Plumbing Inspection in Houston, TX
21% of owner-occupied homes in Houston have changed hands since 2018. That is an ordinary rate, which makes the ordinary mistake more likely: assuming the inspection covered the plumbing.
The one-paragraph answer
In Houston, 21% of owner-occupied homes have changed hands since 2018. Whichever side of a sale you are on, the exclusions decide what you know: a standard inspection stops at the visible plumbing and leaves the sewer lateral to a camera survey.
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25038.
When Houston moved in
At an ordinary rate of turnover, the housing here divides fairly evenly between homes inspected in the last few years and homes that have not been looked at since the previous sale, whenever that was.
| Owner households in Houston | Share of all owners |
|---|---|
| Moved in 2021 or later | 6% |
| Moved in 2018–2020 | 15% |
| Moved in 2010–2017 | 27% |
| Moved in before 2010 | 51% |
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25038 (tenure by year householder moved into unit), 2023 release. Universe: 886,644 occupied housing units, of which 409,364 are owner-occupied. This counts when the CURRENT occupant moved in, so it measures recent moves as a share of the housing stock — not a rate of sales per year.
What the inspection will not cover
Gas leak testing is not part of a home inspection. The fuel shut-off gets located and described; the line itself is not tested, and no part of the report should be read as saying it was.
Source: InterNACHI Home Inspection Standards of Practice; ASHI Standard of Practice.
What it is required to cover
Sump pumps are in scope on both standards — InterNACHI for drainage pumps with an accessible float, ASHI for sewage ejectors and sump pumps. Accessible is the whole qualifier. A float nobody can reach is not a float anybody tested.
Worth ten minutes before you read your own report: everything the two standards require, in the order an inspector does it.
What to do about it
If you are selling, establish it before somebody else does. The same finding is worth more to a buyer who discovered it than to one who was told.
Both standards are public. Start with the exclusions, then the obligations, and read the sewer scope separately — it is ordered on its own for a reason.
Other Texas towns we route in
- New Caney 27% of owners moved in since 2018
- College Station 30% of owners moved in since 2018
- Wilmer 17% of owners moved in since 2018
- Venus 47% of owners moved in since 2018
- Wolfe City 18% of owners moved in since 2018
Checking a plumber in Texas
Checking a credential in Texas
Texas licenses are issued by the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, which publishes a public search you can use before work begins.
Inspection report in front of you?Read us the plumbing lines and nothing else — we do not want the document. We will route you to a contractor covering your area who can quote the items on it, and you are never charged by us. Not only inspection items: Houston gets routed whatever is needed.
Call (888) 764-3501