Copper repipe

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bobbyb

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Hey guys. A copper repipe is currently in progress. I've just been in the attic and taken some photos. I am not personally doing this work, and would appreciate opinions from some experts. Cheers!

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Dj2

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This is unacceptable. Wait till you turn on the main and see the leaks. On second thought, don't wait - fire the clown who does this job right now.

As I see it, you are wasting good money, good copper,expensive solder and precious time.
 

JohnjH2o1

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If your in Florida I hope your going to insulate the COLD water lines. If you don't the water will be hot when you first turn it on. I have to agree with the others that the job looks very unprofessional.

John
 
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hj

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Why are they using both ProPress and solder joints? It is difficult to make "close" connections with ProPress buy they seem to be doing it the hard way, or else they intended to do it one way and then changed their minds, but you cannot "rotate" ProPress once it is made..
 

bobbyb

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If your in Florida I hope your going to insulate the COLD water lines. If you don't the water will be hot when you first turn it on.

Thanks for the tip. I was thinking the same.

Why are they using both ProPress and solder joints? It is difficult to make "close" connections with ProPress buy they seem to be doing it the hard way, or else they intended to do it one way and then changed their minds, but you cannot "rotate" ProPress once it is made..

I'm not sure why it's being done this way. Initially I was advised that only ProPress would be used, as it would avoid soldering in the attic and expedite the job. I was surprised to see a combination of both being used.

The soldering looks sloppy, and I'm not pleased with the angles. In some instances (not all pictured) it appears measurements were not properly taken, so to compensate for that the pipes were installed at odd angles. The greatest concern is whether these are simply aesthetic issues, or if such workmanship is indicative of something going wrong. Currently this is not tied into the water, and I must decide how to best move forward.
 

Craigpump

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The best way to move forward is to get your local inspector to look at this and then fire the guy who wasted all that material and his time.
 

hj

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Insulation does NOT prevent the lines from heating up, or cooling down for hot water. It merely slows down the process. if the water is "stagnant" in the attic for any period of time it WILL heat up to ambient temperature.
 

JohnjH2o1

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Insulation does NOT prevent the lines from heating up, or cooling down for hot water. It merely slows down the process. if the water is "stagnant" in the attic for any period of time it WILL heat up to ambient temperature.

Is it not better to insulate then not to?
 

bobbyb

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The best way to move forward is to get your local inspector to look at this and then fire the guy who wasted all that material and his time.

I was going to get to the inspection. Exactly what will the inspector be looking at? Can one fail an inspection due to ugly soldering and poor pipe placement? A photo in the original post showed a copper strap screwed into a king post. Is that strapping acceptable?

A little background on this job: a family member who's been a plumbing contractor for a few decades sent his guys to do this job. While he didn't personally do any of the work, after being shown photos he suggested there is no problem, and that although it is ugly the plumbing is sound. His suggestion is to perform pressure tests proving his position, and if there are problems he will fix them. I'm not sold, and being a layman don't know what testing proves longterm. But considering this is within the family, I must tread lightly.

Another issue that concerns me is how some pipe will be placed under tremendous physical pressure in order to be strapped. I don't believe it could be a good thing for straps (or possibly joints) to be under physical pressure. Below is a photo of a pipe that appears to be somewhat bent in addition to being soldered on an angle. It is currently attached to the run in the attic. Pushing this pipe towards the wall generates a great deal of pressure on the pipe.

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Terry

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Can one fail an inspection due to ugly soldering and poor pipe placement?

Inspectors can't turn down ugly.
They can turn down pipes placed in places that will freeze, but not for being less than perfect.
It will either hold water or not. And if it doesn't, it will be fixed.
 

bobbyb

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Insulation does NOT prevent the lines from heating up, or cooling down for hot water. It merely slows down the process. if the water is "stagnant" in the attic for any period of time it WILL heat up to ambient temperature.

A future project is to spray foam insulation on the rafters, as the attic is unfortunately home to HVAC equipment. In a conditioned space, would you say insulating the pipes is also a wasted exercise (considering they won't heat up that much anyway)?
 

bobbyb

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Inspectors can't turn down ugly.
They can turn down pipes placed in places that will freeze, but not for being less than perfect.
It will either hold water or not. And if it doesn't, it will be fixed.

Thanks. I was advised it'll boil down to the material used and how often it's strapped. Based on what you've seen here, should I have concerns beyond aesthetics?
 

Dj2

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bobbyb,

- Promise you'd never hire family again.
- The inspector will say: every joint with excess solder is a potential future leak.
- As far as your family plumber: he should hire skilled plumbers, not day laborers, to do a plumbing job, whether he gets paid for the job or not. His reputation is on the line. By approving the job, he just demonstrated that he is clueless.
- If you force a pipe to be strapped, it will resist, creating a weak point, with a possible future leak.
- The system may pass a pressure test, for now. Or may fail. In the future, you will have leaks, for sure.
- If you want to sleep at night, have the job re-done by a pro. Mitigate your losses.
 

hj

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quote; The inspector will say: every joint with excess solder is a potential future leak.

Not any inspector I know.Excess solder on the surface has absolutely no relationship to the amount INSIDE the joint. INSUFFICIENT solder will create a weak joint which would be a potential leak, BUT there is seldom any outward indication of insufficient solder. Rigidly strapping piping does NOT create leaks, but "loose" strapping which allows movement CAN create a weak spot in the tubing if wear occurs. The final two statements, i.e., "you will have leaks for sure", and "If you want to sleep at night, etc", are hyperbole and based on opinions which have little to support them. Unless it leaks when the water is turned on, I would not worry about it. Any ProPress joints which were "missed" will leak, intentionally, so they can be properly sealed with the tool.
 
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bobbyb

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quote; The inspector will say: every joint with excess solder is a potential future leak.

Not any inspector I know.Excess solder on the surface has absolutely no relationship to the amount INSIDE the joint. INSUFFICIENT solder will create a weak joint which would be a potential leak, BUT there is seldom any outward indication of insufficient solder. Rigidly strapping piping does NOT create leaks, but "loose" strapping which allows movement CAN create a weak spot in the tubing if wear occurs. The final two statements, i.e., "you will have leaks for sure", and "If you want to sleep at night, etc", are hyperbole and based on opinions which have little to support them. Unless it leaks when the water is turned on, I would not worry about it. Any ProPress joints which were "missed" will leak, intentionally, so they can be properly sealed with the tool.

Thanks for the input hj. So if I understand correctly, the sloppy soldering and pipe positioning is not necessarily an indication of any actual issue with the pluming. Is it safe to say that if the pluming passes a pressure and water test it's in decent shape?

Another concern I had was with the possible tension placed on the straps of the pipe seen in the bathroom (as it is not positioned on a straight angle coming down from the attic). Is that any cause for concern? Or should strapping such a pipe down pose no problem?

Thanks again.
 
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hj

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quote; Is it safe to say that if the pluming passes a pressure and water test it's in decent shape?

Unfortunately, no. But that applies to ANY installation, not just yours. I once had a customer who dropped a can of peas onto a copper elbow that had been installed 20 years previously, and it "fell apart" causing a flood. The pipe had only been inserted into the fitting about 1/8" but had held all that time, until the can dislodged it.
 

bobbyb

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quote; Is it safe to say that if the pluming passes a pressure and water test it's in decent shape?

Unfortunately, no. But that applies to ANY installation, not just yours. I once had a customer who dropped a can of peas onto a copper elbow that had been installed 20 years previously, and it "fell apart" causing a flood. The pipe had only been inserted into the fitting about 1/8" but had held all that time, until the can dislodged it.

Virtually nothing is ever guaranteed, but what's the risk factor? The fact is that most of the work is already done. Had I done it myself I'd want it to look beautiful, but aesthetics are just that. Based on what you've seen in the post, is there good reason to be alarmed, or only the possibility something might go wrong (just as a possibility exists with many other contractors)?

I want to approach this in a fair and balanced fashion. Not looking for groundless bashing of the work (and I know many find comfort bashing the work of others), just trying to figure out the likelihood of actual harm being done. Being a layman, at some point it's going to boil down to a level of trust either way.

Thanks.
 
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