Guide · Pipes, leaks & valves
Pipe Checks Before You Buy a Resale Home
Older houses in Markham Village, Unionville and Thornhill can hide galvanized supply pipe, cast iron stacks, clay laterals and undersized water services. Here is what to look at in the basement before you buy.
- A plumber answers when you call
- Clear price before any pipe is cut
- Basements left as clean as we found them
The Markham angle
Resale houses across the city span a wide range of ages. There are century homes along Main Street Unionville and Markham Village, postwar bungalows in Thornhill and Royal Orchard, and large subdivisions from the 1970s through the 1990s in Milliken Mills, Middlefield and Markville. Each era came with its own common plumbing materials, and each has its own typical weak points.
Hire a home inspector by all means; just know they have no way to look inside walls or underground pipes. A few targeted questions and, where it makes sense, a sewer camera inspection fill those gaps.
One step after another
- Read the supply pipe. At the main shut-off and water heater, note whether you see copper, PEX, grey Poly-B or galvanized steel. Our Poly-B brief explains why grey pipe matters.
- Check the drain stack. Cast iron stacks are common in older homes. Look for rust, weeping seams or patches.
- Look at the floor drain. Stains around it, a rusty grate or a strong sewer smell can hint at past backups.
- Find out about the lateral. Ask whether the sewer line has ever been scoped, cleared or replaced. Big trees near the front lawn raise the odds of roots.
- Ask about the water heater. Is it owned or rented? How old? A rental contract will transfer with the house.
- Open taps and flush. Run several fixtures at once and flush an upstairs toilet. Watch pressure and listen for slow drains.
- Check the sump and backwater valve. Note whether they exist and when they were last serviced.
- Request records. Permits for basement bathrooms and renovations should be on file with the City of Markham.
Slip-ups we see often
- Waiving the inspection condition in a competitive market without at least a walk-through by someone who knows plumbing.
- Assuming a freshly finished basement hides nothing. New drywall can cover old problems.
- Taking the listing's word that the house has been updated. Ask exactly what was updated, and when.
- Overlooking the outside. Hose bibs, the exterior cleanout and grading near the foundation all tell part of the story.
Reading what you find
Older does not mean bad. Copper supply lines from decades ago are often in fine shape, and a cast iron stack can serve for a very long time. The goal is not to find a perfect house; it is to know what you are buying, so you can price repairs into your offer or plan them for your first year of ownership.
Time to pick up the phone
Call during your conditional period for a sewer camera inspection, or after closing for an honest assessment of what to fix first. We also handle repiping and sewer line repair when a house needs more than a tune-up.
Scoping the sewer is among the rare plumbing tests that can be done in a single visit during a conditional period.
From the job notes of Plumbers in Markham
Guide · Pipes, leaks & valves
Signs to watch for
- Stains on a ceiling below a bathroom
- Flow that falls off when a second tap opens
Call a plumber when
- Water is reaching a ceiling, wall cavity or electrical panel
- Sewage is coming up through a floor drain or toilet
- You smell gas near the water heater: leave and call the gas utility first
- A valve will not close or a fitting keeps weeping after tightening
Markham note. Markham water service lines enter on the street-facing basement wall, and the main shut-off and meter usually sit right there. In older houses that valve is often a rusty multi-turn gate valve left untouched since the house was built.