"Orangeburg" sewer piping

If you are planning on purchasing a home built between the early 1950s to the early 1970s, orangeburg piping is something you should learn about. Orangeburg is actually a brand name. It is the name of the company (and the town in which it was made) that manufactured bituminous fiber pipe. This type of piping has been found, in some cases, to deteriorate much faster than other types of sewer pipes. There are some neighborhoods in Ann Arbor in which this pipe is found frequently, for example the "Airy" built homes in the Wuerth subdivision off Stadium, near Pioneer High School. These are lovely brick ranches, but if you are planning on buying one, make sure that the sewer pipe from the house to the street has already been replaced. Many realtors identify this issue with particular neighborhoods and, while this is accurate in some respects, the real issue is the time period in which the home was built and whether or not that particular builder used this type of piping. If the seller does not know whether the home has orangeburg or whether it has been replaced, it is advisable to have an inspection done to determine whether this may become a problem in the future. This is not something that can be determined in a regular contractor's inspection. This particular inspection entails a company inserting a camera into the pipes to have a look. The cost is several hundred dollars, but it is several thousand dollars if your pipes are deteriorated and need replacing. The City of Ann Arbor has a very handy list of homes that have had sewer work done and what type of work it was. This can be helpful in making the decision whether it is worth spending money on the inspection, but I think I would advocate "better safe than sorry". You can have a look at this list here: http://www.a2gov.org/government/communityservices/planninganddevelopment/building/Documents/orangeburg%20list.pdf Happy House Hunting!