Galvanized Pipe Issues

[Peter Burnside]

So this coupling failed and caused a lot of water damage.  House is about 65 years old.  Is the galvanized pipe the problem?  The plumber cleaned it, taped, and doped and cranked a new coupling on it, but I wonder how long it will last.  What should I look at/look for when assessing the condition of the pipes?

[Austin Bull]

As a plumber in AZ, I agree with the prior two comments. You should be putting money aside to eventually replace that piping entirely in the house. In Arizona I have seen galvanized piping in a lot of older houses, and eventually the pipe deteriorates because of our "hard" water here and they crack and leak over time.

Look into a "whole house re-pipe". It'll probably be anywhere from 8k-15k depending on where you live and the size of the house. What the plumber would do is he will bypass all the piping in the walls/ground. And he'll tie into the main water service with Pex-A piping(this pliable plastic piping). They'll run it up over head in the attic and drop it down the walls to the different plumbing fixtures. And most medium/bigger plumbing companies can finance the project. My old company even did 12 mo payments with no interest if you paid in that 12 months. So there's options. Just proactively get some quotes to get an idea. Plumbers like these jobs because they're "big jobs" and they make good money on them, so they'll be glad to give you estimates.

Just a thought: keep an eye out for moisture in the drywall. Once I saw a house where the pipe cracked/leaked in a wall by the kitchen, but it was behind a book case. The homeowner didn't notice for a while until it was too late, so it ruined the drywall in the area, the cabinets and the flooring in the kitchen.