Private Equity Plumbing

Investment Analysis Clubs Macro Economic Trends and Risks
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Downstairs neighbor said that her exterminator saw a plumbing leak in the crawlspace beneath the unit, and helpfully took a picture.

I didn’t understand how a 4" PVC drain line (which is not pressurized) could be leaking. I suggested that she wait 6 weeks and see if the “leak” resolves on it’s own. The droppings beneath the pipe could just as easily be from a opossum or a squirrel.

Last week there was a brand new plumbing truck in her driveway with the tell-tale, full-color, wrapped advertising. My neighbor said that she had a range of options to solve the problem.

  1. $6,000 to fix the leak and replace 2 toilets.

  2. $13,500 for a larger scope of work.

  3. and $25,000 to replace all the plumbing in the unit, ensuring that the leak would be permanently solved.

Despite my advice, my neighbor chose the $6,000 option and said that my water would need to be shut off for 2 days to do the repair. I told her that if my water needs to be shut off, that means the leak is in a common drain line which is the responsibility of the HOA.

Truck returned this morning and one plumber completed the job in about 5 hours (including the 1 hour lunch break when the truck disappeared). Plumber said my water didn’t need to be shut off.

I wonder if the exterminator and plumber are owned by the same Private Equity outfit?

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Black drain pipes are ABS. White or gray drain pipes are PVC. Both ABS/PVC pipes sometimes do develop cracks which leaks due to bad pipe material, bad glue used in the joints, or installation stress.

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Leaks rarely “resolve on their own.” They often do produce consequential damage to ceilings below, however.

When I owned the condo in Boston my bathtub developed a leak in the drain line leading to the master drain. Had to go into the condo below, rip open their bathroom ceiling, replace a section, an then close it back up.

I forget how much it was, but they did all the work in a couple hours except painting the replacement wallboard, which I did over the next couple days after the wallboard mud had dried.

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This is a ground floor condo. The “leak” is in the crawl space beneath the building.

At a minimum, she should have called in a second plumber for an estimate before paying $6,000 for a simple PVC pipe repair.

Cost of PVC pipe repairs in the Portland area.
How Much Does It Cost to Repair or Replace Plumbing Pipes?).

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