John F Dean

Back in the 80s I did some volunteer work in Carbondale, Il out of a dome that was supposed to have been built by Bucky.  I was there for a few years and don’t recall a leak issue. This is not to suggest the present day domes don’t have problems, but rather that the leaks are probably avoidable with appropriate planning and construction.

Edit:  Even though the rumor was the dome was built by him, I suspect it is more likely it was built by some of his interns.

Hi John C.

As it turned out, the person at the first level of review has one job …. They have a list of approved services.  If you call your service one of those listed… you clear the first level.  Of course, I got me a copy of the list as soon as I realized it existed.

My helper came over July 1.  We knocked out all the heavy lifting in less than an hour.  He is a Hulk Hogan clone. Although having some years on him, he was still well up on his game.  I paid him for the  full hour plus and extra  $5.   He was well worth it.

A thought …which is always dangerous for me.  If the crack is on the bottom, what measures would you take to determine if the patch is holding?   It seems that sitting it directly on the ground might hide a leak.

Edit:  of course, having it sit elevated might add stress points ….depending upon how it is supported.

Kara,

A few posts have already been made that addresses the actual patch.  One problem with repairing cracks is that they tend to spread.  Drilling small round holes at the extreme ends of the crack tends to limit the growth of the crack.

Without seeing the tank, if I were to repair it, it would drill a small hole at either end of the crack, fefore I patched it, to discourage it from spreading.

If I was thinking of buying the tank, I would ask myself why the seller didn’t repair it.  I would assume a tank without a crack is worth more than a tank with one.

Finally, what are you planning on using tank for? Humans, animals, garden, or something else?


I am finding the price for a new black water tank that looks similar to be in the $2000.00 range.  

My wife bought a used Bow Flex. With the help of a ramp I managed to unload it from the truck.  I would need human help to get it inside. So I took a break until my helper arrived. Of course, when he did, the BowFlex was covered with chickens. They were working on their pecks.

John C,

No idea.   Much depends upon the intellect and attitude of the person on the funders end… which is often the state. I learned quickly to have good relationships with people on the inside.  

In my later years I would have other CEOs amazed I could get through on one phone call when it would take them weeks of repeated calls.  Of course these same people would brag about how they cussed out various officials.   Now, does it take that much thought to ask yourself if the official knows they will be cussed out when they call you back …why would they make the call?  And, when you are caught making an honest error, do you really expect them to charge in to rescue you?  

Of course, there are various levels of billing fraud.  There is out and out theft where all aspects are phony. .  I was somewhat more sympathetic with revenge billing. That is a service delivered was refused funding due to unfortunate wording.  So, the CEO gets ticked off and submits a phony bill to make up for the loss. I found it is safer to do a legal work around. Early on as an administrator I had the funding for a service labeled “Attention and Compliance” rejected.  I resubmitted the billing under the heading “Receptive Language” and it was paid.  The same services. Different heading. No one cares what you do. They care about what you call it.

Yeah…I went off a second story roof … by myself… a mile from the nearest neighbor.  Who would have thought a metal roof would have ice on it on Christmas Eve. When I woke up on the ground my faithful companion was in my face barking.   ….oh yes, did I mention it was northern Minnesota and a snowstorm was coming in (which is why I was on the roof ..To patch a leak).  I was lucky.  When I went off the roof I hit the ladder, and it broke my fall.  It also broke  my knee cap in 3 places (all hairline). Thinking I had not screwed up enough, I refused to go to the hospital. Amazingly, since then I have hiked the Grand Canyon several times.  Only rarely does it act up.

It was after that I adopted my mantra of don’t do dumb things.