Birmingham Plumbing Inspection

Why You Need A Home Plumbing Inspection

A plumbing inspection should be one of the primary aspects of the property that a buyer must look into before negotiating or closing a deal. Plumbing repairs are not inexpensive, and getting stuck with poor plumbing work or broken pipes in your new home is bound to be a frustrating experience.

Many factors ought to be considered before deciding on or acquiring a home. Among the most important is knowing that you have the right plumbing for your needs and that your plumbing system is in good condition. So, in our opinion, the brief answer is, yes, you do require a complete plumbing inspection before moving on to purchase your new home.

Considerations

The expense of some of these tests/inspections can be substantial, depending upon who you opt for. However, we can assure you the peace of mind you deserve and possible savings upfront is huge. If you can get a cutback in your overall home price based upon the findings of plumbing inspections, you will, without a doubt, save money hand over fist, and the small upfront investment will be minimal as opposed to the dividends that it pays. You may not want to hand over these large sums every single time you discover a home you like, but once you have found “the one,” you should certainly take the plunge, for lack of a better word, and have a plumbing inspector come out and inspect your prospective home.

A Couple Things To Look For

It isn’t unusual for the new home construction or renovation contractors to make mistakes when connecting water systems. So here are a couple of things that you can look for personally during your walkthroughs.

Ensure to check each plumbing fixture in the house and ensure that they are fully functional. A contractor may have cut some corners throughout the remodeling or new home construction. The result is that the water flow isn’t all that great, or perhaps these systems have degraded gradually. Whatever the case may be, such limitations or problems should be dealt with as quickly as possible, and you should not have to absorb that expense, so make sure to use the findings in your inspection report as leverage.

Identifying the Presence of Water Leaks

Before moving into any given house, you or the plumbing inspector must determine whether there are any leaks.

If you decide to work with a plumber to inspect your prospective home, they will fully ensure no leakages in the house by performing a set of tests. Water leaks require major repair work and can cost thousands of dollars. During the repair of any broken pipes in your new house, you would have to destroy beautiful wood or tile flooring, which would add to the repair costs. This is a headache you don’t want to have.

In each restroom, make sure to inspect the flooring to see whether it is spongy or soft. If so, more than likely, there is, or there could have possibly been, a leaking pipeline or fixture at one point.

Next, check the kitchen too and look inside each of the cabinets for signs of moisture. Open each faucet and ensure that the water flow is great and not slow or defective.

Standing water in the yard is also an indication of a water leak. Stroll through the front and backyard personally to see if there is water on the ground, which might result from pipes leaking.

Is the Water Heater Working Properly?

Hot or warm water has become an important part of our everyday lives, and as such, it’s important to make certain that your water heater is in good working condition. Either you or the plumbing inspector should inspect to see any rust on the exterior of the pipes or connections.

A water heater that is more than ten years old needs to be quickly replaced, so keep that in consideration. You can look for the manufacturer’s sticker on the side of the water heater unit that shows the specific date the team was produced and assembled. If you do not see a relevant date, we recommend you do a google search using the serial number to determine the unit’s age. Suppose the team in the home you are taking a look at seems to have been there for quite a while. In that case, you may want to consider its location in the house, whether it’s in the attic or a closet, and remember that if the unit does not have a drain pan or flood stop, this could result in severe damage to the house.

Water heaters are costly to replace, and it can be a lot more expensive to upgrade to a tankless unit. Keep this expense in mind if you find that the home you are looking at has an older water heater in it. Also, make sure that you take the best actions to secure your investment.

A few things to search for on your water heater list include:

1. Does the water heater have any deterioration or rust on the system itself or its connections?
2. Does the unit have a pan below it with a pan drain line connected?
3. Do you have a Floodstop unit or similar device set up to shut the water off automatically if the presence of water is detected in the pan?

If rust is evident, you may want to have the system inspected, and depending on the age of the unit, it might require replacement. If the water heater does not have a pan below it, consider calling a plumbing technician to have one installed, especially if the unit lies in your attic or inside a closet in your house. If the team does not have a flood stop gadget installed, you may want to seriously consider having a professional set up one for you. These devices can save you thousands of dollars in repairs in a potential flood brought on by water heater failure. How does it work? The device has a sensing component that is placed in the drain pan. As soon as moisture is detected, it cuts off the water supply to the water heater, which prevents any damage to your house while you are at work or doing other things.

Call Us At (205) 835-0539  For Your Plumbing Inspection Birmingham, AL Today!

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