Plumbing Inspection in Denver, CO
Denver turns over at about the national middle: 27% of its owner households arrived in 2018 or later. Common enough that most people know somebody who has had a report, rare enough that few have read the exclusions in one.
The one-paragraph answer
In Denver, 27% of owner-occupied homes have changed hands since 2018. Whichever side of a sale you are on, the exclusions decide what you know: a standard inspection stops at the visible plumbing and leaves the sewer lateral to a camera survey.
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25038.
When Denver moved in
At an ordinary rate of turnover, the housing here divides fairly evenly between homes inspected in the last few years and homes that have not been looked at since the previous sale, whenever that was.
| Owner households in Denver | Share of all owners |
|---|---|
| Moved in 2021 or later | 7% |
| Moved in 2018–2020 | 19% |
| Moved in 2010–2017 | 32% |
| Moved in before 2010 | 41% |
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25038 (tenure by year householder moved into unit), 2023 release. Universe: 487,902 occupied housing units, of which 254,295 are owner-occupied. This counts when the CURRENT occupant moved in, so it measures recent moves as a share of the housing stock — not a rate of sales per year.
What the inspection will not cover
Both standards state that an inspection is not technically exhaustive and covers readily accessible, visually observable systems. That sentence is not a disclaimer at the end of the report. It is the definition of what was bought.
Source: InterNACHI Home Inspection Standards of Practice; ASHI Standard of Practice.
What it is required to cover
The water heater is covered in more detail than most of the system: InterNACHI takes in the energy source, the venting connections, the temperature and pressure-relief valve, seismic bracing where it applies, and the labeled capacity. What it stops short of is operating any of it.
The rest of what an inspector must do is set out here. It is shorter than the excluded list and it is the half that tells you what a finding is worth.
What to do about it
Two categories are worth chasing before you exchange: water somewhere it should not be, and anything the report could not see the end of. Both are open-ended, and open-ended is what moves a price.
Before you accept a report, read what it did not have to cover against what it did. Then decide whether the drains outside need their own visit.
Other Colorado towns we route in
- Wheat Ridge 24% of owners moved in since 2018
- Lyons 18% of owners moved in since 2018
- Colorado Springs 29% of owners moved in since 2018
- Gypsum 17% of owners moved in since 2018
- Conifer 17% of owners moved in since 2018
Checking a plumber in Colorado
Checking a credential in Colorado
Colorado licenses are issued by the Colorado State Plumbing Board, Division of Professions and Occupations, which publishes a public search you can use before work begins.
Inspection report in front of you?Read us the plumbing lines and nothing else — we do not want the document. We will route you to a contractor covering your area who can quote the items on it, and you are never charged by us. Report or no report, Denver reaches a contractor through us.
Call (888) 764-3501