Surface impressions are often found to be deceiving in the most inconvenient way. When someone looks at a house for sale, everything seems to be bright and shiny and ready to operate at peak efficiency, but this is not always the case. This is particularly true in the case of a home’s plumbing and sewer systems, which almost always appear to be in great condition when they are not in use.
The Value of a Comprehensive Plumbing Inspection
One of the most important reasons why a homeowner should insist upon a pre-sale plumbing inspection is that there are both serious inconveniences to having a critical part of the plumbing fail once the home is occupied and major health risks involved. A missing or inoperable siphon valve on the sprinkler system, for example, could lead to the introduction of contaminants into the home’s water supply. These could then, in turn, cause serious sickness in the inhabitants.
Avoiding Costly Surprises and Inconvenient Repairs
Because much of a home’s plumbing system is located behind walls, any failure that gets discovered will frequently involve the creation of access holes at the very least. Taking care of these problems before the house is occupied means that everything can be restored to normal before anyone moves in. Also, it is important to remember that it is more economical to require the current owner of the house to pay for any necessary repairs before the sale is consummated rather than having to pay for them yourself once the title has been transferred.
Items Which Need to be Examined
Clean running drains and, where necessary, properly-operating septic systems are obviously of great concern. Particularly in cases where a property has sat vacant for a long time, roots and other obstructions can clog up drains to the point where they will permit small amounts of water to pass but not the large quantities generated by a fully-occupied house.
Water pressure must be verified. Too little pressure is bad, but too much can also lead to such problems as explosive leaks in the piping and a constant splitting of garden hoses. Hot water heaters can frequently be degraded to the point where they will provide small quantities of heated water but not the full amount for which the tank was designed.
The most important point to remember is that many of these problems are hard for amateurs to spot and can represent serious expenses and major inconveniences if repairs are required once the house is occupied.
Call Mark Johnson Plumbing & Rooter at (318) 257-6167 for impeccable inspection services in the Ruston area.
