Plumbing - Ottawa Home Inspections

Although most of the plumbing lines in the home are in inaccessible areas like behind the walls or in the finished ceilings, what is visible is inspected to ensure that it meets the performance requirements of the materials that have been installed. With the changes over the years from lead to cast iron to copper to plastic in both supply line and waste, it is important to inform the client of the material that is in the home. Some insurance companies may have issues with cast iron systems and health hazards of galvanized cast iron and lead supply lines will be discussed during the inspection.

Samples from other inspections

Plumbing 1

On this exterior hose bib the cap for the aerator is missing. The aerator allows air into the hose during shut off which helps to drain the water in the valve and reduces the chance of freeze up.

Plumbing 2

This home owner must be a hockeyfan, unfortunately hockey tape should be left on the stick. It rarely makes a good plumbers putty. Rubber and plastic gaskets and seals are made specifically for this kind of repair.

Plumbing 3

Rural inspections with wells are common in the business. Although the pumps in deep wells are not accessible, I often come across a shallow well pump or often called jet pump. These are pumps that usually service a well up to 25' deep and are located inside the home. This one has had several leaks over the years that have not been attended to causing rust on the pump body and the piping.

Plumbing 4

This older home had lead piping supplying the water into the home. It is important to understand all of the ramifications if the lead is not removed. The pipe on the right going into the ground is the feed coming from the water main on the street. There are still parts in older Ottawa that still have lead supply lines.

Plumbing 5

The underside of this kitchen sink revealed a leak at the faucets. The leak doesn't only damage materials in the cabinet below, but here you can see that the counter top material aspenite, has absorbed what water it can and has swollen. With constant water feeding this area mold is surely not far behind.

Plumbing 6

In most homes you don't get to see the bottom of the bath tub because of lecation and/or the finishes. Here we were fortunate because of the sloppy plumbing rough in at construction and a T bar suspended ceiling in the basement, the leaking drain connection was easy to identify.