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December 20, 2007
Galvanized Plumbing
I am in the process of purchasing a home built in 1915 that still has its original galvanized plumbing for the water lines. My home inspector stated that there is a lot of corrosion on the exposed joints of the galvanized pipes, and clear signs of past leakage. He also said that the pipes are likely corroding on the inside as well, and that the galvanized pipes should be replaced in the near future. My question is how urgent is this matter? Should I be worried about major leakage problems?. Is the water coming out of these pipes unhealthy? Thank you in advance for any advice.
Comments
My 1899 house had the original lead plumbing when I bought it in 1974. Lead is considerably more durable than galvanized and, I was told, could last 100 years, so I put off replacing it. I ended up replacing all the lead water supply pipes in three stages over about 15 years, with lots of emergency calls to my plumber because of leaks. I also spent far more than if I had replaced the plumbing.
Much better IMO to replace the galvanized allat once as soon as you can manage it.
Posted by: Bob Marvin at December 20, 2007 6:09 PM
My house (circa 1902) was all lead plumbing and my parents' house (circa 1914) was all galvanized. When the old pipes were removed we saw how much the water flow was restricted by the buildup of minerals and corosion. I'd replace the old pipes immediatly to prevent damage from leaks and to gain a better water flow.
Posted by: guest at December 20, 2007 10:06 PM
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Posted by: guest at December 21, 2007 2:16 AM
Follow the advice of the profesional home inspector that you paid.
Posted by: guest at December 21, 2007 7:11 AM
Suggest getting the opinion of plumber Cosomo Castorini, 19 Cranberry Street, Brooklyn
Posted by: guest at December 21, 2007 9:39 AM
Fix it now, before you move in. Add the cost to your mortgage or get it reduced from the purchase price.
Posted by: guest at December 21, 2007 10:44 AM
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Posted by: guest at December 21, 2007 10:47 AM
stop paying for bottled water and drink from the faucet. the money saved will more then cover the cost of replacing the piping.
Posted by: guest at December 21, 2007 12:45 PM
You absolutely want to get the galvanized pipe out of there. As a plumber of 25yrs+ and in sales for the past ten yrs, I've seen many rotted pipes in my day. Get it all done at once and bite the bullet on the cost. The cost to have a plumber in your home on emergency repairs will not be pleasant. Look into pex pipe for potable water. I'm not sure of the codes in New York for use of pex, but I'm pretty sure it's excepted. It'll save you a bundle of money on material and labor. And it's proven to be reliable.
Posted by: wholesalerbill at December 21, 2007 1:50 PM
The problem is that often when making a repair the old galvanized pipe will fail some where else due to movement or vibration. The threaded joints tend to break due to corrosion as stated above. Also I wouldn't trust any old valves to hold in cases of emergency shut offs. Sometimes they are frozen in the open position. Replacing all the lines especially those that feed the fixtures will be lots of work making repairs to tile /plaster/flooring/ what ever.
Posted by: guest at December 21, 2007 9:46 PM
Replace all the supply line plumbing throughout the house at the same time. And I would certainly use copper - don't mess with Pex or some other newfangled plastic pipe. Plastic pipe such as pex is notorious for leaking after a few years.
Get a few bids to have the entire house done at once...
Posted by: guest at December 22, 2007 6:51 AM
Pex is notorious for *not* leaking, it's why they use it in hydronic heated floors.
Posted by: guest at December 23, 2007 10:06 PM
we r completely remodeling a townhome that was built around 1968 & has galvanized piping. the water flow is good. we've had a few leaks below the sinks in bathroom. does it make sense to replace all the galvanized piping with new piping at this point? & if so, is there documentation on how well PEX did in Europe for 25 years? i'm leary of trying PEX because it doesn't have a history here yet. also, how many years is galvanized piping good for?
Posted by: guest at January 25, 2008 2:46 AM
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