By Barry Stone
Dear Barry,
When I purchased my home, it was vacant and the gas service was turned off. Because of this, there was no hot water during my home inspection, and the inspector was unable to check the hot water at the tubs, showers and sinks. Now that I've moved in, I find that the hot water is controlled on the right side, instead of the left, at two of the sinks. I complained to my home inspector for not finding this problem, and he said there was no way he could have discovered this without the water being hot at the time of the inspection. What should I do? -Allison
Dear Allison,
Checking for reversal of hot and cold faucets is a common procedure in the course of a home inspection and is most easily done when the water heater is operating. When the gas is turned off and the water heater is cold, many home inspectors forego this part of the inspection. However, there is an easy method whereby the hot and cold configuration can be verified, even without hot water in the system. By simply turning off the water supply valve at the water heater, the inspector can then turn on each faucet to see that the water flow is off at the left side.
Fortunately, reversed hot and cold connections can be repaired simply and inexpensively. The connectors beneath your sink merely need to be switched.
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