5 Must-Know Plumbing Mistakes to Look for When Buying a House

Last week, we discussed some changes that home sellers can make before putting their home up on the market. However, what if you’re on the other side of the equation? Knowing what to look for in a home before you purchase it can be critical, especially when it comes to plumbing. While you can fix cosmetic issues, bad pipes could be a potentially costly issue. When you’re looking to purchase a new home, make sure you check for these potential plumbing problems before you sign any paperwork:

Enough bathrooms

One issue that you likely won’t be able to fix – at least, not cheaply – is having enough bathrooms. If there are five people in your family, and only one bathroom in the home you’re considering, you may want to pass even if everything else is perfect. Of course, this is totally subjective, but it may help to decide in advance how many bathrooms you need. Would one bathroom suffice if you had an additional half-bath? Make sure you’ve got enough space for your entire family’s needs.

Water stains

Water stains on the walls or ceiling could be a sign of leaky pipes. Make sure you’re on the lookout for moldy spots, as well. Leaky pipes don’t have to be expensive to fix, but if they’ve already done some damage, the repair costs could stack up. You may also wish to keep an eye out for “interesting” paint jobs. If just one wall or one room in the home has been painted, but everything else has been left its original color, this could be a sign that the previous homeowners were trying to hide the damage. Make sure you ask about it – maybe it was just a lime green wall, but it could have been water stains.

Standing water

Scope out the property to ensure that there’s no standing water on the grounds. While it might not seem like a big deal to have a puddle or two, standing water could be a sign that the sewage pipes aren’t properly connected to the home. This is also a great reason to get a dye test – these simple tests can determine how well-connected the pipes throughout the home are.

Water pressure

While sometimes, you can fix bad water pressure with a new shower head or faucet, you may wish to check it out anyway. One way to determine how the water pressure might work throughout the home is to turn on the shower farthest away from the water source. If that upstairs shower has great water pressure, it’s likely that the rest of the home does, too. While you’re at it, make sure you flush all the toilets in the home to ensure that they flush and fill up properly.

Check out the water heater

An old, inefficient water heater could cost more than you’d think. Remember, you’ll have to pay bills in home if you purchase it, and an inefficient water heater could cost you money on both your water and heating bills. If this is a dealbreaker for you, ask the current homeowners to hire a Pittsburgh plumber to replace the old heater with a newer model.

Depending on the age of the home and how well it’s been kept up, you may have nothing to worry about. However, doing your due diligence when purchasing a home in the area could save you big bucks on a Pittsburgh plumber down the road.