Do not Pay for a New Home until You Check these Plumbing Issues

 

Too often home buyers overlook inspecting the plumbing before buying a home and end up paying for expensive and unbudgeted repairs. Sellers can only disclose what they know about. If you don’t know what to look out for, you may miss tell-tale signs that can foretell serious and expensive plumbing issues. 

While a plumbing issue may not be enough reason to abandon a purchase, you can at least ensure that the price reflects the cost of repair or ask that the repairs be carried out before purchase.

Water Stains

Check out for water stains on the ceilings and walls as well as for mouldy spots. All these can be signs of the presence of leaky pipes.

Leaky pipes are not usually expensive to fix but if the problem has been allowed to fester for a while, it may have caused damages that could make the expenses mount up.

Inspect the edge of the taps for lime scale as this is one of the signs of hard water, suggesting you may need a water softener.

Check the Boiler

Does the boiler look old? An old and inefficient boiler can be costly to maintain because you would end up paying more heating and water bill. Newer boilers are more efficient and save you money. A boiler that’s more than 10 years old is usually about 30 percent less efficient. For more information on pluming and boiler maintenance visit lewes.plumbing 

For a newly installed boiler, there is usually a notification issued by the Gas Safe certifying that the boiler was installed by a qualified person. You can ask the seller for this.

Also, check to see if the boiler is regularly serviced and maintained. Check for the date on the servicing sticker or booklet and see if the last servicing is within a year.

You should also check to see if the water heater is properly insulated.

Inspect the various connections and look out for leaks and rust. And don’t forget to ensure that the heater is actually working.

You can put it on when you come to inspect the home; before you leave the radiators should be warmed at least.

Water Pressure

Check out the water pressure in the home. At times a weak water pressure may be easily fixed by changing the taps or shower heads but it’s worth inspecting to know what you are dealing with.

The best way to check is to turn on the tap or shower farthest from the source. This may be the tap upstairs. If the pressure upstairs is good, the rest of the rooms should be fine too.

 Don’t forget to flush all the toilets to ensure that they actually flush and that they refill properly.

Leaking Taps

While checking the water pressure, don’t forget to turn on the taps in the kitchen, bathroom, toilet and other places to ensure they are working as they should and are free of any leaks.

Carrying out a good survey can save you thousands of pounds in expenses. If there are any problems, it’s usually better to get the services of a professional plumber and boiler service in London than resorting to DIY. Too often, plumber and boiler service providers are called upon to solve a DIY gone wrong that ended up escalating a minor issue as well as the cost.

 

For more information on what to look for in a good emergency plumber, please see hillsemergencyplumber.com.au