Plumbing Guides
Older Homes & Home Buying
What to inspect before you buy, cast iron, polybutylene, repipes, and what is different if you just moved here.
Older Homes & Home Buying Just moved to Southwest Florida? Eight plumbing things that are different here Plumbing in Southwest Florida works the same way it did up north, but the house around it is different. There is no basement, the supply lines run through the attic or… Older Homes & Home Buying Buying an older home with cast iron drain lines? Get the sewer line scoped first Yes. If the home was built before about 1975 and still has its original cast iron drain lines, have them camera-inspected during your inspection period. Cast iron in… Older Homes & Home Buying Does my home have polybutylene pipes, and what should I do about them? Look at the pipe near the water heater, under the sinks, and where the main enters the house. Polybutylene is flexible gray plastic, often stamped PB2110, with copper or… Older Homes & Home Buying Repiping an older Southwest Florida home: when it is time and what to expect It is time when the leaks stop being isolated: repeat pinholes in copper, any polybutylene, galvanized pipe that has choked the pressure, or rusty water from the supply… Older Homes & Home Buying Cast iron, galvanized, copper, CPVC, polybutylene, PEX: what pipes are in your Florida home? The year the house was built narrows it fast: cast iron drains and galvanized or copper supply before the mid-1970s, PVC drains with copper after that, polybutylene or… Older Homes & Home Buying The plumbing items on a Florida 4-point inspection, and how to pass them A 4-point inspection is a short report on the roof, electrical, HVAC, and plumbing that Florida insurers require before writing a policy on an older home. The plumbing… Older Homes & Home Buying How long does a repipe take, and what happens each day? On a typical single-story slab home, the plumbing side of a repipe runs two to three working days, with the water off for most of one of them and back on that evening… Older Homes & Home Buying PEX vs CPVC for a repipe in a Florida home Both are approved for a repipe, and both outlast the pipe they replace. PEX is flexible, runs in long pieces with few joints, shrugs off the chlorine in our water, and… Older Homes & Home Buying Should I repipe before or after a remodel? Repipe first, or at least during. A remodel opens the very walls a repipe needs, and new tile, cabinets, and a finished shower are exactly what you do not want to cut… Older Homes & Home Buying Plumbing repairs that change a home sale price A handful of plumbing findings show up in almost every renegotiation on an older Lee or Collier County home: cast iron drains, polybutylene supply pipe, a water heater… Older Homes & Home Buying Unpermitted plumbing work: getting it resolved before closing Unpermitted plumbing shows up in the county permit search, the inspection, or the seller's disclosure, and it stalls closings because lenders, insurers, and title…