drain pipe connection questions

I sold my home and durring the home inspection they brought up 2 plumbing issues that I am questioning.

  1. My bathtub has a rubber hose connecting two pvc drain pipes. The one pipe comes out of the tub and the other goes to the sewer pipe. The hose connecting them looks like a car radiator hose with clamps on each. Is this wrong even though there are no leaks? If it is what needs to be used to connect the two pvc's? The rubber hose is in a semi-circle shape about 13" long.

  1. I have a ventalation pipe that comes down from the sealing behind a wall to the basement where it is connected to my kitchen drain with a "T" shaped pvc pipe. Who ever put it together used a mound of sealer, probably 1/4 inch thick to connect the pvc to the metal vent pipe. The inspector says the glue has to be removed and it has to be sealed properly. This pipe is just a vent and does not leak and never will. The connection is so strong I don't even know how I would get it apart. What would one suggestion to fix this and does it actually need fixing?

I would appreciate any suggestion on these items.

Thanks

Reply to
Bob
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I vote with the inspector. Both situations sound like "home-made" repairs and should be corrected prior to sale.

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a coupling for every application. Can't tell you exactly which catalog # cuz I ain't there to see it.

Jim

Reply to
Speedy Jim

Your bathtub connection sounds an awful lot like a Fernco coupling. See here:

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What did the inpsector say about that? As far as I know, they are perfectly acceptable, assuming it's spec'd correctly for your application.

I'd agree with the inspector on the 2nd situation. There are Fernco couplings for connecting pipes of different materials. Perhaps you need to cut out the T, replace it with a new one, glue a PVC stub into the vent opening and use a Fernco coupling to connect the stub to the metal pipe.

You said: it "does not leak and never will". How do you know it never will?

Reply to
DerbyDad03

May be not never but its thicker then a cast and hard as a rock. The connection is probalby stonger then the pipe itself. Not to mention its the vent part above the water and would only get water in it if the sewer backed up.

I agree its very sloppy work and the person who did it should be hung but whats the point of changing it to something that less strong just because its not pretty. Its hidden under the rafters and you would never have to look at it anyway.

Reply to
Bob

Rocks crack.

It seems to me that if you got three dissimilar materials - PVC, metal and the sealer - then the potential exists for movement (vibration or expansion/contraction from temperature changes) to separate the materials. Marine grade epoxies with fillers can be as hard as a rock, but they can still separate from the material that they are attempting to bond.

I'd be less concerned about water infiltration and more worried about sewer gases. I don't know the configuration of your plumbing, but is it possible that sewer gases could find their way through the system and exit through the aforementioned separation of the 3 materials?

I think a Fernco coupling would provide both a means to absorb vibration and a seal against sewer gases.

These are just my thoughts. If the buyer signs off on the inspection report and doesn't force you to fix it, then you are off the hook since it's not a "hidden defect" that you knew about but didn't inform them about. On the other hand, if you're going to lose the sale over this issue, you have to decide if it's worth standing your ground or replacing the fittings, regardless of whether or not you consider the "repair" a downgrade.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

Don't fix anything. If the buyer is unwilling to proceed with the purchase negotiate an amount for repairs and let them deal with it. If you fix it or hire someone to fix it they can always complain again. A couple hundred bucks credit on the sale is no big deal.

Reply to
RayV

RayV,

For the most part, I'll agree with you. However, the buyers may be of the type that do not want to deal with the repairs themselves, regardless of the negotiated price. They may be saying to the themselves "What else could go wrong once I start this repair?" Is the $200 credit going to cost me $2000 once I start taking pipes apart?"

I once passed on a house because every window on the first floor was painted shut and the seller refused to unstick them. He offered me a couple of hundred off the price to leave them as is, but I said no. Here's why - The windows in this house were of the sash cord and counter weight style. I had no way of knowing how many of the windows were going to need repairs that would easily consume the couple of hundred dollars he offered me.

In the case of the OP's vent stack, who knows what else will need to be fixed once the new owners start the repair. Ever complete a plumbing job with just one trip to the store? ;-)

Reply to
DerbyDad03

If its an old house and has old windows they are going to need fixing sooner or later why wouldn't you bid lower to begin with? I can see big things like structural problems, leaks, electric panel and major things that you didn't see. But windows, plumbing, wiring, insulation, etc.. are all part of buying an old house. If you want to buy a house that perfect then you should be looking at new construction. In your case the windows didn't open at all which is a legitimate concern and is not normal so if he wasn't going to unstick them you should asume the hardware was bad and got a rebate accordingly.

When I bought my house I looked at the age of the windows, the 2 prong electic outlets, the other things that come with an old houses and bid accordingly. The inspector pointed out all the things that were old and could use replacing. I knew these things would be there when I original bid on the house. The inspector did find some major roofing issues that I didn't see so so the seller split the price of a new roof with me and that was it. I don't know how people can bid on a 50 year old house and then after the inspection ask for something as trivial as GFI outlets in the kitchen.

Reply to
Bob

I avoided going into any more detail, but yes, I did try to negotiate a lower price. The seller was insistant that the windows worked, they were just painted shut and I could take the $200 or leave it. I chose the latter. If he wasn't going to budge on the price and wasn't going to prove that the windows worked, I wasn't going to take a chance.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

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