Purchasing an old home is some sort of a risky affair. There might be issues and challenges that you might not been made aware of, so that you can take appropriate actions to resolve them before you move into the house. Issues regarding plumbing are one such area where you need to understand the challenges. Home inspector may be able to point out the plumbing issues with the plumbings that are visible. However issues regarding plumbing that are under-slab that are more complicated have to be dealt with by an expert.

Under the slab plumbing issues occur in old homes where galvanized pipes were used for plumbing. The only way to discover any plumbing issues under-slab is to have a hydrostatic test done by a licensed plumber. In this test a high tech camera is inserted into the pipes. Then the pipes are filled with fresh water. With the camera it is observed whether the water holds or not. If the water holds then the system has no issues and if the water does not hold then there are probable leaks in the plumbing system.

Old homes mostly used galvanized pipes for their plumbing system. Over time due to hard water and sediments forming inside the pipes, these pipes starts to wear off from inside. As a result the water contaminates and due to traces of lead probability of health issues may appear. There will be no indication of the inside decay of the pipes from the outside; it will take an expert to identify such decay. You have to talk this over with a plumber and think of possibilities of replacing the piping system.

Old homes have an issue with the joints of the plumbing systems. The joints in those days were done as per the prevailing system then, which were prone to leakage. You will have to identify all such joints and replace them with newer durable materials.

Having purchased an old home, before moving in, it will be better to get the plumbing system thoroughly checked for any issues that are present and issues that are potential in nature. If you can get hand-on knowledge about the issues with the plumbing system, you will be able to avert any issues that might crop up in future and cause damages to your property.

When you hire a plumber to evaluate your old home plumbing system, you should check whether he has any experience in dealing with such old homes. A plumber with considerable experience is likely to have encountered plumbing challenges of old homes