sabotaged plumbing- concrete & mortar in lines

13 years ago

I am in the real estate business. I have seen "it all", I thought. Stripping a house has become quite normal for many foreclosures. No cabinets, all lines to the air handler missing several inches of line, compressor missing, the whole house electric box with breakers missing, thermostat missing, windows shot out with BB gun, and more... It's the 'and more' that gets me. These people brought in a hose and watered down or flooded the carpets and left them soaking wet. When they removed the cabinets, they cut off all of the water lines to be flush with the walls. They also left animals in the house that tried to break out of the house, so door jambs are chewed up, walls clawed out, etc. Last but not least, these saboteurs removed the commodes and poured God knows what into the plumbing lines and then put mortar and concrete in the lines on top of it. They did the same with the master bedroom shower.

I know what to do about the mold. I know to call the electrician and AC. But, tell me, how much trouble and at what cost would you figure that the two commodes and shower would cost to fix? I have only an inkling of an idea of what it would take to fix such a mess. I have to have my offer to the bank by tomorrow.

My Dad said he'd pass... however, this is a gorgeous 2,400 sf brick home. I know this could be a money pit, but the concrete scares me. Nothing else does.

Please advise what to do and what to expect.

Thank you,

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Comments (5)

homebound
13 years ago
Since you are in the real estate business, this would be a good time to call one of your plumbing contacts and discuss it in detail. It's not going to be cheap.
homebound
13 years ago
You'd likely have to replace the portions of pipe with the concrete. Since concrete is a pain to work with, it might stand to reason that the saboteurs didn't pour too much down the drain. If you could cut into the lines somewhere below, you might determine the severity of the problem with a snake. Any problems that are local to upper levels are preferred since you could access the drains in the walls, etc. Below a slab means concrete cutting, etc. More work.
Then you have to put the walls back together, etc.
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davidro1
13 years ago
repipe. New pipe. Attic. Go through the attic.
sherilynn
Original Author
13 years ago
The commodes and shower are in a slab foundation. I'm going over to the house again today and I'll take some photos. Seeing is believing... and will really peeve you off. It's just a doggone shame someone did this to this lovely home.

As for your suggestion to go through the roof/attic: I don't know how the plumbing could be done that way. The ceilings are 10', and as I said, slab.

I'll post photos later today. Thanks for responding.
sherilynn
Original Author
13 years ago
FYI: I was looking up the tax records on this house and I was shocked! I saw another house done almost similar last week. It turns out that the same guy owns 7 houses in our area! He did both houses the same way! GORGEOUS model home last week. The only *thing* was, the commodes were removed. And I did not notice the concrete in the pipes, but I'm going back today to see if it's in those pipes. Those bathrooms in that other house were 'dark', so it would have been easy to miss because of no lighting or windows. You won't believe what this jerk did. I know there's a contract on that other house already. I bid, but was outbid. (Thank the Lord.) Taxes on these 2 homes alone run between $4,500 for the one I saw yesterday and $5,500 per year for the other.