Pre-Purchase Plumbing Inspection in Paramount, CA

Reading a House Before You Own It

Two measurements tell you most of what you need to know about a mid-century supply system, and neither requires opening anything. The first is static pressure at a hose connection. The code sets 80 psi as the point at which a regulator becomes necessary, and a house sitting well past that has been working every washer, valve, and connection in it harder than intended for years. The second is what happens when several fixtures run at once. Galvanized pipe closes from the inside, so a single tap can look perfectly healthy while the system has almost nothing left in reserve. Open the shower, the kitchen faucet, and a hose at once, then watch. The collapse, if it comes, is the finding.

The water heater is the third, and its age is not a guess. Manufacturers encode the build date into the serial number, each brand in its own way, and reading it takes seconds. A unit that has already had a long life is not a defect, but it is a number you should have before you negotiate, not after. Between the pressure reading, the flow test, the serial number, and the camera footage of the lateral, a buyer walks into a negotiation with four things that were previously unknown, and none of the four is expensive to find out.