Plumbing Issues

Issue #1

The green garden hose in the photograph is from the on site water softener treatment system. The length of hose has no one-way check valve installed. The hose is connected to the main drain line of the house and is down stream from all the toilets, sinks etc. of the home. Raw sewage /black water are seeping back into the drinking water for the owners through the unprotected garden hose. The explained reasoning for the installation was “we didn’t want to kill our septic system with high salt back wash.” This cost saving measure done by the homeowner could have made everyone violently ill with e-coli and a host of bacteria. The effective repair AFTER the water pipes were disinfected was approximately 4 hours with a plumber and parts for $900.00.

Issue#2

I see that repairs have been made to the main drain line with PVC (the white pipe). Not all of the porous piping has been replaced and we still see that the pipes are leaking over the repair clamps and onto the new replacement pipe. If you look carefully you will see that the top piece of cast iron pipe in the photograph is crooked. This was not properly installed to begin with. A competent plumber will need to disassemble this coupling, remove the leaking cast iron and replace it. During disassembly it was determined that the drain pipe from the second floor to the cellar was leaking and needed to be replaced essentially from top to bottom. The walls in the home had to be opened up and a new pipe installed to the second floor. The carpentry, repainting/repairing walls and ceilings, plumbing repairs and permits cost the homeowner more than $5000.00.

You are looking at a brand new kitchen drain and water supply approved by the local plumbing inspector. The drain line, which is the flexible pipe, is not an approved drain line. While it may be available at your local hardware supply store it will melt with hot grease and continuously suffer blockages. The trap (elbow) is set at an angle. The entire assembly is not aligned. You can expect to take this apart on a regular basis. Both of the water supply lines are not sufficiently secured. They will either crack, leak or get sheared off while placing objects under the sink. Both of these issues were repaired by a plumber for about $400.00

Issue #4

There is no bargain in the cheap seats. A toilet when flushed can spray water vapor up to 10 feet. So not only is this seat uncomfortable it is the harborage point of some pretty nasty bacteria. A good quality seat can cost from $50.00 and up. While both the existing seat and the cost to replace are painful, a new seat will bite you once.

Issue #5

The drain pipe positioned at a 45 degree angle is prone to back-ups. The waste liquid races down the pipe and leaves any solid material behind. Ultimately causing repeated back ups and blockages. Repairs would consist of repositioning the pipe into a more gradual angle. This would be done by a competent plumber for around $675.00 .

Issue #6

This is not a water leak. This is evidence of a blocked flue pipe and Carbon Monoxide leaking into the house. When you see this, open a window and call a plumber. This water heater had a blocked chimney flue dumping Carbon Monoxide into the home. What’s even more interesting is that the main floor carbon monoxide detectors never went off. No detector in the cellar and the children play down there all the time. To clear the blockage, replace the water heater and install a Carbon Monoxide detector cost about $1,000.00

Issue #7

This is a nice looking Boiler Mate hot water maker. This unit according to the manufacturer’s tags is now 18 years old. In the town where it is installed, this should have leaked a while ago. A major contributing factor to the recommendations made was that the remainder of the basement is finished with carpet, entertainment area, home office and laundry. Based on our experience it was recommended that the unit be replaced before it leaked. It became a $1800.00 project. If left until it leaked, the repairs would have been substantially more.