As you’re reading this I’ve been in my new house somewhere in the neighborhood of six weeks, and well, the honeymoon is over. I’ve made quite a few changes, including: peeling enough layers of wallpaper to cover the White House, re-texturing the walls, painting every room, replacing nearly every single light fixture, installing a new front entry door, and replacing doorknobs one by one.
I’ve learned that a little corner of wallpaper sticking up can lead to another to do on the list.
It’s turning out beautifully. While home ownership is by far the most rewarding thing I’ve put my heart (and wallet) to, the lessons learned have been manifold.
A few of my favorites:
- The day I shut off power to the entire house when I removed an old switch panel. I was informed the switches had been bypassed when the new electrical panel had been added. Wrong. Luckily, I’m pretty calm under pressure and I’m not afraid to learn the hard way. I rewired it in and voila! The lights came back on (it only took me four hours in the dark to figure it out).
- Just last week, my stove decided to breathe it’s last while I was preparing dinner for guests.
- About a week later, my refrigerator decided to take a vacation as well.
None of these compare to the sewer line incident. Somewhere in the middle of the third week in the new house, my sewer line backed up into my bathtub. Stop. Soak that in. Yes, it was awful. I immediately called my home warranty company and they promptly scheduled someone to come out and snake the line. The plumber noted that I might have “Orangeburg Pipes”.
Orangeburg pipes, or bituminous pipes, are a type of pipe created from layers of tar paper and cardboard. Yes, cardboard. It’s been my understanding most of my life that poo and cardboard don’t mix well. These pipes tend to have a lifespan of around 60 years and as luck would have it, my house is 59 years old. 
Since I’m in the business of Civil Engineering and often do water and sewer line design, I had heard of these old systems, but had never thought to check my potential new residence for them. A couple of worrisome days after the incident, the plumber came back with a camera and inserted it into the line to give me a proper diagnosis. The good news was that my pipes are concrete.
So the problem is a major blockage, not failing pipes. Yes folks, I had to see it on the little screen. Let’s just say it wasn’t pretty. The blockage appeared to be bad enough that I may have to have a portion of the line replaced, but for now all is functioning well enough. Estimates are currently somewhere between $700 and $1200 to have that portion replaced. If you’re a fist-time home buyer, I recommend spending the extra $200 to have a camera inserted into the sewer line when you have your inspections done. Any blockages or apparent damage that could cause a backup or failure could be found ahead of time and the repairs negotiated into the contract. That will leave you with a peace of mind on closing day.
As for the appliances going out, you can’t anticipate that, and the likelihood of them going at once is slim. However, I would recommend having a cushion in the bank to replace any appliances not covered by your warranty, just in case Murphy and his law decide to visit your new house.
Speaking of warranties, I’ll make one quick plug for my agents over at the Hukill Group @ Paradigm AdvantEdge. Susan Walker, super agent to the first time homebuyer, insisted I ask for a home warranty in my offer. I’m so thankful that I had the warranty the day my sewer backed up. While it won’t be paying for any portion of a line replacement, it did cover having the line snaked and the having camera inserted. So, when making an offer, ask your agent about a home warranty.
Next month: everything I never wanted to know about refrigerators.
You must be logged in to post a comment.