Should Brass Risers be Replaced?
In renovating 4 bathrooms in a 1910 house, should the original brass risers be replaced? Three bathrooms are in a stack on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floor. The 4th bath is on the second floor above the kitchen. All plumbing in the bathroom would be replaced. From the basement, the risers look fine. Should…
In renovating 4 bathrooms in a 1910 house, should the original brass risers be replaced?
Three bathrooms are in a stack on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floor. The 4th bath is on the second floor above the kitchen.
All plumbing in the bathroom would be replaced. From the basement, the risers look fine.
Should they be replaced? Any estimates of cost? Can it be done later?
I would recommend replacing with copper.
My rationale is a little different. Good brass will outlast us all, but the skill to repair or make additions to brass are essentially gone. We still keep a selection of brass nipples, and somewhere we still have the dies to thread, but those of us who remember how to do it are fast retiring.
The prices on brass fittings and nipples are astronomical now, so go woth sweat.
If you are already renovating all the bathrooms replace them with copper. If they are in fact original (and I would bet they are) any contractor that wouldn’t insist on changing them is looking for the easy way out and should be shown the door.
One never knows. A repipe in the 50’s could have used the best available in that era. Type L copper came in vogue later so it is possible that red brass is present. Black iron or galvanized approaching 100 years in age would be so constricted with rust as to be non functioning. An enlightened owner might have done the right thing after WWII.
This is a 1910 home in South Midwood. Bathrooms were redone in 30s and 40s. I don’t know if the risers were ever changed. I’ve gotten different opinions from contractors as to replacing them.
How is yellow and red brass identified? Does lack of threads mean yellow brass?
I have never seen red brass pipes in an old Brooklyn building. What I usually find is black iron or galvanized crap.
If you have yellow brass replace the risers as they are brittle. (The difference in yellow and red brass piping comes from the percentage of copper in the material.) If you have red brass with screwed fittings keep the pipes, they are as good or better than copper which is soldered. FYI red brass piping came into vogue in the 50’s as replacement for original galvanized piping. I suspect the risers are 50 to 60 years old but will still outlive us all. My experience in this comes from my career in multifamily property renovations and management. Good luck.
The big expense in replacing risers is in opening the walls. If you have the walls open you should go ahead and replace the 90-year old pipes. I mean, how much longer do you expect them to last? Replace them with copper risers and they will be good for another 90 years.