Checked out a Habitat ReStore and found a major plumbing issue

I stopped by the ReStore on Elm Street last weekend and noticed almost every used sink and toilet had old supply lines with corroded nuts. You should inspect those before buying, or expect to replace all the hardware. Anyone dealt with hidden damage from their ReStore finds?

3 comments

3 Comments

johnson.daniel1mo ago

Right @king.andrew, ain't that the truth? I grabbed a pedestal sink from there once and the shutoff valve just crumbled into my hand as soon as I touched it. Now I walk every piece of hardware before I even load it in my truck.

king.andrew1mo ago

Yeah, haven't you ever bought something from a ReStore and felt like you were playing plumbing roulette? I grabbed a vanity once that looked fine, but the supply line basically exploded in my hand when I tried to unscrew it. Learned that lesson the hard way.

paigem451mo ago

Oh man, "plumbing roulette" is the perfect way to put it. I had a similar thing happen with a toilet tank I grabbed from a ReStore a few years back. Looked totally fine on the outside but the fill valve just disintegrated when I gave it a gentle turn. It's such a gamble with that stuff, especially the older fixtures where the rubber and plastic have been sitting in a hot garage for who knows how long. I feel your pain on that one, its a real rotten surprise when you're just trying to do a quick swap.