I am still looking for a house to buy. My very understanding and patient Realtor took me to a house that I wanted to see. She couldn’t remember what was wrong with it back in the fall when it was listed, but upon entering, she quickly remembered: the furnace was missing!
It was literally not there. I guess the previous owners took it with them or something. Actually, there is work being done on the house (monster upgrades), but I guess they didn’t get around to fixing/replacing the heater.
As a result, there is a stream of ice coming from the faucets, the biggest one being in the kitchen. There is a small sheet of ice coming in some of the bathroom sinks. Without expecting more, I think I can say that the pipes are frozen.
The house is 10 years old, two story, 1950 sq ft townhouse, end unit, if it matters. There is still electricity because the thermostat told me it was 28 degs in the house. I like what they’ve done so far. But, needless to say, this house is pretty much ruined, right? What’s the worse that could happen? What’s the probability of such bad event happening?
You likely won’t know the extent of the damages until the pipes thaw. I lived in a crappy house in college that barely had any insulation in the walls. Every winter, one sink on the 2nd floor would quit working due to the pipes being frozen. The pipes to this sink were the only ones that ran up an exterior wall - that’s why they froze.
Anyway, every spring they would thaw and the sink would continue to work normally. This house has been around since pre 1900 (though I don’t know when running water was installed) and has probably been doing this every winter. There is no damage as far as I can tell.
I may also help that the facuets were opened. The expanding ice might be able to escape and not do too much damage.
Best case scenario is that there is no damage and everything will be fine when the house warms up.
Worst case is that the pipes have ruptured and you will have to replace the plumbing.
I would wait until the house can be warmed up before putting a bid on it.
For frozen pipes, the damage can range from none to massive. Basically, if the pipes have burst, you’re going to get tons of water damage when they thaw. Someone really should have turned off the water main and drained the pipes if the house was going to be unoccupied and unheated.
On the bright side, you say you saw trickles of ice in the sink and tub. That probably means that they left the taps running. That would relieve the pressure on the pipes – even if the water froze, it might not have burst the pipes when it expanded. But there are other lines such as the dishwasher, laundry room and toilets where leaving the water running is not an option.
Bottom line – come back on the first warm day in spring. If you’re up to your ankles in water, I’d pass on the house. No leaks in the pipes, probably no problem (although I suppose there might be some intermediate stage where a pipe was weakened but not actually broken.)
Consider this room for some serious negotiation on the price of the townhouse.
Worst case scenario: I had a foreclosure property to get ready for listing. The propane tanks had been grabbed by the vendor and the house wasn’t winterized. In addition, the house was undergoing major work by the owner, and he neglected to install access panels to the tub and shower plumbing.
After getting the heat back on and repairing the well service tee at the expansion tank, I turned on the water and found:
[ul]dishwasher fill solenoid split open
kitchen faucet mix cartridge ruptured
a half-dozen major leaks in the crawl space
breaks in the pipes behind the living room wall
breaks in the pipes of the entry foyer ceiling
one broken toilet[/ul]
After making access where needed, effecting repairs, patching drywall and repainting, the final invoice was close to $8000.
If you really want to find out how bad things are, secure permission to bring in an industrial propane heater (they can be rented) and get things thawed out. Get estimates from qualified contractors, and then you’re making an informed decision. Good luck.
IANAPlumber, but I am a Realtor. I suggest you get a full house inspection, not just on the plumbing, although I’m sure that will be a major item. If you like the house well enough that you want it as long as everything can be repaired, write an offer allowing the inspection and include a provision that the “seller may cure”. There are many other ways you can negotiate; the seller might not want the hassle, and you can just negotiation a price reduction, or write it so you can walk away if the damage is just too great or unrepairable.
In my experience, sometimes plumbing freezes aren’t that bad. The water often finds weak spots and bursts thru there, relieving the pressure elsewhere. You want to make sure there are no hidden flaws that will show up later, so expert advice now could save you a lot of expense.
If the house is only 10 years old, unless there was major secondary damage, even serious re-plumbing should be cheaper than rebuilding it. You might also get a formal appraisal once the inspection is done to establish a dollar value for negotiating.
You can also purchase home appliance and infrastructure insurance to cover the unforseen for years down the road. It’s probably a good idea in this case.