A year ago, I performed an inspection on a new home, in which the air handler was located in a second floor closet. As you know, each air conditioning system needs a condensate drain, which is to terminate at the ground. But in this application, the installers ran the condensate drain to the first floor roof eave and allowed gravity to take effect. With condensate running down the side of the house, this condition was obviously not acceptable, so I noted the deficient condition - expecting the builder to professionally correct the mess. Recently the house was resold, and while performing the inspection for the new buyer, I noted the remedy the builder applied to the deficient condensate drain. The builder's correction was to use clear flexible tubing that runs through a hole in the closet and bathroom wall, and connect the tubing into a hole drilled in the sink drain line (under the sink basin). To prevent leaks, the connection was sealed with silicon sealant, and the clear tubing clearly showed waste water from the sink entering the condensate line each time the sink drained. So, what do you think about this 'professional' correction?

True or False? Direct connection of a condensate line into a plumbing waste line is allowed.

FALSE - Most of the responses to this were correct, but sometimes I wonder what these "contractors" are thinking to even attempt such things. When I was starting in the home inspection business, my mentor told me - "if it doesn't look right, it probably isn't". That simple adage has served me well. By the way, this prohibition of directly connecting condensate drain lines into plumbing waste vents IS in the Florida Building Codes.

Shawn Hutto at Re/Max