[left]I am purchasing a house- but it failed septic inspection. I have asked the sellers to replace the septic. The sellers hired another company to do a second opinion (which also failed). The septic tank, distribution box, distribution box lid, and drain field were all “unsatisfactory” on the second opinion report. The septic system is 30 years old and the house is vacant. The sellers had the septic pumped after they moved out. The initial inspection was done about 4 days after heavy rainfall and the tank was noted to have ground water above the outlet pipe and in the bore holes over the drainage field there was not the recommended 12in before hitting water. The second opinion dug up the distribution box which was metal (automatic fail) and corrosion on lid. The flow test showed water rose above the outlet pipe in the septic tank but drained about 1 inch after 20 minutes. The camera in the drain pipes showed debris and tree roots as well as too much water in the drain field (but not saturating the ground. The second opinion company said expensive repairs would only provide limited benefit and still possibly not make the system in “satisfactory” condition so they would recommend a flow test after any repairs. Also by the age of the system and condition observed, they recommended “budgeting for replacement of the septic system despite outcomes of repairs.” The sellers are trying to have a company hydro-jet the drain pipes to remove the debris and fix the problem, although this seems like a short cut/temporary solution-leaving me with the cost of replacement. My questions are 1) how does hydro-jetting work? 2) how effective is it? 3) what are there chances the system will still fail? 4) will this take care of the problem of not having deep enough dry soil- it seems the system is failing from both ends? 5) what damage may occur during the hydro-jetting? Thank you for taking the time to read and address my questions and concerns![/left]

After a couple of companies came out none of them would give an estimate until they dug up the area and wanted to charge and arm n leg to do when it was more than obvious what the issue was. I took it upon myself to dig which took 5mins as I started noticed water seeping through the foundation in the basement right under the discharge. I would like to tackle this myself but a couple things I'm concerned with. I'm guessing the weight of the soil over time put pressure on the pipe and finally broke. When I attempt to lift the pipe to the level of the broken outlet pipe it wont budge much due to the weight of the soil holding it down. The other issue is how would one tie a section to that broken piece coming out of the foundation? I have no problems digging more if need be. Just trying to gauge what all would be involved to get it done right. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.