Florida Home Buyer Plumbing Checklist

Florida's unique conditions — slab foundations, hard water, aging polybutylene and galvanized pipes, and hurricane season — make plumbing one of the highest-risk systems in any home purchase. This 38-point checklist covers items your general home inspector may miss. Check all items before your inspection period expires.

1. Pipe Material Identification

• Identify main supply pipe material: copper, PEX, CPVC, galvanized, or polybutylene
• Check under every sink in kitchen and bathrooms — look for gray/blue flexible plastic pipe (polybutylene)
• Ask seller: Was the home repiped? When? What material? Request permits if yes.
• Check water heater supply connections — visible lines indicate what's inside the walls
• Inspect garage and utility areas for any exposed pipe runs
• Homes built 1978–1995: assume polybutylene until confirmed otherwise

Findings: 🔴 Polybutylene Found — serious; PB pipe fails without warning. Most FL insurers won't write new policies with PB. Budget $8,000–$15,000 for whole-home repipe — negotiate into purchase price. 🟠 Galvanized Steel Pipe — common pre-1980; will fail via rust and pressure loss; budget $8,000–$15,000. 🟡 Original CPVC (20+ years old) — FL municipalities use chloramine, which degrades CPVC over time; repipe may be needed within 5 years. ✅ PEX-A or Recent Copper — good; verify permits were pulled and passed.

2. Water Heater

• Note age — first 2 digits of serial number often = manufacture year
• Look for rust, corrosion, or moisture around the base
• Check T&P relief valve — must have discharge pipe to floor or outside (not capped)
• Note fuel type (electric / gas / propane) and confirm it operates
• Ask about recent service or repairs; request documentation
• Confirm tank size matches household needs (40–50 gal for 2–4 people)

Findings: 🔴 Age 12+ years — budget $1,200–$2,500 for replacement; request credit at closing; FPL rebate up to $400 for heat pump unit. 🔴 Rust at base or active leak — replace immediately. 🟠 Age 8–12 years — replacement likely within 3–5 years; FL hard water shortens heater life.

3. Slab Leak Assessment

• Walk every room — feel for warm spots on floor tile (hot water slab leak beneath)
• Check water meter with ALL water off — if triangle indicator spins, there's a hidden leak
• Look for damp carpet, buckling tile, or floor discoloration near walls
• Ask seller about any history of slab leaks; request written disclosure
• Request 12 months of water bills — sudden spikes indicate a hidden active leak
• Ask if seller has had electronic leak detection done; request the report

How to check the water meter: (1) Turn off all water in the house (toilets, icemaker, humidifiers); (2) Find the meter — typically near the street at the property line; (3) Look at the small triangle dial — if moving with all water off, there's a leak; (4) Photograph the reading, wait 30 min, check again — any change = active leak.

Findings: 🔴 Active slab leak — detection $200–$400; repair: spot repair $1,500–$5,000 / reroute $2,500–$8,000 / full repipe $8,000–$15,000. 🟠 History of slab leak repairs — request permits; multiple past repairs = systemic problem.

4. Septic vs. Public Sewer

• Confirm public sewer or septic — verify with county utility; do not assume from listing
• If septic: request last 3 years of pump-out records
• If septic: get an independent septic inspection — not just the general home inspector
• Ask age of septic tank and drain field; get documentation
• Check for county notices requiring nitrogen-reducing system upgrades (some FL counties near water bodies)
• Walk the drain field area — soggy ground, lush patches, or odors = drain field failure
• Ask if drain field or system has ever been repaired or replaced

Findings: 🔴 No pump-out records — require pump-out before closing ($300–$450). 🔴 Drain field issues — $5,000–$15,000 replacement. 🟠 System age 25+ years — budget for drain field replacement within 5 years. ✅ Recent pump-out + clean inspection — pump every 3–5 years.

5. Water Quality & Pressure

• Run every faucet — check hot AND cold pressure at each fixture
• Flush all toilets — verify full flush, no running after refill, proper refill within 60 seconds
• Check under every sink for leaks, moisture staining, or past water damage
• Note any water discoloration — rust, yellow, or cloudy water
• Check water softener if present — confirm operational, note age
• Run all irrigation zones briefly — check coverage and broken heads
• Check pressure at an exterior hose bib — normal 45–80 psi; over 80 psi requires a PRV

Findings: 🟠 Low pressure throughout — possible galvanized restriction, failing PRV, or supply issue (PRV replacement $300–$600). 🟠 Rust or yellow water — galvanized corrosion; repipe likely. 🟡 No water softener — South FL hardness averages 250–400 ppm; budget $800–$2,500.

6. Outdoor & Drainage

• Check all exterior hose bibs — verify no leaks at fitting or backflow preventer
• Inspect irrigation system for coverage gaps, broken heads, and pipe condition
• If pool or spa: inspect equipment pad for wet ground, drips, or corrosion at fittings
• Verify gutters and downspouts drain away from the slab foundation
• Check for standing water near foundation — poor drainage saturates soil around pipes
• Locate and test the exterior water main shutoff — confirm it operates freely

Repair Cost Estimator

Know the real cost before you negotiate. Use these estimates as the basis for purchase-price reductions or seller credits. Most sellers prefer a price reduction, which transfers the repair decision to you.

Negotiation Strategy

Use these cost ranges as the basis for purchase-price reduction requests or seller credits at closing. For items over $5,000, a credit is usually preferable to requiring the seller to make repairs — it puts the quality of work in your hands.

5 Things Every Florida Home Buyer Needs to Know

• Fact 01 — Florida has among the highest copper pinhole leak rates in the US: South Florida utilities use chloramine disinfection, significantly more corrosive to copper than free chlorine. Combined with slightly acidic water chemistry, copper pinhole leaks are epidemic. A home with original 1990s copper may look perfect and fail within 1–2 years. Electronic leak detection is the only way to know before closing.
• Fact 02 — Slab foundations hide everything: Most South Florida homes sit on concrete slabs; plumbing runs beneath and inside walls, invisible without specialized equipment. Insist on electronic leak detection ($200–$400) before closing on any home over 20 years old.
• Fact 03 — Polybutylene is still hiding in millions of Florida homes: PB pipe was installed 1978–1995. After widespread failures and class-action litigation, many homes were only partially repiped — often just under sinks while pipes inside walls and under slab were left in place. Look under every sink. Gray or blue flexible plastic = polybutylene = repipe required before homeowners insurance can be written.
• Fact 04 — Septic systems are more common than buyers assume: Even in suburban South Florida (Broward, Palm Beach, parts of Miami-Dade), many homes are on septic. MLS listings frequently misrepresent this; "connected to sewer" is not a safe assumption. Call the county utility or check the Property Appraiser's database. A missed septic system means $8,000–$25,000 in costs.
• Fact 05 — Hard water is destroying appliances faster than almost anywhere else: South Florida hardness averages 250–400 ppm. Without a softener: water heaters last 6–9 years instead of 12+, dishwashers last 4–7 years, and tankless units require annual descaling. Budget $800–$2,500 for installation and use as a negotiation item.

Florida Buyer Resources

• FL DBPR — Verify Contractor License: myfloridalicense.com
• Palm Beach County Property Appraiser: pbcgov.org/papa — confirm sewer vs. septic
• Broward County Property Appraiser: bcpa.net
• Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser: miamidade.gov/pa
• FL Dept of Health — Septic Permit Lookup: floridahealth.gov (onsite sewage permit records by address)