When I retired and moved here to TX (Boerne) from Virginia I was insanely lucky. My cousin is a realtor here across Texas and was my realtor so we absolutely made sure I was taken care of. Used the same inspectors that he used for his own home both home inspection and a plumbing inspector. Luckily no issues but was a nice piece of mind, especially when spending the money I did.
That's great! Just remember, a camera won't find everything...it could miss a hairline crack or split in the pipe...doing a water test will confirm this
I agree. And i think plumbing testing is necessary for all the home purchases. However the problem is the Texas real estate commission ( TREC) . They are requiring the testing to be approved by seller (by signing a document ) before the plumber doing the testing. When i requesting the plumbing testing , I had many times pushed back by sellers or listing agents. I also had many times be yelled at by listing agents. Plumbing testing is very important but the Trec makes it very difficult to get the testing approved
Where i live we call it a oz test. It's required in most municipalities as a final test inspection on new commercial buildings. You only need 1 main line cleanout put your test ball in and you simply fill a toilet up with water on the top floor. It test the underground and the whole building. If you fail the best way to find the leak is a smoke test
$60k for a sewer replacement is mind-blowing to me. Was that replacing the building drain as well? I'm happy you guys can get that price. In my area the upper end is $20k range and those are 20'+ deep on rocky mountain terrain.
Great advice Roger 👍. Another test you will want your plumber to do is a simple manometer test on the gas lines . This test is quite simple and will verify whether your gas lines and gas controls can hold a pressure test at delivery pressure ( 7” to 14” water column )of the gas. As a gas fitter/ first responder for a major gas utility Believe Me this is one test you don’t want to avoid .
@ ,working for the gas utility in STL, every day for 35 years until I retired.Gas did not get turned back on without a P.T. with manometer. We stopped spotting gas meters once electronic heads were installed causing too much slop on 1/2 foot test hand (only would add about two minutes to the job).Now the new ultrasonic meters can preform a leak test without the need for a manometer ,they can also clock BTU (Digital readout) ,notify us if anyone is tampering with the meter,turn the gas off from the office ,shut off automatically when it notices excessive flow (so be careful bleeding gas lines too fast) & send us meter reading anytime we want them; isn’t technology wonderful ?. I miss the old 2 way radio & A pocket full of coins for the payphone 🤣.
In my country if you sell a house you have to have a electrical clearance certificate it is required by law. I'm surprised as far as I know a plumbing one isn't on the list. And think it should be.
So for the electrical clearance, they just go around testing all the electrical appliances and outlets around the home? Very interesting, what country are you in? I think that's a great idea
"To be honest" I've designed hundreds of millions of dollars in sewer infrastructure, and not heard of a two way clean-out until this video. "To be honest" I think it's a good idea, but it is not required by code. "To be honest" plumbing code in Florida is lacking in maintainability. "To be honest" I'm appalled at some of the things the IBC allows. "To be honest" not that it matters because the municipal inspectors make it up as they go along anyway. "To be honest" yet another trap to be looking out for when buying a house.
About 11 years ago, I bought a house in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Sure enough, a few months after I bought it, the drain backed up. A camera showed the pipe going out to the city drain at the street had broken and collapsed. It was an investment; along with other problems, total profit: negative $15K.
When I retired and moved here to TX (Boerne) from Virginia I was insanely lucky. My cousin is a realtor here across Texas and was my realtor so we absolutely made sure I was taken care of. Used the same inspectors that he used for his own home both home inspection and a plumbing inspector. Luckily no issues but was a nice piece of mind, especially when spending the money I did.
We always advise our clients to do camera scopes for all sewer lines in addition to their home inspections. Well worth it.
That's great! Just remember, a camera won't find everything...it could miss a hairline crack or split in the pipe...doing a water test will confirm this
I agree. And i think plumbing testing is necessary for all the home purchases. However the problem is the Texas real estate commission ( TREC) . They are requiring the testing to be approved by seller (by signing a document ) before the plumber doing the testing. When i requesting the plumbing testing , I had many times pushed back by sellers or listing agents. I also had many times be yelled at by listing agents. Plumbing testing is very important but the Trec makes it very difficult to get the testing approved
Where i live we call it a oz test. It's required in most municipalities as a final test inspection on new commercial buildings. You only need 1 main line cleanout put your test ball in and you simply fill a toilet up with water on the top floor. It test the underground and the whole building. If you fail the best way to find the leak is a smoke test
$60k for a sewer replacement is mind-blowing to me. Was that replacing the building drain as well? I'm happy you guys can get that price. In my area the upper end is $20k range and those are 20'+ deep on rocky mountain terrain.
Great advice Roger 👍. Another test you will want your plumber to do is a simple manometer test on the gas lines . This test is quite simple and will verify whether your gas lines and gas controls can hold a pressure test at delivery pressure ( 7” to 14” water column )of the gas. As a gas fitter/ first responder for a major gas utility Believe Me this is one test you don’t want to avoid .
Great tip! Do you perform these tests often?
@ ,working for the gas utility in STL, every day for 35 years until I retired.Gas did not get turned back on without a P.T. with manometer. We stopped spotting gas meters once electronic heads were installed causing too much slop on 1/2 foot test hand (only would add about two minutes to the job).Now the new ultrasonic meters can preform a leak test without the need for a manometer ,they can also clock BTU (Digital readout) ,notify us if anyone is tampering with the meter,turn the gas off from the office ,shut off automatically when it notices excessive flow (so be careful bleeding gas lines too fast) & send us meter reading anytime we want them; isn’t technology wonderful ?. I miss the old 2 way radio & A pocket full of coins for the payphone 🤣.
In my country if you sell a house you have to have a electrical clearance certificate it is required by law. I'm surprised as far as I know a plumbing one isn't on the list. And think it should be.
So for the electrical clearance, they just go around testing all the electrical appliances and outlets around the home? Very interesting, what country are you in? I think that's a great idea
Great video! This is probably a dumb question, but this should be done for full basement foundations as well, right? I'm in Ohio.
If it were my house, I'd do it
"To be honest" I've designed hundreds of millions of dollars in sewer infrastructure, and not heard of a two way clean-out until this video. "To be honest" I think it's a good idea, but it is not required by code. "To be honest" plumbing code in Florida is lacking in maintainability. "To be honest" I'm appalled at some of the things the IBC allows. "To be honest" not that it matters because the municipal inspectors make it up as they go along anyway. "To be honest" yet another trap to be looking out for when buying a house.
Plumbers make it very hard to get this service.
Are these tests important for other parts of the country? We dont have a slab; what should we look for?
About 11 years ago, I bought a house in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Sure enough, a few months after I bought it, the drain backed up. A camera showed the pipe going out to the city drain at the street had broken and collapsed.
It was an investment; along with other problems, total profit: negative $15K.
I hope they are important...Basically the same thing as what we do. Do a sewer water test and check for leaks
cool