Certified, Professional, AAA Property Inspection Services: Does your house have defective drain, waste and vent pipes?

Does your house have defective ABS drain pipes?

If you're buying or own a house built or remodeled during the years of 1984 through 1990, there is a chance the drains, waste and vent pipes consist of one of the following defective ABS pipes.

· Centaur: January 1985 through September 1985;

· Phoenix: November 1985 through September 1986;

· Gable: Periodically between November 1984 and December 1990;

· Polaris: Periodically between January 1984 and December 1990; and

· Apache: Periodically between November 1984 and December 1990

Unfortunately, the $78.5 million Class Action Lawsuit filed has expired as of August 2008, but there are many houses who's owners never got the word or failed to act.

I recently inspected a 1988 house in the Acton, CA. area with a raised floor which consisted of the Polaris brand ABS, as seen in these pics.

There were a couple of major signs of leaking which, of course, got my immediate attention (above). I closely examined along the entire length and found at most every seam, the tiny circumferential cracks (Below). If it wasn't for the calcium deposits highlighting the cracks, it would have been easy to miss.

We've learned these pipes were manufactured using a defective resin causing the pipes to break at the joints. It's also my understanding, that not every house plumbed with one of these known defective brands is necessarily cracked or leaking...not yet, anyway. Not only is this a problem in the Antelope Valley, it's a problem nationwide.

Many of these houses have been built on a concrete slab making detection difficult and costly to replace. One can usually find, if accessible, the brand name of the vent pipes passing through the attic near the bathroom or kitchen areas and terminating above the roof. Of course, these are only the vent pipes, which do not carry water, and one could reason that the drain pipes under the slab would most likely be the same brand of pipe.

I have identified several homes in the Antelope Valley (Lancaster, Palmdale Acton, Rosamond, California City, Littlerock) areas and always call out for a qualified licensed Plumbing Specialist knowledgeable of this problem to evaluate and advise or service. If leaking is suspect under a slab floor, we recommend a "Leak Detection" specialist who can use sophisticated equipment to locate the area of leaking.

If you haven't had a Home Inspection recently and would like a full detailed report on your existing house, then call me. If you're not already familiar, I can also teach you how your house works so you can have a better understanding and learn how to maintain and care for your property, not only for your health & safety, but to maximize your investment as well. When and if you ever want to sell, you won't have any surprises when the buyer's Inspector comes around.