Plumbing problems hiding in your dream home

About to place a bid….WAIT….check for these common problems first; Congratulations……I don’t know how you can afford a home in the current market but you have somehow found a way. Before you do take the plunge and make your dream home a reality, you need to be aware of the common plumbing issues that you could find. Knowing about the plumbing helps you avoid any nasty surprises once you have moved in and it can also be used to negotiate a lower price with the seller. So let’s try and save you some money by looking with a more critical eye around your dream home.

Front facade

You are standing outside, looking at the front facade, what a beauty….wow. Now try and look past all those dreams and take a good look at what you can see of the gutters, roof and downpipes. Are they in good condition? Do they look rusty? Will they need replacing soon?

Interiors

Now let’s step through that front door….floorboards….nice, any water damage? Any water stains on the walls or the ceiling? Try and look for any evidence of a previous or current water leak and pay close attention to rooms underneath potential upstairs bathrooms and kitchens.

Bathroom

Focus lots of your attention on the bathroom and pay close attention to the tile work around the bath, shower and sink. Poor tiling work is a major and costly thing to get re done. If the tiling work isn’t providing a proper seal to prevent water leaks, complete waterproofing works are often required.

Now take a close look at the cabinetry under the sink and check for water damage.

Flush the toilet; Does it drain quickly, and fill properly?

Run the taps; Are they flowing freely and draining just as easily?

If you find drainage issues from the taps or toilet, the house could have some pretty old pipes. They may also have some blockage issues. Big blockages and cracked pipes are expensive problems and a big dig up is not something you want to be paying for after that huge house deposit you just made.

Laundry and Hot Water Unit

Let’s continue to search through the house. Again check the taps and cabinetry in the laundry and search for the hot water unit. Once you have found it, the label should be visible. How old is it? Is it still under warranty? A quick google search of this unit should be able to tell you pretty quickly what the standard warranty is. Hot water units are not cheap to repair and very expensive to replace. It’s worth knowing how many years you should get out of your hot water unit and when it was last serviced.

Kitchen

Head to the kitchen where you will be preparing (or someone will prepare for you) all those delicious meals. How does the cabinetry look underneath the sink? Any water stains?

Check the kitchen taps, the water flow and the drainage. Are there any odours coming from the sink? Odours from any of the sinks and pipework in the house can be a big sign that the pipes could be old and there may be blockages.

Sewer and stormwater drains

You want to find out as much about this property as you can and to help do that it is so important to know about the pipes of the sewer, stormwater and water service.

Obtain a sewer plan from the local water council and any plans of plumbing works that have been undertaken at the property.

Neighbours

If your dream home is in close proximity to neighbours it is worth investigating if they have had any plumbing issues. Plumbing issues your neighbour has can have a serious impact on the integrity of your potential properties pipework.

Get in touch

If you want more information about potential plumbing issues please contact us. You can also engage our services to inspect the property if you think the issues need to be looked at by an expert.

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Have you already bought your dream home? Did you have some surprise plumbing problems? Let us know.