Are You Thinking About Buying A House?
Deciding to buy a new home in Sydney is usually the largest investment most people make in their entire lives. Everyone knows they should organize a building and pest inspection however the plumbing of their new home is something many people consistently overlook. Generally, only a cursory glance over a home’s plumbing is all that’s covered by a standard building inspection. What’s really needed is a professional plumbing home inspection by a Master Plumber equipped with the proper tools and expertise to diagnose plumbing issues before they escalate and end up requiring expensive repairs.
Why Is A Home’s Plumbing System Important?
Although it often goes unnoticed until something goes wrong, the plumbing system in your home is a very important part of maintaining your health, safety and comfort. It includes sewers, the water supply, hot water system, stormwater gutters, downpipes and internal fixtures. A problem in any of these areas can result in serious damage such as raw sewerage spills, flooding and even structural damage. For example, tree root intrusion into sewer lines or pipes can result in blocked drains and collapsed pipes. Other common issues resulting in significant annoyance include leaky taps and drainpipes, low water pressure, poor surface water drainage and pipe corrosion for instance. Unfortunately, many of these issues will not be spotted by an untrained eye and it’s not until an expert plumber has a thorough look that they may be diagnosed.
Why is a plumbing inspection important?
Purchasing a new or existing home can be a period of great joy but also stress as the new owners adjust to paying down their mortgage. The last thing they need is a huge plumbing bill when they’re already stretched to the limit financially. Plumbing problems can easily escalate if left untreated and a major issue could potentially end up costing thousands to fix. Although a professional pre-purchase plumbing inspection is not required by Australian Standard AS 4349.1 (Inspection of Buildings), it does form part of a comprehensive property inspection and can save significant amounts of stress and money in the long-run.
Doesn’t A Building Inspector Do That?
A regular building inspector is not qualified of licensed to test the true condition, compliance and safety of a home’s plumbing, drainage and gas systems. Instead, this work must be carried out by a registered plumber with highly-specialised equipment. Standard building inspectors are allowed to conduct visual inspections of plumbing fixtures such as the looking for the presence of moisture under waste pipes, checking drains have grates and water flows correctly. However, many building inspectors do not have plumbing industry experience and may not notice things that seem obvious to a professional tradesman. It is not uncommon for a homeowner to feel let down by a building inspector when a plumbing issue arises shortly after settlement. We have even seen obvious issues such as leaky pipes, faulty taps and illegal plumbing installations slip under a regular building inspector’s radar.
Can’t I Inspect Plumbing Myself?
You can definitely take a look at things yourself by walking around the property, flushing the toilets, turning on some taps and checking for leaks but without professional tools and experience, it’s almost guaranteed that some important things may get missed. For example, there may be some issues that appear small to you but a plumbing inspector will know they are an indication of bigger issues with the potential to affect the value of your new home or investment. For example, leaks invisible to the naked eye could be slowly causing wall and ceiling damage that may require major renovations to fix.
Why Is A Professional Plumbing Inspection Better?
Identifying plumbing issues before settlement makes it easier to remedy the situation before signing on the dotted line as they are a lot more difficult to find and repair latter down the track. During a professional plumbing inspection, all plumbing and drainage systems at the site are thoroughly investigated ensuring they are in working order and comply with local and national plumbing standards. Up to 90% of pre-purchase plumbing inspections identify issues missed in traditional building inspections. The subsequent report enables prospective purchasers to make informed decisions on purchasing the property and identifies faults along with costs to rectify them. This enables prospective purchasers to renegotiate the price with confidence or walk away and look for a more suitable buy.
A pre-purchase plumbing inspection by a professional company such as Silver Water Plumbing will include checking the following:
- Irregular water meter fluctuations signifying hidden leak
- Existing plumbing complies with current by-laws.
- Hot water unit is fitted with a tempering valve
- Downpipes and gutters condition
- Presence of an overflow relief gully (ORG) to prevent indoor sewerage overflows
- Grates are fitted over drain openings
- Hot and cold water taps are installed in the correct positions
- Monitor hot water using a thermometer.
- The bottom of floor wastes are sealed
- DVD sewer pipe and stormwater CCTV inspection
- Water pressure tests to diagnose any underlying issues
- Surface water report ensuring adequate drainage is present
- Comprehensive hot water heater inspection with working life report
- Condition reports of all water lines, taps, flick mixers and fixtures, vanities and pipes below, toilet and cistern
- If the toilet has been removed to access the drains previously
- If the hot water service has been relocated
- Identification of lead pipes
Why Should I Choose Silver Water Plumbing?
Instead of having to call out a professional plumber to fix a blocked drain two weeks after moving into your new dream home, carrying out a pre-purchase plumbing inspection could potentially save you a lot of money and stress. Silver Water Plumbing offers hassle-free and extremely thorough plumbing inspections to residents across Sydney. We often find numerous small problems that are easy fixes but it’s not uncommon for us to find larger more costly issues. Armed with this knowledge, prospective buyers can renegotiate harder on the sales price or even walk away from the deal all together.
We strongly recommend getting Silver Water Plumbing out to conduct a comprehensive pre-purchase plumbing inspection to identify defective plumbing and drainage and protect your most valuable asset.
For more information, please call us on (02) 9199 2055.