What goes wrong in a James Island home depends mostly on when it was built, and there are two clear generations here.
The established neighbourhoods
Homes from the fifties through the seventies in Riverland Terrace, Harbor View and Stiles Point often still have galvanised supply pipe that has rusted closed from the inside, and cast iron drains that have narrowed. Here we will sometimes tell you honestly that another patch is money spent twice.
The newer developments
In the more recent neighbourhoods the pipe is fine and what fails is everything attached to it — shut-off valves, supply lines under sinks, outdoor spigots and toilet fill valves. Inexpensive to put right, and far cheaper caught before they leak into a wall.
Salt air is hard on fittings
Being this close to the water, outdoor spigots, hose connections and anything exposed corrode faster than they would inland. It is worth looking at your outside taps once a year rather than waiting for one to fail.
You usually do not need to tear anything out
We can find a leak precisely rather than opening walls to hunt for it, and a failing drain can often be relined instead of dug up. If a repair has been described as needing major demolition, it is fair to ask whether there is another way.