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Uncle Rusty (A Home Inspection Blog)

Many people have heard of galvanized plumbing. They are commonly found in homes built in the 1960's and earlier in our area. The problem with this type of plumbing is the pipes rust from the inside. So like an artery that gets clogged with cholesterol, the galvanized pipe will rust from the inside and essentially the size of the pipe gets smaller and smaller over time. It is not a question of "if" this will happen but "when and how badly."

Having said that, we seem to have pretty good water in the area and I still see homes with galvanized plumbing that are doing fine. However, if you have galvanized plumbing, you want to monitor for a drop in water pressure and for leaks.

Below are some pictures of galvanized pipes that were abandoned. The homeowner ended up doing a copper re-pipe for the water supply and ABS plastic for the drainage, and it is clear why.

This is what a rusted galvanized pipe looke like. By Pillar To Post a Chino Hills home inpsection company

Galvanized plumbing rusts from the inside. By Pillar To Post a Rancho Cucamonga home inspection company

I hope this gives you a little more information about a home inspection and its value. Be safe out there.

Posted by Joseph Lang of Pillar To Post Professional Home Inspection

Posted by Joseph Lang - Southern California Home Inspector on 01/15/2009 10:12 AM

Comments (23)

plumbing, rancho cucamonga home inspections, upland home inspections, fontana home inspections, chino hills home inspections, la verne home inspections

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23 Comments on Uncle Rusty (A Home Inspection Blog)

JAN

Joseph, I don't do plumbing if I can at all help it, and even I can see why a change was needed. That is bad, I am glad for progress in building materials!

Tony & Darcy, there have certainly been some good advancements in plumbing in which I grateful for also. Thanks for stopping by.

My first house had galvanized drains, Was constantly having to go in the crawl to clear them out!

Look perfectly fine on the outside, but exactly as you pictured on the inside!

Joseph,

Thank you for the info. I learned something new today. Another great reason to hire a home inspector.

A picture is worth a 1000 words. I never realized that these pipes could rust inward, which clogs the pipe.

Robert, thanks for sharing your story.

Gerry, I'm glad I could be of help.

Steve, It is quite amazing to see the pictures.

Joseph great information.

Have a wonderful week.

Makes me want to go get my cholesterol checked!

Richard, thanks, take care.

Keith, good point!

JAN

Joseph- My 1951 house has some issues with the pipes...we replaced some, but I am sure they others are rusted also. As always you have great info, thank you.

JAN

Kathy, thanks for stopping by. Have a great day.

JAN

Hi Joseph, As usual, your photographs tell the story perfectly. Keep up the great blogging!

FEB

That is pretty neat and glad they aren't in my house or I would probably have that problem with my luck.

FEB

LOVE THE PICS!

Lots of the older homes in my area still have galvanized piping, and I always write it up in my reports when i find it.

I usually say something to the effect of: the galvanized piping is beyond or approaching the end of the serviceable lifetime.

good post good pics!

FEB

I never took apart any galvanized pipe that wasn't a problem. Just like our arteries.

MAR

Not only do galvanized pipes corrode from the inside. They also are prone to seepage. It can be astounding the amount of water lost from seepage. When I bought the fixer upper that I own, it was plumbed with galvy and all the seeps were not readily apparent. After about a year I finally got to the replumbing I had planned. When completed, my water bill went down by 50%. Any time you find galvy it's a good idea to replace it.

MAR

Thanks everyone for the responses. Galvanized plumbing holds up pretty well in my local area, but it's not a matter of if it will fail, it's a matter of when.

MAR

Nice picture and post, I have seen a few corroded pipes, but never to that extent. Unbelievably correct on the not a matter of if...but when.

Thanks for stopping by Randy. I was lucky the pipes were abandoned so I have some great pictures to share. Have a great day.

JUL

Hi Joseph,

Great post on galvanized plumbing. We have some here in Southern Maryland in the older homes. Thanks for the information.

JUL

Monigue,

Thanks for visiting my blog, I'm glad you enjoyed the information.

JUL

Great information Joseph, like always, you have great useful blogs! Can't wait for the next!

JUL

Thank you so much Glen. I'm going to try and blog a few times a week from now on... Im going to try. I just posted another blog today.

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