[Jeremy Hillary Boob PhD]

My current house was supposedly rebuilt (almost entirely) in about 1991, since the shack that was here fell down in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. We've only been in this place for about 18 months, but in that time I've done quite a few projects, including a complete gutting/remodel of a bathroom. Anyways, the water pipes seem to be all copper with the exception of the 1/2" pipes (hot and cold) below the kitchen sink, which are galvanized. I'm replacing the cabinets (actually, building them from scratch, but that's another story...), and I had to replace one of the valves, which would not shut off. The galvanized pipe looked to be rotting a bit (from the inside) around the threads and it had some crud in it. So, I have a couple of questions:

1) Would it be a good idea to replace the galvanized pipe? I believe I can get everything to work as it's now configured, but the cabinet is out now, so I'll never have easier access than now. Btw, I'm not too eager to tear open the wall, so the galvanized pipes coming out the wall would remain, unless the experts insists it's really worthwhile. There are a 3 pipes and a couple of fittings that would be easy to replace without opening up the wall.

2) I assume that it would be best to replace these with brass pipes/fittings. Is that correct?

3) Just out of curiosity, why would anybody use galvanized pipe in this one location, but nowhere else? These pipes might actually be fairly old, since the cabinets had a date of 1964 on them, but I find it hard to believe that this part of the house is actually 45 years old.

Thanks.

 

[scotty123]

It does not make any sense that it would be done in galvanised unless it was done prior to the rest, which is strange.

I would use the brass fittings to make the transition, brass oxcidises slower than copper. Are you going to go all the way to where the galvanised starts? or are you just going to branch off under the sink... i mean if the rest of the house in in copper, where does the galvanised meet the copper?

 

[kenmac]

If they have been there since 45 . While you are there .. Replace all of it.. It would be a shame to have to go back later because fo flow issues

 

[Jeremy Hillary Boob PhD]

If they have been there since 45 . While you are there .. Replace all of it.. It would be a shame to have to go back later because fo flow issues

I took your advise and replaced it all. It would have been fairly straightforward, since the connection with the copper pipe was in the wall directly behind the protruding pipe. However, I ripped the drywall off, because there was also a dead electrical outlet nearby that I figured I'd just as well remove. I managed to actually fix the electrical outlet, so the extra work was worthwhile.