Galvanized Steel or Cast Iron Pipes?

[Kira B]

My fiancee just bought a house built in 1962. It is a rancher on a concrete slab. We had a home inspection but did not think to have a licensed plumber inspect the plumbing in the house. I was under the bathroom sink earlier today and see the corrosion, for the first time. I then started researching what kinds of pipes would have been used around 62. I did a scratch and magnet test on the first pipe with the blue green corrosion. Magnet stuck on the pipe coming through the wall. There is also a long vertical dull grey colored pipe coming from that one through to the otherside of the wall that goes into the little area with the washer/dryer, gas water heater, and gas furnace. I then checked the kitchen sink. It is a very dark pipe, the magnet stuck to it also. The kitchen sink pipe looks extremely worn. I am looking for help making the correct identification of these pipes. Very low water pressure in main bathroom sink. The tub drains slowly here and there. The half bathroom sink drains slowly. Two weeks after living here the main bathroom toilet stared leaking from the base. It was so bad it was under the laminate wood flooring in the hallway as well as a good patch of carpet in the room in front of it. The half bath toilet then wouldn't go down when flushed. Fiancee took both toilets off. The main bathroom toilet had standing water in the pipe. Ended up calling 311 to have them come out and blow it out with their big hose after he couldn't get it to drain using an auger. There is also limescale pitting and corrosion in the bathroom sink, and the tub drain. I was complaining about a week ago of hard water due to my scalp being dry and my skin also. Our gas water heater has also been having problems with the pilot light staying lit after it has lit up to start the heating process. The ventilation is clear from the roof, and where it intersects with the gas furnace vent going up into the attic. The valve on top of the water heater also has the blue green and white corrosion on it. I have been researching All day about these pipes and the causes and health risks of the damage they obviously have.

 

[Mliu]

The gray metal pipe is galvanized steel pipe. Very common in old houses. The dark fitting with the green corrosion looks like a bronze or copper slip-joint trap adapter used to connect the plastic pipe to the galvanized. Your photos are so close that we lose scale and context, but I'm guessing that the white plastic part is a p-trap from a sink connecting to your drain pipes. It appears your main drains (inside the walls) are cast iron.

The corrosion is unsightly and, over time, it will damage the pipes and fixtures. But I don't see anything that would be hazardous to your health (ignoring the Easy-Off and other chemicals stored under the sink).

I hope your fiancé got a good deal on the house because it appears to be a real fixer-upper. A lot of this would have been obvious from even a cursory pre-sale walk-through. Was your fiancé not paying attention? Or did he fall so in love with the house/location that he simply didn't care?

From what I've heard of home inspections, they seem to be a complete waste of money.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Sylvan]

From personal experiences Many of the so called home inspections are useless as they have no idea what they are looking at

One of my accounts bought a home for over 3 million dollars not knowing there was friable asbestos , ferrous and non ferrous metal piping connections causing electrolytic action , Yellow brass piping which become brittle overtime and undersized waste lines and illegal gas piping

I was hired to be an expect witness against the incompetent inspector . I found out all they are liable for (in NYC) is to return the fee they charged

People are better off hiring a local roofer, licensed plumber and licensed electrician .Also on older houses it may pay to hire an structural engineer if cracks are noted on the foundation walls or signs of water infiltration

Seeing the horrendous condition of the exposed piping I cant imagine what they did behind the walls .

To me it looks like this is going to be as money pit and I would strongly suggest you hire a master plumber ASAP to check the water heater / g
as piping , flue etc

 

[Onokai]

Ok the house is a fixer upper-the cast iron most likely behind the walls will be fine -hire a good licensed plumber and have them redone all the galvanized steel pipe to modern materials-replace the water heater and figure out all the problems with supply and waste lines.
We bought a 1957 house for a rental and replaced about 90% of all plumbing-all the galvanized went away. All supply lines are now copper supply lines and drain lines are all ABS except where the main stuff was cast iron which stayed. I did 955 of the work myself
I hope you got a deal on house as this will cost you but in the long run its worthwhile capital improvement.
Next question is the house wiring all ungrounded as well?? same story there on replacement.