Plumbing Inspection in Oxon Hill, MD

What happens when you call

We put you in touch with an independent local plumber who covers Oxon Hill. Tell them the type of home, since garden apartments, townhouses and single-family houses each get a slightly different inspection, and mention your deadline. In a condo or townhouse the plumber focuses on what's inside the unit and the shutoffs that control it; in a detached house the review extends to the main shutoff, the service line where it enters, the sewer cleanout and outdoor faucets.

Cost factors

• Type and size of the home
• Number of bathrooms, water heaters and gas appliances
• Camera inspection of the sewer lateral
• How much piping is hidden behind finished surfaces
• Whether you want a written summary with photos

Local conditions in Oxon Hill

Oxon Hill sits along the Potomac just southeast of Washington, next to National Harbor, with garden apartments, townhouses and single-family homes. Much of the housing went up around the early 1970s, and original piping of that age is what the plumber spends the most time on: galvanized supply lines, cast iron drain stacks, old shutoff valves and sewer laterals with decades of tree growth around them.

WSSC Water supplies water and sewer. The utility is responsible for the part of the water service line that connects to the main, and the owner has the section from the property line into the house. WSSC says it removed all known lead pipe from its distribution system, and the What's Your Pipe Type? program and inventory map at wsscwater.com/LCR-map show recorded customer-side materials. Some customer-side galvanized lines need replacement, according to WSSC, so the plumber checks the pipe at the shutoff.

Washington Gas and BGE both serve parts of Prince George's County. Your gas bill shows which one serves the address. If you smell gas, leave the house, then call 911 and your gas utility from outside.

Checklist before the visit

• Clear access to the water heater, main shutoff and cleanout
• For a condo, ask the association where the unit shutoffs are
• List any leaks, stains or slow drains you've seen
• Know that repairs need a WSSC Water permit, and gasfitting must be done by a gasfitter holding a WSSC license