Pre-purchase plumbing inspections

What the inspection covers

A visual, non-invasive check of the plumbing and drainage you can actually see and access. Water pressure and flow, visible pipework and its material and condition, the hot water cylinder and its age, fixtures and their condition, visible drainage and gully traps, and anything that looks like it has been done without consent.

What it does not cover

Nothing gets opened up. We do not lift floors, cut linings or excavate. So this is an assessment of what can be seen, not a guarantee about what is behind the walls. We say that plainly because it matters when you are making a decision this size.

It is also not a builder's report and it is not a drain camera survey. If the house has mature trees near the line and a history of blockages, a CCTV inspection is the separate piece that answers that question.

Dux Qest

Dux Qest pipe was installed in New Zealand homes through the seventies and eighties and it fails. If the house is from that era we will look for it and tell you if it is there, because it changes what you are buying.

The other things we find in Hawke's Bay houses

Galvanised supply pipe that has silted up, which shows as poor flow long before it leaks. Cylinders well past their age with no safe tray under them. Low pressure systems where the buyer has assumed mains pressure. Unconsented bathroom work, usually a laundry or an ensuite added at some point. Gully traps set below ground level where they should be above. None of those are necessarily deal breakers. They are things worth knowing the cost of before you sign.

You get a written report

Not a verbal impression on the day. A written report you can put in front of the vendor, your lawyer, or your own decision about the offer.

Timing

Best done during your due diligence period. Tell us the deadline when you ring and we will be straight about whether we can meet it. If we cannot, we will say so rather than book it in and let you find out on the last day.

Access

We need the water on and access to the cylinder, the meter and the outside gullies. If the property is tenanted or the vendor is living in it, that needs arranging in advance through the agent.