The pipes in your home, whether water lines or drains, will eventually need replacing. Over time, the pipes will gradually corrode, rust, and decay. Unless you replace plumbing, you’re eventually going to get leaks—and possibly a flood of water or raw sewage into your home that causes thousands of dollars in damage to your building and belongings.
The type of plumbing in your house determines how long you can expect it to last. We at Crosswaters Plumbing would be glad have look at the piping in your home and give you an assessment
Lead Removal
Lead is poison. Lead pipes, used in the early 1900s, have a life expectancy of 100 years, but they can leach lead into your drinking water, a serious health hazard.
Watch for Signs of Troubles
If your house is more than about 60 years old, you may want to take an annual look at any exposed pipe—in basements, crawlspaces, and utility rooms—for telltale signs of trouble. Check the tubing for discoloration, stains, dimpling, pimples, or flaking, which are all indications of corrosion. Keep an eye out for leak too. Even small ones that are easily repairable maybe good indications to consider a more involved work of re-pipe
The colour of water that comes out of your taps is also a good indicator of the quality of your pipes. If the water looks brown or yellow, what you’re seeing is rust, a sign of decay inside the pipes.
When To Replace
It’s always good to get a second and even third opinion before you make a decision on a replacement project. But there are a few ways you can save on cost and labour.
Replace what’s exposed. For a home with plaster walls, wood paneling, or other features that make it difficult to gain access to in-wall pipes, consider at least replacing pipes that aren’t buried in the walls. Although it’s a big job, replacing exposed pipes in a basement, crawlspace, or utility room is fairly straightforward, because of easy access to the pipes.
Also, replace when you renovate. Whenever you remodel a portion of your house, opportunities should be taken to inspect—and if need be, replace—any plumbing lines that you expose when you open up the walls and floors. This includes not only the plumbing in the kitchen or bathroom that you’re renovating, but also any pipes passing through the walls to feed upstairs bathrooms.
Modern Piping Materials – Minimize Demolition
If you have inside-the-wall supply pipes that require replacement, your plumber may be able to limit the wall demolition he needs to do by using an alternative piping product: Cross-linked polyethylene tubing, also known as PEX, is a flexible plastic hose.
It can often be snaked into walls in much the way electricians feed their wires behind the wallboard or plaster with relatively minimal surgery—not an option with rigid copper pipe. PEX meets building code nearly everywhere, comes with a 25-year warranty, and puts a smaller hit on your budget than copper. That’s because of lower material and labor costs.
INFORMATION SOURCE: www.houselogic.com