It was a dark and stormy night, um, it was a very nice morning and a terrific couple buying a house. The husband had called me a couple of days prior to the inspection with some very circumspect questions. This was a house with a lot of "remodeling," but he was told that the "$100K or so" put into it was only "cosmetic." OK...
Well, you know me - that sent all of my radar dishes pointing in the same direction.
We had a nice conversation and he heard all my typical spiels. The biggest issue, as always, is getting a copy of the permit, permit, permit. The permit(s) not only make things legal and declared safe, but they indicate lots of things about the Flipper, et al.
Coming in from outside, my habit is to turn on the dishwasher first, to get it started.
The kitchen was typical of a "remodel" with only "cosmetic" changes - new kitchen, new appliances, new, granite counter top and a new, double kitchen sink. Everything looked very well done!
Before starting the new dishwasher, which wasn't connected to the counter top or cabinet, I wanted to make sure it was hooked up before turning it on.
It was, and this is what I saw.
The small sink has a disposal, well done, and the large sink its own drain.
The water from the disposal and dishwasher properly drain into a trap.
But the large sink --
1. Connects to the drain at a right angle and
2. Connects to the drain AFTER the trap.
And the purpose of the trap is? To TRAP enough water to prevent sewer gases from coming up from the main drain and enter the house.
One fine day this fine couple, with fine children, will be having a fine morning doing what fine people do on fine mornings. And their activities will stir up enough of what is contained in the drains to encourage sewer gases to be displaced and enter the house through that right-angle drain which, as I said, connects AFTER the trap.
Smells not typically associated with fine mornings will waft through the kitchen, coming from that drain, and they would not be able to figure out where these smells are coming from! They will run the disposal, maybe put down a deodorant like orange peels or bleach. They will check the contents of the fridge, and cabinets, and look around under the sink for dead mammalia.
And they will come up empty. The source of the smell will not be obvious, or found.
Then the smell will stop. Until, that is, this fine couple, with fine children, have another fine time preparing food or using the drains, and the smell will return. The smell will vary in intensity, but IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN.
Why? Because the person putting together that fine sink assembly is NOT a plumber. This is NOT cosmetic!
My recommendation: if what you can see in a house is not professional, and a problem, what about what you cannot see? The older I get, the less effective my X-ray vision becomes. Things like this bother me! When you consider a house that is "remodeled" only "cosmetically," be sure to ask questions about the contractor and permits. And don't forget your home inspector! He might be of help.
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