Are you planning on purchasing a house in 2023? No matter if you’re a first time homebuyer or if you’ve gone through the homebuying journey before, this is still such an exciting time! We hope the entire process goes smoothly and you find something that matches exactly what you had in mind. While you’ll likely have plenty of things to consider during this, such as school district, neighborhood, price point, square footage and so on, it’s important to also take into account plumbing too.
For anyone that may be visiting our blog for the first time, welcome to Stine-Nichols Plumbing. Based out of North Kansas City, MO, our team provides residential, commercial and new construction plumbing services throughout the Kansas City area, along with many of the surrounding cities. We utilize our blog as a platform for educating homeowners on plumbing tips that they can utilize right away. As evidenced by the opening paragraph, this week’s blog is going to focus on plumbing advice geared towards homebuyers. Unless it’s a true fixer-upper, I’m going to guess you don’t necessarily want to purchase a home filled with potential (or current) plumbing headaches. Fortunately, there is plenty of due diligence you can conduct ahead of time to ensure you know exactly what you’re buying. Throughout this blog post, we’ll highlight a few of the items to remember.
Sewer Line
For those that follow us on Facebook or Instagram, chances are you’ve seen a couple of the sewer line repairs/replacements our team has worked on. To sum it up, it’s usually one of the bigger plumbing projects a homeowner can be faced with. Furthermore, you definitely don’t want to cut costs on the repair either, as it’s the perfect example of a plumbing project you don’t want to have to make again. There are many factors that will impact the current state of one’s sewer line, including the age and material used.
Anyways, the reason I’m referencing it in regards to the homebuying process is because you’ll want to make sure it’s properly inspected before you finalize the transaction. With this, you’ll want a professional plumber to run a camera through the sewer line to get a real-time view of what it currently looks like. Since a sewer line isn’t readily visible, this is the best way to see what exactly is going on underground. If anything is off, they’ll be able to locate where the issue resides and inform you on what needs to be done to fix it. Assuming you haven’t already closed on the home, this will allow you to have a conversation with the existing homeowner to see if they’re willing to pay for the repairs themselves or take a particular amount off the listing price. Long story short, it’s better to be aware of a faulty sewer line before purchasing the home, rather than have a massive repair bill come your way shortly after moving into your new home!
Water Heater
Another invaluable plumbing component is your water heater, right? After all, I’m going to guess everyone is expecting there to be hot water in their new home! Well…I’ve added it to this list because you’ll want to take note of the current status of that home’s hot water heater. As you can likely guess, water heaters aren’t built to last forever and with that being said, it’s worth it to know whether or not you’ll find yourself replacing it in the near future. Keep in mind that while a water heater replacement is nowhere near as expensive as a major sewer line repair, it is still a significant investment.
So, when it comes to evaluating the current water heater in a house, here are a few factors to acknowledge:
Type of Heater – First and foremost, you’ll want to see what type of water heater the existing homeowners had installed. Is it a tankless water heater or a traditional storage tank unit?
Age of Heater – Once you know what type of heater is installed, you’ll now want to see how old it is. While some variables, such as routine maintenance, will dictate just how many years one gets out of their water heater, there are some general lifespan numbers that we can provide here. On average, you can expect traditional storage tank water heaters to last roughly 10-12 years and you can expect to get 20-plus years out of a tankless water heater.
Size of Heater – Depending on the home’s size and regular water usage levels, there are varying sizes of heaters to pick from. Assuming your number of household occupants isn’t significantly larger than the previous homeowners, this shouldn’t be a concern, but it is something worth taking into consideration.
Brand of Heater – When it comes to various plumbing components, you’ll notice there are quite a few different brands throughout. While this doesn’t guarantee you won’t experience any issues with the product, it is another potentially important variable. In terms of the brands we recommend, the popular storage tank ones are AO Smith, Rheem and Bradford White. On the tankless heaters, we’ve primarily been installing Navien lately. Again, the brand shouldn’t necessarily sway you in the final home purchase (especially if the heater has already been in use for a few years), but it is another factor to keep in mind.
Fixtures
Unless you’re planning on saving some money for home improvement projects, odds are you would like to have fairly reliable and professional plumbing fixtures installed upon moving in. Take some time to evaluate the current state of the faucets, toilets, showerheads, garbage disposal and so on. How well do each of these various components work? Do they have an aesthetically-pleasing appearance or do you see them needing modernized in the next year or two? Are they made by reliable name brands? If so, are replacement parts readily available in the event that would be needed? Even though replacing a few faucets here and there isn’t a major purchase by any means, it is an added investment that’s worth factoring into your final decision.
Consult a Professional and Licensed Plumber
Buying a home is a big purchase! There’s no denying that. You’ll obviously have plenty of other things swirling through your head and the last thing you need is to be worrying about whether or not the plumbing is intact in this new house. After all, I think most homebuyers would agree that they’re probably more interested in other features of a house, as opposed to the sewer line or water heater! With that all being said, your best bet is going to involve having a reliable inspection completed and having an experienced plumber get eyes on everything. In addition to the items mentioned, a licensed plumber will be able to look over the pipes and make sure everything looks good there. They can look out for any faulty repair jobs that may have previously been done. And ultimately, they can let you know whether or not there are any potential plumbing problems brewing!
Our team at Stine-Nichols Plumbing has years of experience in both residential and commercial settings. When you work with us, you’ll not only receive reliable and long-lasting solutions, but also expert advice on how to prevent the same plumbing issues from happening twice. To learn more and request a free estimate, feel free to click the link HERE.