Last year I put together a short little video compilation showing a bunch of video clips of various defects that we've captured during home inspections. I've received a lot of requests to explain what all of the items in the video clip are, but a lot of these items require long explanations. I've written a whole bunch of blog posts describing different issues in that video, and I think I've finally laid down enough track to explain everything in the video.
To start off, here's the video clip:
I created a bunch of still images from the video clip to go along with the commentary below.
1. Big drop in water flow
This clip clearly showed a problem with the water main for the home. When old houses in Minneapolis and Saint Paul have a lead or galvanized water supply pipe, the water pressure is typically fine, but there can be a big reduction in water flow. When water comes out of a pipe with normal flow for a split second but then the flow drops down, it typically indicates a problem with the water supply pipe for the home. I have more on that topic in the following blog post, along with a repeat of this video clip: Galvanized Steel Water Pipes, Testing Water Flow on Old Houses
2. Overflowing sink
We inspect houses from the top down. We fill bath tubs with water, then drain 'em. Same with kitchen sinks. This forces a big slug of water down the drain all at once, which will often reveal leaks that can't be found with other methods. It's also a great way to make sure everything drains properly. By the time we get to the basement, we sometimes find icky stuff in a basement sink or around the floor drain that may have backed up as a result of our testing. To confirm this, we'll typically repeat our test.
We do this by going back upstairs, filling the kitchen sink (or tub, or whatever), pulling the drain on the sink, then running back downstairs to get another look at the sink / floor drain / standpipe in question. If the drains don't function properly, the lower plumbing fixture can back up with water. This particular video clip shows a basement bathroom sink spewing water out of the overflow, which was the result of water draining from the kitchen sink into a clogged drain. The water had nowhere else to go but to back up out of the sink, and it overflowed.
