What a plumbing inspection checks before you buy a house

Your home inspector will look at the plumbing, but they also have the roof, the wiring, the foundation and everything else to cover. A plumbing inspection is a plumber spending the whole visit on the water heater, the pipes, the drains and the fixtures.

Why it is worth it on an older house

Portland has a lot of houses built before 1960. Many still have some original galvanized steel supply pipe, which rusts from the inside and slowly loses pressure. Some homes from the 1980s and early 90s have polybutylene, a gray plastic pipe known for failing. Either can mean repiping, and that is a cost you want to know about before you agree a price.

What gets checked

The water heater

Its age (the serial number usually tells you), signs of rust or leaks, the relief valve and its discharge pipe, and the venting on a gas heater.

Supply pipes

What they are made of, where you can see them, any corrosion, and the water pressure at the fixtures.

Drains

How each drain flows, any slow ones, and signs of past backups such as staining around floor drains.

Fixtures and shut-offs

Faucets, toilets, tubs and showers, and whether the main shut-off and the valves under sinks and toilets actually work.

Visible leaks

Under sinks, around toilets, in the basement or crawlspace, and on ceilings below bathrooms.

What it does not cover

We can only report on what we can see and test without opening walls. The main sewer line from the house to the street needs a camera to see inside it. If we see signs of trouble there, we will tell you so you can arrange that before closing.

Getting the most from it

• Book early in your inspection period so there is time to act on what we find
• Make sure we can get to the water heater, the crawlspace or basement and every bathroom
• Be there for the walk-through at the end if you can, and bring your questions