Illegal Plumbing?
Home owners and home buyers need to understand that not everyone has their best interest in mind. This can be especially true when times are slow and a contractor sees an opportunity to make a large profit.
I have recently been involved in two cases of “Illegal Plumbing”. In both cases a plumber saw that the plumbing did not meet the current code and used that opportunity to deem it “Illegal”.
One case involved Polybutylene plumbing. The homeowner called in a national franchised plumber to make a simple repair to a damaged pipe. I would expect to see this repaired with a section of PEX plumbing replacing the damaged area. There was no evidence of leaks any where else and this area of the state typically has very low defects in Polybutylene plumbing. The plumber shows up, proclaims the plumbing “Illegal” and proceeds to quote a long list of horror stories to the homeowner. Once everyone is sufficiently shaking and their heart rate has doubled, the perfect solution is offered. Including today’s discount, the home can be re plumbed for only $4800!
About thirty seconds later my phone starts ringing and this homeowner demands to know why I did not tell them their plumbing was “Illegal” and had to be replaced. I listened quietly and asked “Illegal? Did they tell you the Police were coming to lock you up or something?”
I then explained how they came by the Illegal term and that there was no legal requirement in the codes to replace the piping. I gave the homeowner the names of three plumbing companies and explained that these three companies have been plumbing locally for years and they did not get there by running scams. I suggested they call all three and get their opinions over the phone.
About an hour later the homeowner called me back. He explained that all three had similar comments to mine about Polybutylene. The majority of failures they see are when it was connected directly to the water heater ( his was not) or in homes with plastic fittings. They offered rough estimates of a few hundred dollars for his repairs, and if he really wanted, would re plumb from $2800 to $3200. He said one plumber felt the future risk was a little higher than the other two but admitted that his home had this very type of plumbing with no problems.
Another similar event occurred recently when a home warranty company was called on to make a plumbing repair. It looked like this home had been re plumbed many years ago with CPVC on the hot lines and PVC on the cold. The current standard says PVC can not be used for distribution piping and here we went again. In this case an out of town plumber was sent by the warranty company. He informed the homeowner and the listing agent that the PVC was “Illegal” and he could not make repairs to it. It would need to be replaced for about $3000. The crazy part was that the plumber left a document with the homeowner that said “The cold water lines are PVC and PVC is not rated for hot water.” He explained to the homeowner that a faucet that has a single handle allows hot water to flow back down the cold water lines. I’m still digging for information to prove that claim.
It was later proven to the warranty company that the written local code from the 90’s said PVC was allowed for this application. They replied the home had been red flagged by their plumber and he was the only plumber they used so they would not make the repairs. If anyone wanted to re plumb, a few calls to local plumbers found prices 30% to 50% less.
By the very nature of my job, I am a generalist. I make no claims to be an expert plumber, electrician, HVAC contractor. etc. At the same time, I have seen a lot of scams over the last thirty years. My basic test is easy!
1. Do other reputable contractors basically agree?
2. Are their prices, experience, materials, warranty, methods and reputation about the same?
NO? Be careful!!!!
Bill
Comments Off
Together we provide the unique dual perspective of a husband and wife team. Our philosophy is simple. We treat people the way we would like to be teated and we treat every inspection like we are buying the home.
