Big leak in crawlspace...closing is Thursday.

[David Mitchell]

We are buying a house and, yesterday, I called the water department to transfer service. The woman mentioned that it's flagged for a potential water leak because it used 28,000 gallons of water in the last month. The house is unoccupied and our inspection was three weeks ago.

The water department didn't have anyone available so I drove straight to the house and looked in the crawlspace. There are about 2-3 inches of standing water, and I could hear water gushing from the dark. Got the water shut off. This crawlspace is about 2-3 feet to the floor joists in most places.

What do I need to make sure is checked? What experts are needed? I'm guessing we can't close on Thursday now.

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[Jeff Zehnder]

We are buying a house and, yesterday, I called the water department to transfer service. The woman mentioned that it's flagged for a potential water leak because it used 28,000 gallons of water in the last month. The house is unoccupied and our inspection was three weeks ago.

The water department didn't have anyone available so I drove straight to the house and looked in the crawlspace. There are about 2-3 inches of standing water, and I could hear water gushing from the dark. Got the water shut off. This crawlspace is about 2-3 feet to the floor joists in most places.

What do I need to make sure is checked? What experts are needed? I'm guessing we can't close on Thursday now.

Based on your info I would recommend a plumber, they should be able to pump it dry and fix the leak. Once the water is out a more complete evaluation can be done.

[Jack Feldmann]

Have it checked out by a plumber. I had a house where someone came in and cut out the copper pipes the day after my inspection.

[Gary Burnett]

David,
28000 gallons of water is quite a bit. As mentioned above, pump out water, have plumber repair leak and then install fans to dry out the crawlspace. I would check the floors for any cupping (if they are hardwoods they may have to be sanded and stained or at worst case replaced). Foundation may be compromised from the leak so to be cautious, I would check with a structural engineer to make sure soil wasn't washed away from the foundation wall or piers under the home. Sounds like it wasn't high enough to affect the sill plates, beams or joists.

The good news is that it was discovered before closing.