Electricity and Water Together? Old House Problems

Water pouring out of a light fixture in a house I am getting ready to market?  No Problem!  Much of the wiring done in knob and tube? No Problem!

 Well, not much of a problem with the proper contractors.  I was going through the house this morning with an electrician, explaining what the rooms were (don’t all 100 year old homes have Tudor theatres on the third floor?), and thought, gee, I have time to turn on the water, since the absentee owner turned it off before he moved out last winter.

Begin the fun and games--water began pouring out of not only the faucets, but a light fixture in the kitchen, and then out of the refrigerator, and then out of a pipe in the laundry room. The electrician (after I turned the water off again) said it looked like a couple of pipes were busted that he could see through an access panel in the ceiling. Great.

Time to call the plumber. He came out a couple of hours later and confirmed that the “winterizing” the owner had done had not been done correctly, causing pipes to freeze and break. Even the water filter in the refrigerator had cracked, causing water to pour out all over. I discovered that the plumber had a hidden talent: finding a mop and knowing how to use it (string mop? never used one, sorry!).

So not only is the electrical system being updated so that the new owners can get homeowners' insurance, but the plumbing fixtures are going to be turned on, one by one, and hope there are no surprises. Sometimes, old houses have nice surprises, but other times, not so much.

Contact Carolyn Roland, Your Older Homes Resource, for help buying and selling older homes in Delaware and Southern Chester County, Pennsylvania.