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Campfire Outfitter
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OP
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Had an inspection done today on a house we're looking at buying. We have an accepted offer and are going through the steps. I paid for the inspection out of pocket.
No major red flags, except that ALL of the plumbing inside the home are polybutylene. It was built in 1995 and we observed some corrosion around the camp-bands, but didn't see any leaks.
What do you guys recommend? Should I ask to have it all replaced, use it as a bargaining chip, or something else?
Mercy ceases to be a virtue when it enables further injustice. -Brent Weeks
~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
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Joined: Dec 2012
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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reduce the price or bail. however you deal with it, just know it will be a problem.
ked
Last edited by keith_dunlap; 10/28/15.
if a man speaks, and there isn't a woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2001
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I seriously doubt your going to get the homeowner to replace it as you're talking about 10's of thousands of dollars of plumbing and drywall work.
Sometimes you have to evaluate to pain of loosing your earnest money vs. living with a house that's going to cost you 10 times as much in repairs and hassles down the road.
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Oct 2011
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Polybutylene is known for becoming brittle with time, it will have to be replaced sooner or later.
It has already been 20 years and it's nearing the end of its life for sure. lots of houses around here were plumbed from the street to the house with the crap and I see many a year getting dug up and replaced. I know of a couple that have cracked at the water meter and flooded the house.
Either figure on replumbing the house or walk from the deal, If you do this kind of work yourself it could turn out to be a money saver for you on the purchase of the house.
Paul
"I'd rather see a sermon than hear a sermon".... D.A.D.
Trump Won!, Sandmann Won!, Rittenhouse Won!, Suck it Liberal Fuuktards.
molɔ̀ːn labé skýla
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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Hold the phone...
If the seller did not disclose the nature of the pipes before you signed papers, the deal is off, null, and void. That is a material fact that they are obligated to disclose prior to sale.
Be not weary in well doing.
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Campfire Outfitter
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OP
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Hold the phone...
If the seller did not disclose the nature of the pipes before you signed papers, the deal is off, null, and void. That is a material fact that they are obligated to disclose prior to sale. I wondered about that and have been trying to remember if there was anything about polybutylene pipes on the seller's disclosure form. I believe I would have remembered if it had been listed, as I went through this with the main water line on my current home. I'll be checking in the morning.
Mercy ceases to be a virtue when it enables further injustice. -Brent Weeks
~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
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Joined: Feb 2004
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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I wouldn't knowingly buy a house with that plumbing. That should have been disclosed but I suspect it normally isn't. Good you found out now, rather then when the flooding starts.
NRA LIFE MEMBER
GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS
ESPECIALLY THE SNIPERS!
"Suppose you were an idiot And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself."
-Mark Twain
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Campfire Outfitter
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I had to replumb my last home as it was galvanized steel and my insurance company said no way. I did it in pex in a day. If it's single story home with unfinished basement or a crawl.....I'd make money doing it myself.
I would not buy something that runs on any kind of primer given the possibility of primer shortages and even regulations. In fact, why not buy a flintlock? Really. Rocks aren't going away anytime soon.
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Campfire Outfitter
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First are you on well water or public water? Public water with 2% or more floride added to the water caused the poly pipes to fail. Is the homes poly plumbing on an octupus system where the piping is branched to each each water fixture from the main water supply line coming into the house. Is so you have the last generation of poly pipes.
The poly piping should have been disclosed by the seller of the home before you wrote a contract even if the seller had not had a pluming failure. Now that you have a home inspection and the poly piping is know to exist the seller now has to disclose the existence of the poly pipes to the next buyer if you decide to walk away from the home.
Have the seller replace the poly pipes before settlement. If there is not enough time to replace have the seller escrow the funds from his proceeds to pay for the replacement directly to a plumber and drywall contractor.
Poly pipes was known to fail as early as 1992, why the
plumbing was used in your home in 1995 was negligence on
the plumbing contractor.
Doc
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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Do you have a contingency in the contract for having the house inspected?
If you didn't your real estate agent could be liable.
Jim
"Whensoever the General Government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force." --Thomas Jefferson
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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First are you on well water or public water? Public water with 2% or more floride added to the water caused the poly pipes to fail. Is the homes poly plumbing on an octupus system where the piping is branched to each each water fixture from the main water supply line coming into the house. Is so you have the last generation of poly pipes.
The poly piping should have been disclosed by the seller of the home before you wrote a contract even if the seller had not had a pluming failure. Now that you have a home inspection and the poly piping is know to exist the seller now has to disclose the existence of the poly pipes to the next buyer if you decide to walk away from the home.
Have the seller replace the poly pipes before settlement. If there is not enough time to replace have the seller escrow the funds from his proceeds to pay for the replacement directly to a plumber and drywall contractor.
Poly pipes was known to fail as early as 1992, why the
plumbing was used in your home in 1995 was negligence on
the plumbing contractor.
Doc Two things. I had a house with a polybutylene supply line that ruptured, so it does happen. Funny that several in the neighborhood all blew up within a year of each other. This was mid 90's. Second, optimum fluoride levels in municipal drinking water is 1 part per million. Big difference between 2% and .0001%.
"The Democrat Party looks like Titanic survivors. Partying and celebrating one moment, and huddled in lifeboats freezing the next". Hatari 2017
"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." Han Solo
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Campfire Oracle
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Campfire Oracle
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Depends on how much I want the house and how much work.
My house is single floor, crawl space (which is about 4' high). It would be a breeze to replace piping here.
If it's easy to replace and you want the house, lower the offer.
Our house had septic issues, I knew going in, we lowered and I replaced. I had a 'basic' quote before we ever closed so I knew how much money it would cost.
"Dear Lord, save me from Your followers"
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Campfire Greenhorn
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Campfire Greenhorn
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I have well water and HAD polybutylene pipes. House was built in mid 90's and a couple of years ago the pipes leaked/sprayed under the house. Didn't know it until damage was done. Had to have subfloors replaced as well as hardwood inside the home plus some other stuff. After this happened, I replaced ALL of the poly pipes, which did include cutting the Sheetrock out in places, but I didn't want to ever have this problem again. I had no idea about the failure of these pipes until I learned the hard way.
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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Had an inspection done today on a house we're looking at buying. We have an accepted offer and are going through the steps. I paid for the inspection out of pocket.
No major red flags, except that ALL of the plumbing inside the home are polybutylene. It was built in 1995 and we observed some corrosion around the camp-bands, but didn't see any leaks.
What do you guys recommend? Should I ask to have it all replaced, use it as a bargaining chip, or something else? major deal , reduce the price and replace all that crap.
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Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 10,068
Campfire Outfitter
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OP
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 10,068 |
First are you on well water or public water? Public water with 2% or more floride added to the water caused the poly pipes to fail. Is the homes poly plumbing on an octupus system where the piping is branched to each each water fixture from the main water supply line coming into the house. Is so you have the last generation of poly pipes.
The poly piping should have been disclosed by the seller of the home before you wrote a contract even if the seller had not had a pluming failure. Now that you have a home inspection and the poly piping is know to exist the seller now has to disclose the existence of the poly pipes to the next buyer if you decide to walk away from the home.
Have the seller replace the poly pipes before settlement. If there is not enough time to replace have the seller escrow the funds from his proceeds to pay for the replacement directly to a plumber and drywall contractor.
Poly pipes was known to fail as early as 1992, why the
plumbing was used in your home in 1995 was negligence on
the plumbing contractor.
Doc Thanks, Doc. Public water system; don't know about the floride content. I believe it is an 'octopus' design but will have to confirm.
Mercy ceases to be a virtue when it enables further injustice. -Brent Weeks
~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
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Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 10,068
Campfire Outfitter
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OP
Campfire Outfitter
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Do you have a contingency in the contract for having the house inspected?
If you didn't your real estate agent could be liable.
Jim Yes, we have such a contingency. What bugs me is that I had to pay for the inspection out of pocket to the tune of ~$500.
Mercy ceases to be a virtue when it enables further injustice. -Brent Weeks
~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
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Campfire Outfitter
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Thanks again, gents. I'll be reviewing the seller's disclosure statement again today. We'll then approach the seller about possible resolutions. We really like the property, and the search for the right thing has been a tough one.
It has a crawl space so replacing the stuff is not impossible. I don't have the time to do it and will have to solicit bids from contractors. Much will depend on the seller's attitude about the problem. If he doesn't seem open to resolving it I am prepared to walk away.
Mercy ceases to be a virtue when it enables further injustice. -Brent Weeks
~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 23,367
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 23,367 |
First are you on well water or public water? Public water with 2% or more floride added to the water caused the poly pipes to fail. Is the homes poly plumbing on an octupus system where the piping is branched to each each water fixture from the main water supply line coming into the house. Is so you have the last generation of poly pipes.
The poly piping should have been disclosed by the seller of the home before you wrote a contract even if the seller had not had a pluming failure. Now that you have a home inspection and the poly piping is know to exist the seller now has to disclose the existence of the poly pipes to the next buyer if you decide to walk away from the home.
Have the seller replace the poly pipes before settlement. If there is not enough time to replace have the seller escrow the funds from his proceeds to pay for the replacement directly to a plumber and drywall contractor.
Poly pipes was known to fail as early as 1992, why the
plumbing was used in your home in 1995 was negligence on
the plumbing contractor.
Doc Thanks, Doc. Public water system; don't know about the floride content. I believe it is an 'octopus' design but will have to confirm. See my post above. 2% fluoride in drinking water doesn't exist.
"The Democrat Party looks like Titanic survivors. Partying and celebrating one moment, and huddled in lifeboats freezing the next". Hatari 2017
"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." Han Solo
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Posts: 57,474
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2005
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500 is cheap to know about it ahead of time....
We can keep Larry Root and all his idiotic blabber and user names on here, but we can't get Ralph back..... Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over....
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