New home plumbing check

The first week in a property is when problems are cheapest to find and easiest to attribute to somebody else. Work through this before the boxes are unpacked.

Property: Date:

Find these first

• Main shut-off valve. Location:
• Water heater shut-off. Location:
• Local stops under every sink and behind every toilet — present and turning
• Water meter. Location:
• Cleanout access for the main drain, if the property has one

Photograph each one. You will not remember in two years.

Test the system

• Meter test: close every fixture, stop the ice maker, note the meter, wait fifteen minutes. Any movement means water is going somewhere
• Run every faucet hot and cold, and time how long hot water takes to arrive
• Flush every toilet twice — listen for a fill valve that keeps running
• Fill and drain every basin, bath and shower under load, not at a trickle
• Run the washing machine and dishwasher and check their connections while running
• Check pressure at the furthest fixture from the supply

Look for history

• Under every sink: staining, warping, or a cabinet base that has been replaced
• Ceilings below bathrooms: old patches or mismatched paint
• Around the water heater: rust, a missing drain pan, an improvised relief discharge
• Floors: warm patches (slab leak), hollow-sounding tile, lifting
• Walls: fresh paint in one small area is worth asking about

Record the age of things

• Water heater — look for a date on the label. Age:
• Flexible supply connectors — if the property is over fifteen years old, plan to replace them
• What the supply pipe is — copper, CPVC, PEX or galvanized:
• What the waste is — PVC or cast iron:

If the property predates the mid-1970s and nobody has replaced the drains, they are original.

Then set a rhythm

• Flush the water heater annually — hard water is what kills them here
• Turn every shut-off valve once a year so it still turns
• Clear any drain that starts to slow, before it stops