Pinhole leaks in copper pipes

Looks like my sister's 12 year old house has a problem. She just had to have her bathroom torn up to repair a pinhole leak, and the plumber told her that this is just the beginning. We found a company that claims it can coat the insides of the pipes with epoxy, which seems more appealing than replumbing the entire house. Can this work? Henry

Reply to
Henry H. Hansteen
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12 years old?

I think you are being scammed. What evidence supports the plumbers claim?

Reply to
Matt

When you get done with that I have some swampland in Florida at a GREAT price for you......

Reply to
Dr. Hardcrab

..

I've never heard of widespread pinholes in Cu, certainly not in 12 years. Is it a joint or the tubing leak? I believe poor job of installation but unless it was some reject tubing or there's a real water quality issue I'm having trouble believing widespread tubing failures...

As for the lining, that's something I'm not aware of...possible I suppose, although I'd want to investigate thoroughly before committing.

Reply to
Duane Bozarth

I've experienced it. We moved into a new house in about 1957-58. The contractor used the cheapest imported type M copper pipe that anyone ever saw. Pinhole leaks inside the walls all over the place by 1965. Riped it all out (ranch style 1 level house) from the crawl space and replaced it. Had to tear down the walls in the bathrooms to get at it all. Pain in the arse - which is why I never use type M for anything - use type L only and no cheap imports.

Reply to
Ed Clarke

i think you need a second opinion.

randy

Reply to
xrongor

Ok, your ugly too.

No, wait ...

A guy gets told by his doctor he has 1 month to live. The guy says he wants a second opinion.

The doc says ok, you're ugly too.

Reply to
Matt

Me too. I've had this happen in a house that I rented a while back. It was amazing how thin the copper had become in so many places. Just picking up a small section of the piping that had been replaced caused it to be crushed. The water was a bit acidic I suppose, always had a lovely turquoise colored tub and sink. I would just stick my head under the house and listen for the hissing sound. Sorry but I don't know anything about how to treat this other than by replacement, but I do know that "widespread tubing failures" certainly can exist. Eileen

Reply to
E Gregory

Naturally soft water is acidec. Could very well be true.

Reply to
Retiredff

Yes, it could be.

And then again it could be false.

Which is why I asked for more info.

And this is how we discover!

Reply to
Matt

She must live in a region of rally nasty water for tubing to go in 12 years. I have heard of it happening in some places in the west.

Rather that try to coat the existing tubing, replace it with PEX. Easy to do compared to copper, reasonable cost, won't corrode.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

PEX is not suitable for fresh water in some states. Your hot water pipe will go along with your heating system pipes.

Reply to
William W. Plummer

Possible, I don't follow the code for every state or minicipality. The OP should check their local codes. .

I'm not sure what you mean by this. PEX can be used for hot and cold, potable and radiant heating.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

A good arguement for plastic piping.....If it was up to me I would use schedule 80 on every new construction and it would last almost forever...but they use 40 out here in Florida....Of course we don't have to deal with freezes very often....hehehe...82 degrees today and in shorts....What a *&%$ huh......Ross

Reply to
Ross Mac

"Ross Mac" wrote in

Kiss my big black freezing *ss!!!!!!!!

;-]

Reply to
Dr. Hardcrab

Funny thing....that's what my buddy told me today up in Foxboro.....take care crabman....Ross

Reply to
Ross Mac

I had this problem in a restaurant that I managing many years ago. The pipe probably wasn't more than 15 years old. The plumber who did the replacement pipe asked if I was using the pipe as a ground and seemed to think that that could cause the problem. I wonder if you have a separate ground cable for the house or if they used the water line?

Peter HE

Reply to
Peter H

Give or take a few.

He's replaced all the copper pipes in about 100 houses in her area. There seems to a problem with the acidity of the water, the quality of the pipes, or both. I typed pinhole leak copper pipe into google and learned for the first time that this is a widespread problem. It's serious enough that a company is now in business (DuraFlo) coating the inside of pipes with epoxy. They guarantee their work, but I'm skeptical. They blow an abrasive through the pipes, but it doesn't seem like that would get them clean enough for a good bond with the epoxy. It's much less disruptive and cheaper than re-plumbing, though. The other option is jack hammering up her floor, since the house is on a slab and the pipes are buried. I wondered if the pipes could be run exposed on the outside of the walls until they get to their respective fixtures. The pipes would then be covered with some sort of trim. Henry

Reply to
Hank

Heat speeds up the reaction between Copper and the Lime in the concrete. Your hot water pipe will suffer the same fate. PEX may have other problems, but I am not an expert and I believe we need another 20 years or so to see how current installations work out. Back in 1970 everybody thought copper pipe in a concrete slab was fine, but we not know it was not.

Reply to
William W. Plummer

One reason I suggested PEX is the ability to run it easily through a house. For the most part, it can be pulled the same way you pull wires, thus eliminating the need to go into a slab or open wall to put in a length of rigid tubing. Since we know copper in this case is good for about 12 years, I'd sure try some other material that was simple to install and even replace if needed.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

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