Question about timeline of leaking drain pipe

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Salemhoser

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Hello,

My name is Justin and I recently purchased a 4 plex and had an inspection done prior to the purchase. I now have a bad drain pipe leak with significant corrosion and would like input from you pros as to estimated timeline for this leak to progress to this point since I find it hard to believe that it was showing no signs of leakage during the inspection 9 months ago. It is 2” galvanized pipe in the crawl space and left a lot of standing kitchen sink water and food debris. I’ve attached a couple pictures for evaluation and input. Thank you for any responses!

DAE35A33-22DC-4E34-A28C-5D577F48A33A.jpeg
 

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You're going to try and go after the Inspector, who apparently saw nothing leaking from that pipe and said, more or less, "looks good". Inspectors, before they start an inspection, all have you sign a contract, one part of the contract will basically say something like:

The client is hereby notified that this inspector has never owned a crystal ball, does not have the ability to read the future, and lacks X-Ray eyes. The report this inspector will produce for you will outline what this inspector saw, in some cases this inspector will be able to say that one system, appliance, component, etc., shows wear and tear, and often has a design life of ____ years; based on this inspector's observations, serial number of unit, and/or other indicators, (item X) appears to be roughly _____ years old, and may need replacement or repair soon, blah blah blah. If it all breaks down tomorrow, or in 3 months, or 3 years, this inspector is not responsible.

Read the contract. If it doesn't say something like I wrote above, go ahead and sue. Otherwise, realize that real property requires repairs / replacements / maintenance. Now is the time to spend that rainy day money you (should have) put away from the rents you received.

BTW: Replacing a 5 ft section, or a 20 ft section of straight run of 2"-3" cast/galvanized drain line, like your photo showed, with PVC will be similar in cost, materials are inexpensive.
 
kitchen drains, galvi or cast iron are the first to rot out....if you don't get anywere with your contract cut it all out and
change to pvc or abs what ever is most common in your area, you only want to do this once
 
You're going to try and go after the Inspector, who apparently saw nothing leaking from that pipe and said, more or less, "looks good". Inspectors, before they start an inspection, all have you sign a contract, one part of the contract will basically say something like:

The client is hereby notified that this inspector has never owned a crystal ball, does not have the ability to read the future, and lacks X-Ray eyes. The report this inspector will produce for you will outline what this inspector saw, in some cases this inspector will be able to say that one system, appliance, component, etc., shows wear and tear, and often has a design life of ____ years; based on this inspector's observations, serial number of unit, and/or other indicators, (item X) appears to be roughly _____ years old, and may need replacement or repair soon, blah blah blah. If it all breaks down tomorrow, or in 3 months, or 3 years, this inspector is not responsible.

Read the contract. If it doesn't say something like I wrote above, go ahead and sue. Otherwise, realize that real property requires repairs / replacements / maintenance. Now is the time to spend that rainy day money you (should have) put away from the rents you received.

BTW: Replacing a 5 ft section, or a 20 ft section of straight run of 2"-3" cast/galvanized drain line, like your photo showed, with PVC will be similar in cost, materials are inexpensive.
sorry rickk didn't see your post
 
Thanks for the reply fellas. I don’t want to sue. Inspector is a coworker so I want to be civil but also have a legitimate point that he cut the wrong corners on the inspection and get a refund to apply towards repiping. I’m in the Oregon valley so freezing isn’t an issue. I’m not one to shy away from work but I also don’t like when people get lazy at my expense. I’m thinking I’ll replace with abs. Should I replace everything, or do you guys think replacing everything from the cast iron bell in the crawl space to the sewer would suffice since I’m not a fan of drywall repair?
 
Replace everything you can get to now.
Maintain proper pitch and use plenty of hangers or supports

Add some clean outs if needed.

I think you need to post more pictures, or describe the entire drain layout in more complete detail, to get good advice about any drains behind drywall.

Also, a slow leaking drain behind drywall can rot away framing, cause severe mold, and end up being more expensive than just hiring out a drywall guy or painter to fix up the walls after drain replacement.

Also, was the drain snaked or rodded since you bought the property?
Or did any other resident use drain cleaner?
Or a pressure type of drain clog clearing?

This might have caused a thin drain pipe to finally break through the corroded metal.
 
Thanks again guys. The repair will be covered by my home warranty but they won’t go for a complete replacement of the drain system which I didn’t expect them to. I then plan to do as much of the replacement work myself since it’s a four plex with similar 2/1 layout in all units and there’s really only 3 drains behind the drywall that I will have to address in each apartment and I’m still early in the planning process but I should be able to connect to the preexisting vents right? Ideally I want to complete the work systematically as the units become vacant since two units are anticipated to have turnover next year. I can put together some pictures for feedback on the drain system layout over the next couple days but I have a few currently of the bathroom drain system I’ll post now.
 

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