The idea of doing up a charming old Wellington home might be appealing to most, but a savvy Wellington plumbing expert knows that costly dangers might lurk beneath the surface of each property. While your dream home might look lovely on the outside, the Wellington plumbing within the walls and beneath the floors is every bit as important as exterior appearances. Should the old pipework be amiss, your health could be at risk. Not to mention the myriad of hair-tearing costs that await those who’s old homes are flooded by burst pipes or burdened by ineffective water heating systems.
In today’s article, we’ll let you know what a Wellington plumber would look out for when purchasing property in the capital.
Poor, time-worn pipework
More often than not, older homes feature galvanised pipework. Galvanized pipes are fashioned with steel and coated with zinc, an erosive substance that too many property owners forget to maintain. When the zinc erodes with years of use, your pipes become exposed to all the elements and bacteria that the environment might wish to throw at them.
If you’re serious about an older home, ask a Wellington plumber to inspect the property for the following issues (caused by older, corroded pipework):
– Taps, showers and flushing toilets with slow water pressure
– Stuck faucets or faucets that don’t even turn on
– Toilets that ‘drip’ or continue to run well after a flush
– Foul-smelling or discoloured water
– Leaks (stains in the roof and on the walls, puddles in cupboards etc).
Any of the above issues might not be a major Wellington plumbing emergency, but the repairs will be costly as they accumulate over time. With a professional Wellington plumbing inspection, we might be able to afford you a discount on the property, or at least help you avoid making a mistake with your purchase.
Natural disasters
Floods, earthquakes and fluctuations of extreme temperatures all have their own effects on your Wellington plumbing system. It takes one good tremor to shake apart your underground pipes and force contaminants and blockages into the cracks and gaps. Likewise, extreme hot or cold seasons and the weight of heavy rains will deal there own damage to drains, too. Modern drains are designed to hold up to such circumstances, but older homes with older Wellington plumbing systems really ought to be inspected for damage by a professional Wellington drainlayer.