Everything has a life expectancy, whether it’s made in nature or a factory. The lifespan of the plumbing pipes in your home depends on their usage, methods of installation, maintenance, and environmental conditions.
Materials for Incoming Water Lines
When we’re speaking with a customer about why their pipes failed, about 85% of the time the customer wasn’t aware of the material or condition of their pipes. And really, why would they be? The majority of our plumbing is hidden behind walls, in the ceiling, a concrete slab, and outside in the ground. Sometimes it’s visible in a crawl space or basement, but we don’t usually see it in our daily routine. Out of sight, out of mind! Most of us are busy with the regular day to day and don’t have the time or desire to learn about every single aspect of our homes. This is where the experts- like our team at Sterling Craft Plumbing & Bath- enter the picture.
Here’s a general guideline for some common plumbing materials. We encourage you to set aside some time to walk around your home and try to identify the different materials you see, both inside and out. And who knows, you may find undiscovered shut-offs, access panels, clean-outs, or other “surprises” around your home!
Copper
Copper pipes are very durable and can last anywhere from 50 to 70 years or more. They are resistant to corrosion and can withstand high pressure. They CAN freeze or burst if they aren’t protected from the elements in freezing conditions. Copper used to be the most desired and common residential water line, but it’s been outpaced by PEX, which is also long lasting and significantly less expensive.
PEX (Cross-linked Polyethylene)
PEX pipes have become popular due to their flexibility, ease of installation, and resistance to freezing, and they typically last around 40 to 50 years. For folks who don’t like the idea of drinking water coming through plastic lines (although they are definitely rated safe for potable water), you may want to stick to copper if it’s within the budget. PEX lines are often colored red for the hot line and blue for the cold, but there are white PEX lines as well.
Galvanized Steel
Galvanized steel pipes have a lifespan of around 20 to 50 years and are seen in a LOT of homes in the Upstate, especially those built before 1980, but they are no longer used in residential water lines. They are prone to rust and corrosion over time, especially on the inside of the pipes, which can lead to reduced water flow, bacteria-heavy tap water and eventually leaks. They can be tricky to repair, because the pipe literally crumbles as you cut in to it, and even if you can make a patch in one spot the loss of structural integrity in the pipe just means it’s going to burst somewhere else in the line.
CPVC (Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride)
CPVC pipes are popular because they are “easy” to install since they rely on cement/glue to make the connections. However, if installed incorrectly (it’s usually the glue fittings at joints) you can have major leaks (as opposed to the compression fittings on PEX or the press fittings/soldering on copper). CPVC also becomes very brittle over time, especially if they are not protected from extreme temperature changes, and are the most common culprit we’ve seen when the water pipes burst in a home. CPVC breaks seem to be extra catastrophic because they can crack horizontally along the line, which means there is no portion of pipe you can save, which means you need an entire re-pipe of that section.
Black Ranch Pipe/Black Poly Pipe (Polyethylene)
The black poly pipe is popular for its long lifespan of 50 to 70 years. This pipe is safe ONLY for cold water, and should transition to different piping before the connection to the water heater. For this reason, we see it most often in the Upstate being used as a service line bringing water from the meter to the house, and often in irrigation systems. The downfall to the black poly pipe is that it’s sensitive to chlorine and other chemicals in the water supply, so the pipe can swell and weaken which leads to cracks.
We hope this quick tutorial helps you identify different materials in your home. Please feel free to contact us in the office with any follow-up questions or to schedule an inspection!