The Plumbing Section of a PCR (E2018-24 9.4.4): Piping Materials, Hot Water, Fixtures and Backflow

E2018-24 gives each building system an observations paragraph (what the field observer identifies and reports) and an out-of-scope paragraph. This page paraphrases both for the plumbing section, lists the deficiencies that recur in published reports, gives the expected useful lives the HUD CNA e-Tool table assigns to the common components (with the Fannie Mae 4099.F value where it differs), and says what lands in Table 1 versus Table 2. It is written for the person writing section 3.4.1 of the report.

What the guide asks the observer to identify

Supply, waste and storm piping materials where visible; domestic hot water production (type, fuel, capacity, nameplate date, venting); backflow prevention and its test tag; fixtures by group with their vintage and condition; sump and ejector pumps; reported leaks, slow drains and replacements. Out of scope: pressure or flow testing, camera inspection, and observation of piping concealed in walls, chases and below the slab.

What recurs in published reports

• Slow drains and standing discolored water at lavatories served by original cast iron waste lines.
• Water heaters past their useful life, identified by nameplate date.
• Restroom groups original to construction, with no grab bars and narrow stalls, which are both a reserve item and an accessibility observation.
• Corroded galvanized supply piping where visible, and polybutylene where present, both of which agency lenders require to be called out.
• Backflow preventer tags out of date.
• Leak staining below fixtures or at mechanical-room floors.

Useful lives the reserve table uses

Component	HUD EUL (yrs)	Fannie 4099.F (yrs)	HUD table row
Gas water heater, tank type	12	15	3.4.1.2.6
Domestic water piping, copper	50	50	3.4.1
Sanitary waste piping, cast iron	50	50	3.4.1
Restroom fixtures and finishes, group	25	20	3.4.1
Backflow preventer	25	not listed	3.4.1

Expected useful life is the table value; remaining useful life is the observer's opinion and the report says which basis each line uses. See the reserve table explained and the HUD table.

Table 1 or Table 2

Table 1 carries specific repairs the observer can name: clear a drain, replace a failed fixture, service a backflow device. Table 2 carries the water heater at its nameplate age plus useful life, and restroom groups as allowances by group with their installation year. Piping is usually coterminous with the building unless a material with a known failure history is present, in which case the section describes it, recommends further study, and a replacement allowance may be carried in Table 2 with an explicit note that the extent is unconfirmed. A recurring slow drain gets a camera-inspection recommendation, not a repiping cost. See cost categories.

Writing the section

Description first (what the system consists of and the basis for its stated age, with the source), then observations and analysis (what was seen and why it matters), what the point of contact reported, what was not observed and why, then recommendations that point at the table lines. Every statement carries its source. Baseline PCR drafts the section in that order from the field notes, photographs and documents, computes the lines, and leaves the rating, the RUL opinions and the categories for the reviewer to confirm; the sample report shows section 3.4.1 for a 1985 office building. The walkthrough checklist covers the field side.