Homeownership is often accompanied by costly home repairs. A major problem that can plague homes built prior to 1975 are cast iron pipe failures. William Gardner, President and CEO of Rooter360, joined Inside South Florida to help educate homeowners on what to do to avoid and remedy the cost associated with those issues.
“If you home is built pre-1975, really in the whole state of Florida, you have cast iron pipes and they’re usually failing because of something called channel rot. Channel rot is essentially where the bottom of the pipe has completely fallen out. It has basically rusted out,” says Gardner. “What happens is dirt actually starts to come into the pipe. It’s a jagged edge, toilet paper starts getting caught on it so it’s going to cause backup. Those backups can lead to leaks, slow drainages, and all kinds of different issues.
Fortunately, there is a way for future homebuyers to avoid this headache.
“You have to have a camera inspection you have cast iron and then once we once you do a camera inspection we can see what's wrong with the pipe,” says Gardner.
If you encounter this ordeal there are options to replace your pipes.
“One is to completely jackhammer your floor, tear up your entire house, replace all the pipes, and then put in all new floors. Some people buy a home remodel and then find out they have cast iron underneath after,” says Gardner. “It's a difficult thing to deal with once you've already put new flooring in, but we can come in and use the existing access points either through a roof or by pulling a toilet up.”
For more information, visit Rooter360.com
This Inside South Florida segment is paid for by Rooter 360