Is there anything more stressful than buying a new home?
Especially here in Auckland, where the housing market goes up and down more often than a kid on a seesaw.
Purchasing a new home is an investment, and like any investment, you need to do your research and get all the boxes ticked. You don’t want it to turn into an unprofitable nightmare you never wished you’d laid eyes on.
One of the essential boxes to tick during your purchase is…you guessed it…a pre-purchase plumbing inspection.
What is pre-purchase plumbing, gasfitting and drainage inspection?
Well, the name kind of says it all but think of it like a building and pest inspection, but only for plumbing.
You get a qualified plumber to arrive at the property to conduct a comprehensive inspection of all plumbing works of the property, both internal and external.
A few of the things we will check:
- All valves on the hot water cylinder are operating correctly
- The hot water cylinder is compliant and operating correctly
- Leaks on the hot water cylinder
- Leaking pipes
- All tapware is operating correctly and not leaking
- Blockages in downpipes and guttering
- Blocked drains
- Inspect drains using a CCTV camera
- Gasfitting is safe and compliant
This will ensure you comprehensively understand your potential new home’s plumbing ins and outs. Especially since you can’t see all of your plumbing with the naked eye.
A building and pest inspection do not include plumbing work. The building inspector will simply check your hot water system installation, the toilet flushes, and all fixtures. They also check for grates over drains and any noticeable mould. That’s it!
Some big plumbing problems can’t be seen without a thorough inspection by a qualified plumber.