Home Inspections in Oceanside, Ca - Damaged Cast Iron Plumbing

Home Inspections in Oceanside, Ca often include older properties than can have damaged/deteriorated cast iron plumbing. On a recent home inspection in Oceanside, Ca I came across a damaged cast iron waste line (see attached photo). If a blockage in the line ever occurs downstream that causes sewage to backup, there’s the potential for sewage to backup into the craw space under the home.

Sewage under the home would not be ideal for numerous health and safety reasons, not to mention rot, decay and other wood destroying organisms. The typical life expectancy in our area for cast iron plumbing is approximately 50-60 years.

I look forward to crawling under every crawlspace, it’s one of the favorite aspects of the work I do and part of the reason why I don’t charge to to inspect the crawlspace. To inspect a property without including the crawlspace would be a disservice in my opinion. Make sure your home inspection includes a thorough inspection of the crawlspace if the home has one.

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Keith. Cast Iron is a demon. I did a farm property about a year ago with a similar issue with the exception the failure was much lower and handled about 70% of the waste for the employees living quarters. The damage appears to have existed for several years and the resulting cleanup was about 5 weeks and $45,000 Calif. prices.

Agree.

I have been hired to reinspect a property that had been recently inspected by someone else because, in part, the other inspector only inspected the crawl from the hatch.

They had reported the foundation walls were fine, and I found 4 cracks. :shock:

I make an effort to always inspect crawl spaces. I don’t understand how the heck looking through a hatch can be enough. I’m just not comfortable looking through a hatch and calling it good. So much can be missed if you don’t go under home.

When the crawl access is 12" X 12" and the house was built in 1950, how do you write that up Del Fine?

Eat healthy and work out regularly. :wink:

I’ve squeezed through some pretty small crawlspace openings on home inspections in the older homes near the beach in Oceanside. Some of the older homes have been updated for seismic, but you don’t know if you don’t look.

9" opening. Inspected with the BIGCrawler.

9" opening, found with the BIGCrawler.

9" opening, found with the BIGCrawler. No excuses given here.