We purchased a 1998 manufactured home in FL in a senior community in March. We had it inspected by an inspector before purchasing. He found nothing wrong. My husband died last week and we took him to IN for burial and I was gone a week. When I returned home last nite I heard water running. I had a plumber check it out and he found gray pipes. Some had been replaced but the ones in the bathroom had not and were very noticeable. It looked like it had been leaking for quite a while. The insulation under the trailer was full of water and was sagging. The plumber is going to repair the leak tomorrow and drain the water but he says all the gray pipes need to be replaced. He says he’s pretty sure the Village where I live has outlawed gray pipes and forced the homeowners to replace them. Do I have any recourse to get the previous owner or the inspector to pay for this? The plumber is a retired plumber who lives in our little village so he only does small jobs. I’m sure it would cost a fortune to have all the pipes replaced. I’m also concerned about mold under the house.
The gray piping the plumber was talking about was polybutylene. Its use was stopped in 1996 however. Being the home was made in 1998, I would have someone else confirm the existence of PB piping and not PEX. Some plumbers have been known to use the ugly gray pipe/PB word to make a sale. However, if it is PB, it is recommended to be completely replaced and it was banned in some municipalities. More info here: http://www.nachi.org/pb.htm
As for recourse, only an attorney could answer that question. Some questions they might ask: Did the seller provide a sellers disclosure? Was that listed in the sellers disclosure? Did the inspector mention it in the report? Many reports go unread or only read the highlights.
I have PB in my house built in 91’ no leaks. The problem is not with the pipes but with the fitting that we’re used along with the pipes. Plastic fittings are a bad sign. You want to see brass fittings and brass crimp rings. If it’s in the report you’re probably out of luck.
I’m sorry. The date of the home was wrong. It was built in 1985. The seller did not mention this (nor did she mention several other small problems we have found) and the inspection report did not mention it. The only problems the inspector found was that the fan in the bathroom did not work and the bathtub drain did not work properly. These pipes were readily noticeable because the plumber just glanced at the commodes and noticed it. So the inspector should have seen them when he checked the bathtub drain.