Are You Ready to Take The Plumbing Plunge?

By Brenda Masse
Special Contributor

When you’re buying a home, the major areas of consideration are plumbing, electricity, HVAC, the roof, and the foundation. These are the most important (and most costly) parts of the home, so you want to gather as much info as possible in order to plan for major expenses down the road.

These videos give you a good idea of some of the things a home inspector is looking at when inspecting the plumbing:

Water, Water Everywhere

In this video, Inspector Adrian finds some problems in the bathroom and laundry room. Make sure you watch to the end to see the moisture reading and thermal imaging. Water leaks cause damage you can’t clean up with a towel.

Tandem Toilets

Here, Inspector Tracy finds an older bathroom that needs updating. But I’m wondering how — and why — this home ended up with this toilet situation.

What You Can’t See Will Hurt You

In this video, Inspector Brian finds some major issues under the house. On an older home like this one, you definitely need a thorough inspection of the plumbing and make sure your inspector goes into the crawl space if it’s a pier-and-beam foundation.

It’s important to remember that a home inspector isn’t there to steer you away from a house that has repair issues. Every house has repair issues. You’re always going to have to repair or replace this or that. But as a homeowner, it’s best to know whether you’re going to need a new AC, a new roof, etc. in 2 years or 10 years, so you can plan.

A house that will need a lot of work right away may not be the right choice for every buyer, while others plan to renovate immediately. Either way, a home inspection will help you enter into homeownership with your eyes open.