Venting in kitchen and bath

Okay I know nothing about plumbing, but you do. I am in the process of purchasing a home - 85 years old. The plumbing was updated to copper pipes, etc many years ago.

The inspector has written this - "The kitchen sink is not vented properly and needs repair. The main floor tub drain is not vented nor draining properly due to the waste line being connected to the vent line in the downstairs (basement) bathroom. The water supply piping at the water heater is reversed. The supply line valve under the kitchen sink is leaking and in need of repair."

So I am wondering - any "ball park" estimates on how much it would cost to get these things fixed. Would my handy (but out of town right now) husband be able to fix them. Do I need a plumber?

If you can help that weould be great! Have a wonderful day - the weekend is on it's way!

Jules

The venting will probably be the hardest thing to fix...it requires a pipe from the affected drains to be run up to the roof. In some places you can go outside with it, through the wall, but it looks funky. It may require a lot of tearing up of walls.

The reversal of the hot water feed probably won't be that hard to fix (probably easier if it is electric vs gas or propane). To be able to provide the most hot water, the supply (cold) is inserted at the bottom of the tank through a dip tube inside the tank. The hot water which naturally accumulates at the top is where it is pushed out to the faucet. If you reverse the feed, you are pulling your hot water from the bottom of the tank where it is the coldest.

A dripping supply line should probably be easy to fix, but nothing in plumbing is definite! Depending on the kind of valve, it might be as simple as tighten the packing nut. They're cheap, anyways, so once you figure out what kind it is, you might just replace it.

It might be possible to fix the venting with air admittance valves. With them, you still have to have at least one vent to the outside, but these will handle single fixtures. Have a local plumber detemine if they would work for you. Not sure why gas/propane tanks would be any harder than electric to fix the reversal problem, it should be pretty simple using flex pipes. Supply valves are basically a everyday maintance chore, and as Jim states, it's probably as simple as tightening the packing nut. As far a cost is concerned, there is no way to estimate this even in a ballpark way. If you have to run vents through the roof and tie into existing lines it could be quite expensive whereas if AA valves would work, it could be relatively inexpensive. Local plumbing rates can vary greatly as well.

jules said:

The inspector has written this - "The kitchen sink is not vented properly and needs repair. The main floor tub drain is not vented nor draining properly due to the waste line being connected to the vent line in the downstairs (basement) bathroom. The water supply piping at the water heater is reversed. The supply line valve under the kitchen sink is leaking and in need of repair."

So I am wondering - any "ball park" estimates on how much it would cost to get these things fixed. Jules

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Not sure how this works in your area, but with the experiences Ive had here with buying and sale of properties, anything that the inspector's here fail on a house, the seller is legally responsible for either repairing the problem, or to reimburse the cost for the repairs, and the purchaser should not have to pay. You might want to check into this, and if you havent actually bought the house yet, see if your agent will work the repairs into the contract.

thank you

Thank you for your responses - any more will be greatly appreciated also. I have a plumber coming on Sat to look at it.

To abikerboy - I have lived in 4 different states and in 1 other country and buying a house in this state has been such a different experience. Basically sellers almost never repair anything and they will offer you a "credit" towards the future work. This certain buyer is only offering 1/2 of a new roof which needs to be done immediately and only a few hundred dollars for these plumbing repairs which sound like they will be a whole lot more!

So unless we get them to fix or offer more money - it looks like a no sale. Although I truly love the house. But I have seen houses come and go!

Thanks again to all who responded. Jules

Re gas vs electric I was thinking it might just be easier to rotate the tank to get the supply lines to align. WIth an electric supply, not a big deal (once you empty the tank, that is), but not worth it to redo the gas lines. Flex lines would work, too.

I would tell the seller that you will reduce your offer by the amount that it will cost to get a professional plumber to fix the problem. If he agrees, let him get an estimate and you get an estimate. His estimate must be a firm fixed price committment from the plumber. The agent should be able to tell you the best way to write it up so you are protected.

It might come down to agreeing to an adjustment to the price. If there is money on the table that may go away, the seller may be willing to give up something to close the deal.

My first rule of negotiation is that you must be willing to walk away from the deal. If you aren't willing and able to walk away, it's not a negotiation; it's just a matter of deteriming how much pain you are willing to suffer.

Bob NH said:

I would tell the seller that you will reduce your offer by the amount that it will cost to get a professional plumber to fix the problem. If he agrees, let him get an estimate and you get an estimate. His estimate must be a firm fixed price committment from the plumber. The agent should be able to tell you the best way to write it up so you are protected.

It might come down to agreeing to an adjustment to the price. If there is money on the table that may go away, the seller may be willing to give up something to close the deal.

My first rule of negotiation is that you must be willing to walk away from the deal. If you aren't willing and able to walk away, it's not a negotiation; it's just a matter of deteriming how much pain you are willing to suffer.

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I've found most people will bend a lot when they are afraid of losing a major sale over a several hundred dollar repair. Only exception to that in my own experience was with the property where I live now. Inspector told the seller that the drainfield had to be repaired or replaced prior to a legal sale, and that the seller had to do the repair at his expense. The seller was so frustrated that he was going to pull the property from the market, and give it to his son, but I wanted it bad enough that I entered a seperate contract with the seller stating that I would purchase the property "as is", and do the repairs within six months to satisfy the morgage company. Worked out great for me though, as the seller was a farm owner, and had a backhoe and dozer blade on his tractor, and he dug the ditches for me, and I only had to pay a contractor to lay out and connect the new drainfield! Cost me about 1/4th of the estimate for a complete drainfield replacement! The seller even came back and covered the new lines after inspection...even refused money for his diesel fuel! I ended up with the land, the seller got his money, I tore down the old house, built my house, and lived happily ever after! Don't be afraid to ask. The seller's answer might surprise you!
Rob