When Buying A Home Do I Need Plumbing Inspection?


Share On:


House &Amp; Key

Are you planning on buying a new home? Then make sure to learn about these general plumbing inspection tips to avoid having plumbing issues such as leaking taps and blocked drains in your new house. Enjoy the house, and don’t regret the house. What people aren’t aware of is that emergency plumbing and electrical issues are the main problems new homeowners encounter regularly. Things like leaking taps, defective lighting, faulty electrical wiring, and blocked drains are just some of the most common ones. And the reason? Failure to do a thorough inspection. Yikes!

You see, what homeowners fail to do when they purchase a new home is to inspect the plumbing and electrical systems of the house they are planning to buy. Most people invest in a building inspection of the prospectus house, yet a building inspection doesn’t offer a thorough plumbing or electrical inspection, it only covers a quick visual inspection of your services. So, to help future homeowners with this, we came up with a bunch of tips for them to do before they buy a new home. Now, if you are one of those, then keep on reading.

What to Inspect:
Plumbing, Electrical System, Roofing, Foundation & Other Structural Features

Buying a new home is not a simple task. It requires a lot of time, effort, and most definitely plenty of investment. That’s why making sure that the house you buy is in good condition is extremely important. Thus, we’re here to guide you through the things you should inspect before you purchase your new home.

1. Taps

It’s natural for your taps to eventually start deteriorating and leaking with age. However, if the taps have not had regular maintenance then they may need replacing. Leaking taps that have been allowed to leak for long periods of time may be beyond repair, and tap bodies and breaches may need replacing to resolve the issue. Tap repairs are often thought of as easy, however, this is not always the case and can be an expensive task, especially for shower and bath tapware, as the tap breach is behind the wall tiles and if this breach is cracked, tiles will need to be removed and parts replaced.

So how do I test this? If the taps are leaking, the best way to check if the taps are beyond repair or can be serviced is to pull them apart and inspect the breaching piece for cracks. If the breach or bodies are cracked, then it is a good indication that major work may be required.

2. Toilets and Drains

One of the most used parts of a house every day is the bathroom. So if your newly bought house has a blocked toilet or a history of blocked drains, then you may be inheriting someone else’s expensive issues. This is the reason why having plumbing inspections before purchasing a home is necessary. Especially since the last thing you want in your new home is a toilet that doesn’t work.

In order to check for flaws in the toilets, flush every single one of them and look if all the water level rises and drains straight away, if not it means they are blocked or partially blocked and this can turn out to be a serious mess. It’s important to make sure that your toilets are in good working condition before you consider purchasing them.

3. Water Heater

There’s nothing worse than a cold shower, especially in winter. The water heater is the hardest working appliance in any home and can be one of the most expensive to replace. Therefore, if your prospective home has a faulty or old hot water system, you need to be aware from the get-go in order to budget for the likely replacement. But this could be avoided if you do an inspection before you buy a house. Now, in checking the water heater the first thing you should do is to know its age of it. Most water heaters are built to last 10-12 years. So, make sure that the hot water system in your future home is not older than that., also check for leaks, rust and general wear and tear.

Another thing: You should also check if the water heater is working well by testing it out. This way you’ll know if you’ll experience any difficulties with it as you use it in the future. As you test the device out, you can look out for the following:

Dripping Relief Valve - Plumbing And Electrical

Leaks on any parts such as the inlet and outlet.

Hot Water Tank Leaking

Noises coming from the hot water system.

Drain Water In Hot Water System

Rusty water coming out from taps or any fixture connected to the hot water system.

Plumbing Hot Water Heater Not Working

Rust forming on parts of the water heater.

If you see any of what we listed on the existing water heater in the house you want to purchase, expect that you will have to buy a new one. So, make sure to take this into account when you plan on purchasing a home.

4. Water Meter

One of the best ways to check for plumbing problems inside your future home is by looking at the water meter. You can do this by turning off each of the water outlets inside the house and then checking the meter.

If the water meter hasn’t stopped and is still turning then this means that there’s a leak somewhere in the plumbing system. You can inform your real estate agent about this or the house seller so they to solve the problem before you purchase the property.

5. Main Sewer Drains

Blocked Drains are a common issue with aging houses and inevitably are due to old clay pipes along with large trees. As you purchase a new home, you would hope that the ones selling you the house would call a plumber first to inspect the main sewage systems before they show it to you. But this is not the case for some. Since most people do not check out the plumbing systems of the house, sellers do not give it too much attention.

In line with this, you shouldn’t take any chances. Thus, it’s important that you check out the main sewer drains of the home you are trying to purchase. Because serious plumbing problems could mean that a plumber might have to replace parts of or even your entire drain to resolve the issues and let’s face it, after investing so heavily in your purchase of a new home, the last thing you want to do is spend even more money, often money you don’t have, on sewer drain repairs, replacement and drain renovations or on the entire home renovation plumbing.

So, before it turns into a major problem, calling a trusted plumber to check up on the main sewer drains is your best option. And since you’ll need a licensed plumber to help you do an inspection in your drains, with a drain camera it’s essential that you carry out a full inspection of the sewer drains and stormwater drains prior to making an offer on any house. It’s far better to be aware than unpleasantly surprised, by what’s required for drain and general plumbing repairs.

To Sum It All Up

Doctors often claim early detection can save lives since preventive measures are much better than cure. The same principle applies to your home because your home’s plumbing can benefit from early detection too. Now, our emergency plumbing services are available 24/7, but why would you wait until a crisis?

The Plumbing and Electrical Doctor’s professionals are honest about what your home needs now and what you may be looking at down the road. What’s more, our company is composed of licensed plumbers and electricians that can handle any of your plumbing problems. We also provide for any of your electrical needs from products to services such as safety devices and switcheshouse rewiring, switchboard upgrades, and more! So don’t hesitate to call us today at 131091.

THE DOCTOR GETS IT DONE
General Plumbing & Electrical, Hot Water Systems, Blocked Drains, Gas Fitting