Plumbing Inspection in Hyattsville, MD

Reasons to book one

• You're under contract on a Victorian, a Sears kit house or an Arts and Crafts bungalow
• Water pressure is weak upstairs or the first draw looks discolored
• The basement smells of sewer after heavy rain
• Past owners added a bathroom or kitchen and you don't know how it was tied in
• You're planning a renovation and want to know what's behind the walls

What's particular to Hyattsville

Hyattsville's National Register historic district holds late-1880s Victorians and interwar Sears and Arts and Crafts bungalows, and about half the city's homes were built before 1963. In houses that old, a plumber looks for galvanized steel supply pipe that has closed up inside, cast iron and clay drain lines, lead or galvanized service connections, old gate valves and decades of patchwork where newer pipe meets old.

WSSC Water supplies water and sewer. WSSC says it removed all known lead pipes from its distribution system and publishes an inventory map at wsscwater.com/LCR-map, and it is identifying service line materials on private property as well. The plumber can check the pipe where it enters the basement and compare it with what the map records. WSSC disinfects with free chlorine, not chloramine, and lists the details in its annual water quality report.

The City of Hyattsville has no permits office of its own. Building permits are a county function through DPIE, and all plumbing permits and inspections come from WSSC Water. The county says water heater replacements need a permit even in existing homes.

What affects the cost

• Age and size of the house and the number of bathrooms
• A sewer camera run on an older clay or cast iron lateral
• Basements with piping hidden behind finished walls
• Multiple gas appliances to check, such as a boiler, range and water heater
• Whether you need written findings for a negotiation

What to expect when you call

You'll be connected with an independent local plumber who works in Hyattsville. Say whether the house is in the historic district, what year it was built and what you're most worried about. Gas here is Washington Gas: if you smell gas, leave the house, then call 911 and 844-WASHGAS (844-927-4427), option 1. Gas appliance replacements must be done by a gasfitter holding a WSSC license.