Confused Real Estate Terms - Part 2

Upgraded Plumbing

Updated plumbing means new bathroom fixtures or new pipes? If it is about new pipes, whether all pipes within the house were replaced or just the accessible supply pipes in the unfinished portion of the basement? All copper plumbing means the waste piping as well? From the mid 1950’s to the late 1960’s, waste plumbing was also copper.

In the vast majority of houses where old galvanized supply plumbing has been replaced with copper pipes, the service line coming in from the street has not been replaced. Decades ago when galvanized plumbing was installed in the house, the service line coming in from the street was not galvanized steel. Instead it was lead. Terms upgraded plumbing may make purchasers believe that the service line coming in from the street has been replaced as well.

Updated Wiring

Does updated wiring mean the service size has been increased or additional circuits have been added? Does it mean that the older knob tube wiring has been completely removed?

Sometimes it means that the old outlets have been replaced but the wiring has not been replaced at all.