Mad Plumber
Mad Skills
My wife and I are in contract negotiations w/a seller for their home and upon inspection (my paid professionals) he said the home was plumbed w/polybutylene, which was not disclosed on the sellers disclosure.
The seller called his builder and said that the builder and a plumber came and inspected the plumbing and that it was not polybutylene, but polyethylene instead. He also stipulated that the water main was not "blue pipe".
I realize that noone's perfect, so I called my inspector and he said he would go over and re-inspect the plumbing - but he felt sure of his initial analysis. He said he would get the info from the pipe itself and gather info on the product.
This inspector came fairly highly regarded: ex-home building exper. w/Traton homes, private contractor, etc. When questioned by me he said that he didn't know that much about polyethylene pipes (class action suits, durability, reliability, etc.). For the last 3 hours I've been trying to research the stuff - and all I can tell is that the stuff I saw under the sink that the inspector pointed out to me looks like the stuff I've seen on all the polybutylene websites.
The home was built in 1996 - if that helps.
What I saw in the home was gray pipes w/metal fittings - not the blue or red colored stuff I see on a few ployethylene websites.
We would love to purchase this home - but I'm sort of freaking out over this "he said" vs. "he said".
Is there a definitive guide about residential polyethylene usage that would help me? Would my local water utility help me?
I feel very lost at this point.
Again - sorry for the wordiness of this - I joined the website to post questions, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to post one. So I thought I'd take a chance w/you.
The inspector should get back to me tomor. w/his final report.
In the mean time, I would be GREATLY appreciative of any and all help.
Bill Sikkelee
The seller called his builder and said that the builder and a plumber came and inspected the plumbing and that it was not polybutylene, but polyethylene instead. He also stipulated that the water main was not "blue pipe".
I realize that noone's perfect, so I called my inspector and he said he would go over and re-inspect the plumbing - but he felt sure of his initial analysis. He said he would get the info from the pipe itself and gather info on the product.
This inspector came fairly highly regarded: ex-home building exper. w/Traton homes, private contractor, etc. When questioned by me he said that he didn't know that much about polyethylene pipes (class action suits, durability, reliability, etc.). For the last 3 hours I've been trying to research the stuff - and all I can tell is that the stuff I saw under the sink that the inspector pointed out to me looks like the stuff I've seen on all the polybutylene websites.
The home was built in 1996 - if that helps.
What I saw in the home was gray pipes w/metal fittings - not the blue or red colored stuff I see on a few ployethylene websites.
We would love to purchase this home - but I'm sort of freaking out over this "he said" vs. "he said".
Is there a definitive guide about residential polyethylene usage that would help me? Would my local water utility help me?
I feel very lost at this point.
Again - sorry for the wordiness of this - I joined the website to post questions, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to post one. So I thought I'd take a chance w/you.
The inspector should get back to me tomor. w/his final report.
In the mean time, I would be GREATLY appreciative of any and all help.
Bill Sikkelee