Buying a home will be one of the largest investments you’ll ever make – That’s why we compiled this handy plumbing checklist for new home buyers for you to peruse before you sign on the dotted line. You will want to hire a professional plumbing company before you do so, but there are things you yourself can be on the lookout for on the initial house tour of your dream home.
WATER HEATER LAND: Ask the realtor if you can see where the water heater lives. Have the agent provide you with the age if it and the last time it was professionally serviced. If it is a unit that’s getting up there in its useful lifecycle ( 7 years or up), you may consider asking the sellers agent to replace it or giving you money towards doing so in the contract. You are not going to want to invest in replacing it in the few years right after you move in. While there, also give it a visual inspection by looking for any signs of corrosion or build up.
BEWARE OF LEAD:According to the CDC, children aged 1-5 have an above-average amount of lead in their blood. Stay away from homes that have lead piping so that you do not contribute to those levels worsening. You can replace all the pipes in a house, before moving in, but it would be a very costly endeavor. It’s better to look for another house option.
FLUSH THOSE BAD BOYS: Flush each toilet, in every bathroom. Look for minor toilet issues like gurgling sounds, sweating, water around the base, running too long, or a weak flush. Also, keep your eyes open for the obvious- clogs or backups which would be a bit more expensive to fix later on.
SIZE MATTERS: I’m sure we have all experienced dreaded low water pressure when staying in a hotel or one of your past homes. Not exactly how you want to start your life off with your exciting new venture! That’s why you should inspect the size of the water pipes. Pipes should be a minimum of ¾ inches from the water source to the home, and a minimum of ½ inches to faucets. Anything smaller could restrict flow, and this is something that could be prohibitive to replace.
WATERFALL: Even after you’ve inspected the pipe sizes, you should still turn all of the faucets on and off. You’ll get the best gauge of water pressure by turning each of the showers on and seeing for yourself. Plus, everyone has their own personal preferences what amount is “perfect” for them.
THE NOSE, KNOWS: Sewage problems are smelly, disgusting, and expensive – not exactly how you want to embark on your new home purchase. If you smell something foul during your walkthrough, no matter how pretty the architecture may be, you may want to pass this one by. Sewer line breaks can put a damper on your budget and be a huge unwanted expense very soon after your purchase.
AVOID THE MONEY PIT
Money Pit Plumbing
If you’ve ever watched the movie “The Money Pit,” then you may be well aware of the dangers of not fully vetting a new home before making a purchase. If you haven’t seen the film, it’s a Tom Hanks classic about a couple that finds a super great deal on a home that’s too good to be true, but buy it anyway—and they were filled with tremendous regret.
In one famous scene, Tom Hanks’ character pours water into the upstairs bathtub (from a bucket because the plumbing’s busted) and the added weight of that small amount of water causes the tub to fall through the floor, creating a gigantic abyss in their ceiling.
While most homes won’t have plumbing problems as catastrophic as the hopeless mansion in the movie, it does put an exclamation point on an important lesson: ALWAYS check the plumbing BEFORE you buy your dream home.
Before you purchase a home with plumbing from the Jurassic period, make sure you go through this plumbing checklist for new home buyers during your next house tour. Even if everything looks great on the surface, we still suggest a full house plumbing inspection. Our technicians are trained to check every possible problem and can seek out issues that would often go unnoticed to the public eye. Buying a new home can be a very stressful task, but we’re here to help things flow smoothly. Contact Augerpros Plumbing today at 214-206-6580.
