Why did home inspectors miss plumbing leak?

Buyer seeks reimbursement for re-piping work
By: Barry Stone: Inman News
Dear Barry,

Before buying our house, there were two separate home inspections, the seller's and ours. Neither inspector disclosed plumbing problems beneath the building, but two weeks after the sale, the cable TV guy found water in the crawlspace, caused by a plumbing leak. Our plumber repaired this and three other leaks that occurred in the following months, so we paid to re-pipe the entire house with copper. The plumber also installed temporary vent fans to dry out the subarea. But now we have two questions: (1) Should we install permanent vent fans to prevent water damage and dryrot? (2) Is our home inspector liable for the cost of re-piping our home? – Linda

Dear Linda,

The use of temporary vent fans to accelerate the drying process is a wise precaution. If the soil and other surfaces appear to be drying adequately, and if there is no continuing water source, there is probably no need for permanent mechanical ventilation. Just make sure that the screened vent openings in the exterior walls provide cross ventilation and that there is at least 1 square foot of vent opening for each 150 square feet of floor area.

As to the matter of inspector liability, it is too late to determine whether your home inspector was negligent, since the evidence was removed from the building when you replaced the water piping. As a general rule, home inspectors should be notified of defective conditions before making repairs. Your inspector and the seller's inspector should have been given the opportunity to review the plumbing before the house was repiped. At that time, it might have been determined whether visible evidence of plumbing deterioration was apparent during the inspections.

Although both inspectors may have been professionally negligent, it is also possible that the leaking was not occurring during the inspections, and the pipes may or may not have been visibly defective. The fact that neither inspector reported moisture below the building is a strong indication that the leakage occurred later. Unfortunately, all evidence has been removed from the scene, and without a corpus delicti, a definitive verdict is not possible.

Dear Barry,

Our home is currently for sale, and we have some concerns regarding the foundation. A contractor inspected it and said that it needs to be raised about half an inch. Our Realtor believes the house will not pass inspection if we don't have the foundation work done. Should we rely on our agent's recommendation, or are there other ways of addressing this problem? – Ron

Dear Ron,

Before proceeding with foundation repairs, you should invest in an inspection report by a licensed structural engineer. An engineer is more qualified to make that kind of evaluation and may or may not agree with the findings of the contractor. If the engineering report is positive, you can use that document to assure buyers of structural stability. If the engineer recommends upgrades or repairs, you can obtain bids from three separate contractors. At that point, you can execute the repairs or submit the bids as part of your disclosure statement. If you follow this prescription, the foundation problem should not adversely affect your ability to sell, and you can limit your disclosure liability after the sale.

To write to Barry Stone, please visit him on the Web at www.housedetective.com.