3 Questions About Replacing Plumbing Pipes in Your Home

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Does your home have older pipes made of galvanized steel? It may be a good idea to have a plumber replace the pipes with more modern material. Here are some questions you likely have about this home plumbing project.

1. How Can You Tell If Your Plumbing Needs Replacement?

The problem with galvanized steel plumbing is that they look completely fine on the outside of the pipe. The pipes actually corrode on the inside, which causes rust to form and limits the diameter of the pipe. Thus, you won't know that the pipe is about to break until there is actual water coming out from the pipe. If you want to know for sure, a plumber can cut open a pipe and show you what the damage looks like. Once you see the level of corrosion on the inside of the pipe, you'll likely want to schedule a plumbing replacement.

2. Do You Have to Replace All the Plumbing?

You may have concerns about opening up the walls of your home to replace all of the plumbing pipes. Keep in mind is that the pipes that run horizontally are going to be in a lot worse shape than the pipes that run vertically since the water rests in those horizontal pipes all the time and will cause more corrosion. 

Your vertical pipes are going to be in better condition and less likely to become damaged. This means you could leave the vertical pipes alone and still see some benefits. Your hot water pipes will also have more corrosion than the cold water pipes, making the hot water lines a priority. Your plumber can join galvanized steel with another pipe material using a special dielectric fitting to prevent corrosion.

3. Which Replacement Materials Can You Use?

Many people replace galvanized steel with copper plumbing because it will not corrode and it has been used for residential plumbing for years without issue. However, some homeowners want to use a more modern material, like plastic PEX pipes. These pipes are flexible, will not freeze in cold temperatures, and won't corrode. The flexibility also makes it easier to fish the pipe up through walls without having to create fittings to go around each turn. It is a viable alternative to copper if you wanted to know about alternative materials.

Reach out to a few plumbing companies in your area for more information on pipe replacement. 

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22 April 2020

A New Kind of Piping Makes DIY Plumbing Easier

My homes have always had either copper or PVC plumbing pipes. But when my plumbing system needed an overhaul last spring, I wanted a piping system for my home that I could work on myself when needed. There were a lot of good reasons to choose PEX piping, but my favorite thing about the PEX piping is that it's easy to work with, even if you're a beginner like me. Now I can make small repairs myself instead of calling the plumber every time I have a minor leak or other small problem. I still call the plumber for the big stuff, but it's more affordable now that I can take care of small issues myself. I started this blog to help others learn how they, too, can do DIY plumbing repairs at home.