't understand how the contractor would not be liable. Did he just pick up some guys from outside the local labor corner and make a quick stop by Home Depot for shingles or was this contracted out?

They knew it was wet. They just wanted to be closer to the house so they could finish faster and move on to the next job.

 

[JJZ 109]

Where did this evolve into the roofer damaging the leach field?
The discussion started about the front lawn.

From the original post:

"what I’m looking for is advice of what implement may be best to re grade the lawn with minimum damage to the existing lawn. Oh by the way it is over his septic leach field . Ok experts looking for comments
thanks"

 

[TerryR]

I went by tonight and the dump trailer filled with roof singles has sunk almost to its axles ...

and this one by the OP.

 

[check 6]

Because his leach field is in the front yard. And as of last evening the trailer was still there and well embedded. There is lots of repair and I don’t want to put my tractor on it . We shall see not to bright on his part with almost four inches of rain in the last seven days on already saturated ground

 

[PILOON]

Again I don't understand how the contractor would not be liable. Did he just pick up some guys from outside the local labor corner and make a quick stop by Home Depot for shingles or was this contracted out?

They knew it was wet. They just wanted to be closer to the house so they could finish faster and move on to the next job.

IMHO many roofing contractors are but quick cash artists.
Generally no insurance, part time workers gathered at a local bar and paid cash.
Most simply disappear every year and move on to greener pastures.

On the other hand roofing is not rocket science, just a few basic rules to follow.
I'm not a pro, nor licensed but no roof I've done has leaked.
My trick is good flashing and for the mere cost I use self sealing membrane on the entire roof, not just edges and openings.
While membrane is not cheap labor is as it takes no effort to unroll the membrane.
IMHO membrane is very cheap insurance.

 

[check 6]

Guys thank you I looked at it again this morning and he brought in a dually wrecker to get the dump trailer loaded with old shingles out and the yard is now really a mess. I estimate at least 8 yards of topsoil need and most of the yard regraded to do it right. It is a mess and yes they drove over the leach field several times . Topsoil and a box blade is a quick fix but we are really out of our rainy season until late fall . It’s almost to the point of using a disc adding topsoil and regrading the entire lawn ….. but he saved money on the roofing , does that come under the heading of “ penny wise and pound foolish” to my mind beyond me spreading dirt and back dragging with a front loader ….. and then there is the leach field

 

[EddieWalker]

In my experience, the front bucket of my tractor, dragged backwards is just about the best thing ever at smoothing out dirt. Just adjust the angle of the bucket to either dig in a little to lower high spots, or smooth over low areas.

I've also had great results using a plate compactor on clients yards with sprinklers and lots of landscaping. the dirt was still there, but he ruts had raised it along the sides of the ruts. Just run the compactor next to the rut and the dirt fills back into the rut. Rarely have I ever had to buy or bring in more dirt to fix ruts.

 

[check 6]

In my experience, the front bucket of my tractor, dragged backwards is just about the best thing ever at smoothing out dirt. Just adjust the angle of the bucket to either dig in a little to lower high spots, or smooth over low areas.

I've also had great results using a plate compactor on clients yards with sprinklers and lots of landscaping. the dirt was still there, but he ruts had raised it along the sides of the ruts. Just run the compactor next to the rut and the dirt fills back into the rut. Rarely have I ever had to buy or bring in more dirt to fix ruts.

i would agree except that the soil is so saturated from all the rain. After all they drove on it within 24 hours after 3 plus inches of rain that was preceeded by additional rain some of the ruts are about a foot deep and it’s multiple lines of deep ruts covering a large portion of a yard that is about 100x 200 a mess to say the least . It will be several days before I would even put my “L” series tractor on it