Polybutylene Pipes Derail Home Sales at Inspection
28 posts across 3 communities in the last 60 days; 89% from r/Plumbing.
“We are selling our home, had a pre-inspection and CCTV operator found the above issue. He is saying this is a separated joint, would be flagged in an inspection, and is recommending replacement (by him).”
“Incredibly lazy and illegal. Pipe can't be used to support pipe.”
“Definitely not everyone buddy coz people with xray vision have all sorts of redundant ideas on the issue, ops issue is the smell of sewage (something you would know if you have read the post) and if you would know the purpose of a vent you would know thats the main reason of ops…”
Multiple plumbing-related posts detail issues with inspections, pipe material discrepancies (DWV vs. potable), and potential sales complications when selling a house. There's frustration around communication and responsibility regarding code compliance.
SOURCES (60)
“So I'm selling a house and the city here mandates an inspection as part of the process. One of the issues identified was the dryer had a flexible copper gas line that was more than 4 ft long. I've since replaced that with black steel…”
“I purchased a new manufactured home in a trailer park. I got got. The minute I got my keys, I refused to move in because there was a leak in a sewer main line under the home. The park manager/realtor had it tightened. Since then, we’ve found lot of loose piping throughout the home. I had a tech from the manufacturer come in and tighten everything he could from inside the home. Come to find out, “water off at time of inspection” was listed on the water inspection sheet from before the home was oc”
“If they didn't see it was aerated, then the first guy probably did a shit job. I mean, can you tell us what it looked like after the first time? Did you have holes and cores everywhere? If you didn't see after the first time, nothing wrong with extra holes. But use the opportunity to throw down some seed, and I guess make a sign that says ALREADY AERATED before the third guy shows up. [re: Two times aeration accident]”
“Always interesting when folks do illegal work. A handyman isn't legally allowed to touch plumbing without a license or unless they are the direct homeowner There is a simple reason for this law: screw ups in plumbing and electrical (the 2 main licensed construction trades) kill people. Homeowner is always allowed to screw something up and kill themselves, but a business is not. They need the proper certification to do the work, if they don't have it and something goes wrong, they are com”
“Honestly, it could be headache if you have to sell. We had to get a septic tank inspection/cleanout before we bought our place.”
“Unless you're the next electrician to come along after the first one sells the house. BTDT.”
“They also can’t prove it, sounds like you’re dealing with some pretty scummy people. At the very least you would think the visit would be warrantied to actually leak test Their work looks like shit as well so I’m sure they are used to blaming the new owners for scab work.”
“How is poly any better than neoprene. What I meant was “it’s shitty plastic crap that needs to be replace”. I remember when Reddit wasn’t full of assholes trying one up everyone.”
“We're trying to close on a home purchase and one of the inspection findings was damaged drain/waste pipes. The sellers claim it "functions appropriately and the prior plumber who installed it used heat to bend the piping, so it may look a little ugly, but it still works as is and does not need a repair." It's hard for me to just take their word for it and move on. Are those burn marks going to compromise the integrity of the pipes? Worry about letting them off the hook and deal”
“Right. We do what we do to appease the inspector. It doesn't have to make sense and your opinion is irrelevant. Just make the inspector happy. They have the power to make your life VERY difficult.”
“I am a handyman who also buys rental properties. The whole US is not like this. Housing markets are extremely localized, even different neighborhoods in the same zip code have different performance.”
“My inspector only said 'i couldn't get all the way to the end but looks serviceable.' is that an acceptable inspection? (1st time buyer here)”
“Had a realtor try to get his buyer a 25k concession. There were no bellies. The buyer tried to use his VA benefit for me to to take over expecting the 25k was going to cover for his rental property he still owned. No dice. Very scammy.”
“At a loss. Looks getto. If you are buying it ask escrow what it is and ask for the inspection report. That should put you at ease, or tell you to run away”
“You don't have to find another buyer, you can just say no. Just because they ask for that doesn't mean it's law. It's just part of the haggling.”
“Well yes, given this is the vent stack and is verified. Definitely verify first though, you are correct.”
“Hey guys, we are selling our house and get a home inspector check out Hvac system from the buyer. Theses were his findings. The buyer is requesting a professional do it (understandable). My concern is this going to cost me a lot of money or can an hvac guy fix this at a reasonable price? submitted by /u/RetailDude1015 [link] [comments]”
“We are selling our home, had a pre-inspection and CCTV operator found the above issue. He is saying this is a separated joint, would be flagged in an inspection, and is recommending replacement (by him). submitted by /u/hansfocker [link] [comments]”
“If your plumber did the work. Yes. Get him to sort out his mistake. You have proof.”
“The blue is likely Blu-Lock, it has that distinct matte finish and stiffness without the glossy sheen of schedule 40, and the white fitting with residue points to a solvent weld hub, not a push-fit collar. For the valve, if there's no union already threaded in, you're stuck cutting, but try backing the valve body off the downstream fitting first, sometimes there's a male adapter hiding right there.”
“Background: First time home buyer under contract in Philly Suburbs. We paid for our own sewer scope as part of the inspection. The camera went in through a pulled second-floor toilet, made it about 54 feet, and then stopped in the middle of the front yard because a terra-cotta hub was separating and blocking it. So there’s still 20+ feet of the lateral that we haven’t actually seen, including the connection to the main. The plumber’s report says roots are starting to form in the terra-cotta hubs”
“I'm not gonna lie man, that just sounds too lazy for me. I don't get that way of thinking. What's so hard about fixing it the right way?”
“As someone who is getting a whole house repipe I feel your pain. My pipes also looked like that when they were taken out. Got a combination of copper and PEX B. If you’re in SoCal, let me know and I’ll refer you to the contractor who just did my repipe. If you’re not in SoCal, DO NOT go with a big company. Go with a smaller guy. I went with a licensed smaller guy and he was charging three times less than a big company.”
“They make an sdr35 gasket x sch40 solvent coupling. Not sure how he could argue with that.”
“I personally think it should be illegal. I take it out of every house I see it in.”
“You sure this was a plumber? Maybe ask to see their license. Not only is this against most codes, it's something a handyman would do. It's sloppy”
“Thanks, my comment about being IT and not in the trades was more about the plumbers here saying the best solution is cutting it out but they'd personally be ok with epoxy if it was their own house, because they can keep an eye on it. I don't want to keep an eye on it, I want to move on with life lol”
“Either the property management didnt want to pay the price, or he was a handy man and it wasnt in his wheel house, thats the onky options”
“It’s IPC, with amendments. There are certain times it doesn’t apply, but really depends on the inspector as well. Some of our inspectors are absolutely ignorant and have no place doing what they’re doing. Failed plumbers, some people who have never worked in the field in their life, etc.. obviously I’m not saying all of them but I’m sure you understand exactly what I’m saying.”
“If he said it needs replacing and he documented it on his invoice notes or summary your shit out of luck cause the company gave you the option to replace it and you didn't, if its not documented then you might be OK”
“Huh. I guess I've never put too much thought into differentiating the two. I've always felt that if it involves getting liquid or gas from point A to point B, then it is plumbing.”
“Inspectors want to be sure that the joints were primed before being glued and the use of purple primer is a good way to show it. If you use clear primer, a pissy inspector could decide that the joints were glued without primer and fail the installation.”
“Depends what country, state and local region you're in. Every city will have their own process.”
“It's pipe dope! I often get calls to repair what these dumb ass home inspectors call out.. more than not when there's no real issues they fabricate bull shit so there reports look as if they know what there doing.. Ive challenged many of them and they'll start reciting codes in other states that see frost when the home they inspected is in Hawaii.”
“Definitely not everyone buddy coz people with xray vision have all sorts of redundant ideas on the issue, ops issue is the smell of sewage (something you would know if you have read the post) and if you would know the purpose of a vent you would know thats the main reason of ops issue 🤣”
“Why are there so many people who say they know how to do plumbing and dont I feel like it is the sped fraud trade it’s not like you have to frame or hook up lights”
“I have to necro this to point out how fking stupid you are. It's no longer approved by code.”
“So we're under contract to buy a home and instead of hiring a "home inspector", we're opting for a licensed pro in plumbing (and electrical and a structural engineer). I just saw a post here where the OP was asking for feedback on how he did. The comments included replies that affirm what I already knew, I know jack shit about plumbing. What questions should I ask the inspecting plumber about the house to sort of test his proficiency and knowledge? What should he be checking? T”
“In my line of work (service plumber) I have to deal with "but the home inspector said-!" at least once a week lol. They are practically useless when it comes to actually identifying plumbing issues. They'll check if the faucets drip, they'll tell you if the water heater is old, they might check the water pressure. That's it. 48-72 hours of course material does not instill confidence either...”
“Keep in mind home inspectors don't really know anything about anything. They take an 8 week course and an open book test, they didn't come from plumbing, hvac, electrical, they're all just taught a few basic things to look for but they don't really understand what they're looking at.”
he’s an apprentice - probably has nothing to do with procurement
“Confused. Is he done? Wheres the drain stubout for left sink? Wheres the water stubouts for right sink? He wasted a street 45 and two 90's under that cross when he couldve just used two 45's instead under the cross. Those short sweep 90's shouldnt be used unless its 42" above the floor. Idk. Seems like he cosplays as a plumber part time”
“The biggest they ever made Poly-B was 1 1/4" and as far as I'm aware, was never used to bury or for meter service. Also, most Poly-B was that dull grey color with a blue or red stripe. It did come in bright blue like this, but it was far less common. My money is on this being Polyethylene, which is used widely for meter service all over the country.”
“We read it, You just gave no reason why you suspect that it’s electronics solder. That would be weird to use. Is he not competent to repair the pipes?”
“Looks like a belly but I’m not seeing any split in the pipe? Still needs to be a longer video footage wise”
“Yeah this line appears to have an issue when it drops from the cast iron to pvc bottom right at 2:24 seems a little funky looking but it’s hard to say what. It’s probably hard to get a look at it through the toilet flange he’s running the camera in. I’d say install double sweeps to get a better look. Overall I’d say it could be possible this house needs some drain work eventually but most of it looked ok.”
“I guess unless you’re wanting a bill to run an auger I don’t know of any house inspector that does this. But it may depend on city/state. Is this a special request? Again, just curious as it would be great if this was required.”
“my plumber told me they aren't actually flushable. he found them in our plumbing without me even telling him”
“There are times when people post pictures and I (as a non plumber) can't find anything wrong with it, but a dozen people will pick things apart. This one, however, is easy to an untrained eye to pick apart. Wonder what the landlord is out for a job like this. Mods, i'm not asking, just a thought in my head.”
Just be happy it’s all copper tbh….toxic plastic world bruv