Should I replace all of the plumbing? Pics enclosed?

twilightcall

Should I replace all of the plumbing or just the supply. The supply appears to be galvanized and the drain is cast iron. The drain seems to be ok but I thought I should replace the galvanized. What do you guys think? Should I try out the galvanized first or should I replace it? I was thinking about going with PEX for this. I thought it would make this job nice.

Attached Thumbnails

 

twilightcall

Here is another pic.

Attached Thumbnails

 

twilightcall

Another picture.

Attached Thumbnails

 

Bondo

Ayuh,.....

Personally,...... I'd leave it be,... Til there's an Issue.....

Then I'd do some Replacing.......

moneymgmt

I replaced all of the water lines in my house, galvanized to copper (call me old-school), just before winter. My house is was built in the late 40's and has city water but I couldn't believe the build up in the pipes..... there was less than 1/4" of clearance in some. My water pressure instantly increased. As for the drains, I agree with Bondo, no reason to replace.

moneymgmt

Side note.... then I'd throw down some heavy plasitc to keep the moisture off the pipes, drains, and bottom of the house!

AtlanticWBConst.

I'm not a plumber, but I'd also say to leave it - until you have a problem, which may not be anytime soon....

__________________
- Build Well -

Marlin

I agree with everyone else. Unless you see signs of wear that I'm not that cast iron looks like it's in great shape. Defiantly get all that galvanized out of there though.

davefoc

I maintain a building that dates from 1929 with an addition built in about 1950. It was plumbed with cast iron drains and galvanized pipe for water supply. It is near the ocean in Southern California.

Based on my limited experience I would put the life of these systems in our area as follows:

galvanized water supply: 40 to 50 years

1.5 and 2 inch cast iron exposed in crawl space: 60 to 70 years

1.5 and 2 inch cast iron in walls 80 years plus (we've only had a few problems with it)

3 and 4 inch cast iron: 100 years or more (we've never had any problems with it).

The vent system and a small amount of the drain system was plumbed with galvanized originally. These have lasted about as well as the cast iron although rust flakes from inside the galvanized vents have caused some problems with the drains.

The cast iron in the picture looked to be in pretty good shape compared to the exposed cast iron in our building that has needed replacing. Not being near the ocean might (uninformed speculation on my part) significantly extend the life of cast iron over what we have experienced.

Given the age of our building all the cast iron was of the XH variety (extra heavy). SV cast iron that was introduced during WWII, I think, may not last as well.

jpplumber

Replace the water lines and the drains if you somehow through a remodel have better access to them.... or
because of the rust particles sometimes produced by galvanized pipe, if you plan on installing new faucets with ceramic discs (easily scratched) or some other washer less faucet(sometimes easily plugged up).... generally anything other then compression type stems may cause problems. Unscrew the aerators on the faucets and check for rust particles to see if this is an issue.
Replace the water lines if you have pressure problems and you can attribute it to rust build up in the lines.

twilightcall

Thanks guys. What kind of faucets are the most robust? I plan to replace all of the faucets but I want something that is fairly tough even if it doesn't look so great. Ok I will replace the supply lines but I would like to leave the drain lines if possible for a little while.
What should the pressure at the water hose bib be? 50 PSI? Thanks.

Marlin

Anywhere between 40 and 80 is fine. If it's more than 80 you need a PRV, less than 40 (or if you just want higher pressure) their is either a problem somewhere or you need a pressure tank (unless you can deal with the low pressure).

redline

if you open up a wall to do other work then replace that section.

redline

Did you buy this house yet?

redline

Does this have a dirt floor or cement basement?