Plumbing is cheapest to fix before it leaks.
Pipes, water heaters and fixtures all age on a schedule. Understanding yours lets you plan a replacement before a slow leak becomes water damage in a wall you cannot see.
Free to check. No calls unless you ask.
Property report. No calls unless you ask.
Why it matters
Water damage is among the most common and most preventable expenses a house produces. A little foresight goes a long way, and it is nearly always cheaper than the alternative.
The service life given to a gas water heater. Electric gets 11. Tankless gets more than 20. A tank that fails empties itself into whatever is underneath it.
National Association of Home Builders, Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components, 2007
The EPA's window for drying a wet area before mold grows. A slow leak inside a wall is never found inside it.
US EPA, A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home, 2026
The standard policy form excludes mold, fungus and wet rot, with a narrow exception for mold hidden in walls that came from a sudden discharge. A leak that seeped for months is not sudden.
ISO Homeowners 3 Special Form HO 00 03 10 00 (2000), Section I Exclusions 2.c.(5)
The age is on the tank and the pipe material is visible where the plumbing is. Both take somebody in the basement or the crawlspace, and both are cheap to know early.
What to understand
A few things worth knowing before you decide.
Water heater age
Most have a fairly predictable working life, so the age on the tank is a strong signal on its own.
Pipe material
Some older pipe materials are far more prone to trouble than others, and knowing which you have changes the plan.
Start with your property.
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