Crawlspace Inspection Guide
Standards of Practice
The International Standards of Practice for inspecting the Doors, Windows, & Interior is located at www.nachi.org/sop.
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Electrical
Observation
Inadequately-supported conductors.
Plumbing
Observation
Inadequate/improper drain pipe slope.
No cleanouts installed.
Observation
Improper fittings.
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Appliance connector to PVC.
Observation
Improper pipe material.
PVC is not an acceptable gas supply pipe material.
Appliance connectors (orange corrugated pipe) should not be used as in-line gas pipe. It is to be used only to connect a gas-fired appliance, to the shut-off valve.
Observation
Improper pipe configuration.
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Mixing PEX pipe colors.
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Typically red is hot water and blue is cold. Mixing colors will complicate tracing pipes and diagnosing problems.
Observation
Observation
Improper pipe connections.
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Different metals in contact with each other in the presence of moisture causes galvanic corrosion.
Observation
Steel supporting copper
Observation
Steel supporting copper.
Observation
Steel to copper.
Observation
Copper to CSST gas line.
Observation
Improper support/pipe combinations.
Observation
Steel supporting PEX.
Observation
Steel supporting PVC.
Non-Defect Conditions
Observation
Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene, commonly called “ABS”, is a black plastic pipe widely used across North America as drain, waste, and vent (DWV) pipe.
Welding solvents used to connect PVC won’t necessarily work with ABS so you should see connections made between these two pipes as shown in the photo above.
Observation
ABS is generally not used/available in south Florida but is extremely common over much of the US. You can recognize it from markings on the side of the pipe.
Observation
PVC Support Types
Both metal and plastic hangers are acceptable for supporting PVC drain pipes.