How can you tell if the copper pipes in a property need replacing or not?

[teaboyjim]

How can you determined if all of the copper pipes in a house should be kept or replaced? https://pic.infini.fr/gallery#qFX4X...G,AhDtYi76/aM1TIGYz.JPG,Lsx4UjRN/giKwVXKg.JPG

 

[tel765]

No pics yet?

If the remaining copper pipes are all visible and appear to be in good nick then they are still good to go.
You should flush them through, esp the rad circuits, before making any new connections.
The remains can also be pressure tested - dry or wet.
Copper tubes are hard wearing & very long lasting - if you discover any suspicious pitting say then post a pic of it on here.

 

[endecotp]

The remains can also be pressure tested - dry or wet.

Wet testing is much safer.

 

[dontbelieveawordofit]

seriously? people are recommending you leave pipework potentially from the 60s or earlier whilst completely refitting kitchen and bathrooms .
wrong on every level.
get it out wherever you can and replace it.
a 10 grand kitchen or 4 grand bathroom with 60s pipework that could ruin a whole project the day after it’s completed.
really?

 

[tel765]

Just to be contradictory you are ranting a seriously bad suggestion at the OP.
To say the above you must be seriously ignorant of plumbing installations or refurbishments.

An Edwardian terraced house would have had Cu pipework added only years after new build at a time when Cu tube became much cheaper.
There's much practical and research proof that Copper tubing will last a 100yrs or more unless adverse conditions exist.
A plumber on site will detect adverse conditions & be aware of local water conditions.
So, unless proved otherwise, no need to replace the copper tubes.

We ask you: Please stop this ignorant ranting thats giving such foolish & potentially expensive advice to OP's.

 

[Nige F]

No pics yet?

If the remaining copper pipes are all visible and appear to be in good nick then they are still good to go.
You should flush them through, esp the rad circuits, before making any new connections.
The remains can also be pressure tested - dry or wet.
Copper tubes are hard wearing & very long lasting - if you discover any suspicious pitting say then post a pic of it on here.

It's not pitting to worry about it's the fittings = there could be some badly soldered ones.

 

[teaboyjim]

It's not pitting to worry about it's the fittings = there could be some badly soldered ones.

Would you put in new pipes?

 

[teaboyjim]

seriously? people are recommending you leave pipework potentially from the 60s or earlier whilst completely refitting kitchen and bathrooms . wrong on every level. get it out wherever you can and replace it. a 10 grand kitchen or 4 grand bathroom with 60s pipework that could ruin a whole project the day after it’s completed.
really?

All the lead water pipes have been taken out.

 

[endecotp]

In my limited experience, having lifted floors the main issues with copper pipework are immediately apparent - pipes that have been kinked, trodden on, bodged etc. Also pipes that are unlagged or badly lagged, or that take a much longer route than they should, or are the wrong size, or that rub against joists so they will squeek. Most of these things would suggest replacement. On the other hand, the idea of replacing “apparently good” copper pipework with push-fit plastic, or with DIY-soldered copper, is less compelling!

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

seriously? people are recommending you leave pipework potentially from the 60s or earlier whilst completely refitting kitchen and bathrooms .
wrong on every level.
get it out wherever you can and replace it.
a 10 grand kitchen or 4 grand bathroom with 60s pipework that could ruin a whole project the day after it’s completed.
really?

Newly installed pipework has a fair chance of leaking too, depending on the skill of the installer, until it has withstood the test of time.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I have taken out all of the lead water pipes and it's the central heating copper pipes that remain. I will replace them if it's best practice but I have to watch myself because I find it easy to go too far with a job when I end up getting rid of something that I shouldn't have I even asked a structural engineer about how long copper pipes would last and he didn't really have a concrete answer and he was actually on site

You should certainly take out all lead pipework, but the copper of a heating system should be fine and probably not very old. You should be able to deduce the age, by the radiators. One issue might be heating pipes choked with magnatite(rust), depending on how well the system has been looked after and whether inhibitor has been used.

My own system has been looked after by me, is 40 years old and now the radiators are well oversized because of the insulation measures I have improved over the years. I have never had a pipe leak, though I have dealt with a few minor valve leaks. If someone where to install new pipes and radiators for free, I would certainly turn the offer down.

 

[pete50]

Pipes look good to me and the walls are not paper thin unlike the crap that is sold these days.

 

[Burnerman]

Those pipes look great but if they are like mine the 'lagging' is like a tubular hessian that largely turns to dust - best to replace that.
My pipes were also dragging along the concrete raft with minimal clipping and a few compression joints had historic seepage.
If you had or have an expansion tank in the loft a big blocking issue is where the pipe from the header tank joins into the heating circuit.....deposits gather at this point and it's a good idea to make sure that is accessible. It takes years to block but when it does you can't bleed or refill the radiators.
With old systems, problems can come to light if a gravity system is converted to mains pressure courtesy of a combi boiler.
John

 

[23vc]

I’ve seen end feed fittings just come apart with a slight pull on older installations (not even that old say 80s) and I’ve never bought a place and not ripped out and replaced all the plumbing. But at the end of the day it depends if the plumber of years gone by was better than whoever’s gonna do it today...also seen fittings fail shortly after being installed
I’d almost certainly replace heating pipes as probably sludged up

 

[teaboyjim]

In my limited experience, having lifted floors the main issues with copper pipework are immediately apparent - pipes that have been kinked, trodden on, bodged etc. Also pipes that are unlagged or badly lagged, or that take a much longer route than they should, or are the wrong size, or that rub against joists so they will squeek. Most of these things would suggest replacement. On the other hand, the idea of replacing “apparently good” copper pipework with push-fit plastic, or with DIY-soldered copper, is less compelling!

Have you come across complete refurbishments where they don't replace the pipes?