Copper water supply piping inspection, diagnosis, repair
Copper drain piping inspection, diagnosis, repair
Life expectancy of copper water supply pipes
Life expectancy of copper drain pipes
Flexible copper tubing flare fitting defect list
Compression fittings compared with flare fittings for copper tubing connections
InspectAPedia offers impartial, unbiased advice without conflicts of interest.
We will block advertisements which we discover or readers inform us are associated with bad business practices,
false-advertising, or junk science. Our contact info is at
InspectAPedia.com/Contact.htm.
This page lists our in-depth articles on inspecting, testing, and repairing problems with copper plumbing: water supply and drain waste vent piping, plumbing traps, piping materials, clogged or noisy pipes, and types of pipe hazards or product defects. Other types of copper building piping systems are discussed at GAS PIPING, VALVES, CONTROLS and at OIL TANK PIPING & PIPING DEFECTS. Our page top photograph shows a remarkable method used by a homeowner to handle leaks at a poor solder joint on copper water supply piping.
The articles at this website will answer most questions about water supply & drain piping, wells, & water tanks as well as many other building plumbing system inspection or defect topics. Reproduction of this web page electronically at other websites is prohibited.
Our photograph of copper water supply piping (left) tells us that this is a cold water supply line located in a humid or wet crawl area - notice the condensation on the piping? More about "sweating" cold water pipes is at CONDENSATION or SWEATING PIPES, TANKS.
The following summary notes about copper and other types of building piping are from Carson Dunlop Associates' Home Reference Book, used with permission:
Copper piping has been used extensively since the early 1950s for supply lines from the city main to the house as well as for in-building water supply and drain piping.
Copper water supply piping is typically 1/2 or 3/4 inch diameter. Copper piping is typically 1/2 or 3/4 inch diameter. Copper piping has soldered connections and the walls of the pipe are thinner than galvanized steel. Copper piping has soldered connections and the walls of the pipe are thinner than galvanized steel.
From 1950 to 1970, 1/2-inch diameter piping was used commonly. After 1970, 3/4-inch diameter copper service piping has been common.
The life expectancy of
copper piping is dependent on water conditions. In many areas, its life expectancy is indefinite. In harsh corrosive water or corrosive soil conditions, it may fail within 20 years or even less. Occasionally manufacturing defects also result in early failure of copper building piping.
Carson Dunlop Associates' sketch (left) illustrates three types of copper piping used in buildings for water supply or drains.
Type M copper piping is used for general plumbing, above ground. Type M copper tubing walls are the thinnest used in construction, at 0.026" in wall thickness and thus more vulnerable to leaks if water being handled is aggressive or corrosive.
Type L copper piping is also used for general plumbing as well as for heating system piping. Type L copper tubing walls are thicker, at 0.040".
Type K copper piping is used for plumbing, heating, gas lines, and underground, and has a wall thickness of 0.049".
Flexible copper tubing used as water piping: Flexible copper tubing can be bent around corners using special tools. This is not common since it is more expensive and can be awkward to work with in close quarters. Flexible copper tubing is also used for oil piping (OIL TANK PIPING & PIPING DEFECTS) and natural gas piping (GAS PIPING, VALVES, CONTROLS).
Compression Fittings for Copper Tubing Connections
Flexible copper tubing is usually joined to additional tubing sections or to other plumbing fittings by either compression fittings or flare fittings, depending on the application.
For example, compression fittings (photo at left, from Wikipedia) are sometimes used on copper water piping where soldering is difficult or inconvenient, but these are not used on copper gas or oil lines where flare fittings may be applied instead.
Watch out: compression fittings are very convenient and easy to install on copper pipes or copper tubing, but if you fail to de-burr a freshly-cut copper pipe or tube, properly ream out the interior opening, or if you over-tighten the coupling during installation you may crack the brass or copper ring, leading to leaks at the connector.
Flare Fittings Used for Flexible Copper Tubing Connections
Flare fittings used on flexible copper piping and their leaks and defects are discussed at Gas Leak Detection and Gas Piping Defects. Using a special flaring tool the soft copper tubing or piping is actually spread open or flared at its end in order to mate with the female end of the flare fitting connector shown in our photograph.
Watch out: defects in flare fittings used on flexible copper tubing can result in gas leaks out of gas piping, and in the case of oil piping such as for oil-fired heaters, flare fitting defects result in both oil leaks out of the system and air leaks into the system. Air leaks into oil piping in turn lead to improper oil burner operation and even potentially dangerous conditions. Flare fitting defects include:
Improperly made tubing flares that are too small
Improperly made copper tubing flares that are cracked
Scratches or gouges on the copper tubing flare or on the brass flare fitting (shown in our photo, above left)
Distinguishing Brass Water Pipes from Copper Piping
Watch out: on older buildings brass water supply piping may have been used, and may be at or near the end of its useful life. It can be tricky to tell the difference between brass water supply piping and copper water supply piping if you are not experienced with these materials, as their colors are similar, especially when both types of piping have become an oxidized brownish color with age.
Both brass and copper are non-magnetic, so they won't respond to a "magnet" test to look for iron or steel.
Brass water supply piping, unlike copper, is a thicker material that is usually joined by threaded fittings of the same size and pipe thread specifications (NPT) as iron and galvanized iron piping.
Usually, brass piping is also so rigid that it is not bendable. Or not very bendable anyway. So in our photograph (left) of water supply piping at a bath tub in an older home, the larger-diameter left-hand pipe is surely brass, connected to a galvanized iron fitting at its bottom end. The right-hand vertical pipe may be copper tubing as is the darker copper pipe at left behind our brass one.
Don't worry about that odd little machine in bottom center of the photo - we were collecting an air sample in this wall cavity.
Other water supply and drain piping and water pressure articles:
Pressure/Temperature Relief Valves, proper inspection methods, issues and hazards (article due in 2007)
Clearances Required for Wells Distance Between Well & Septic System and other water pollution sources, Online Table of Well Distances
FREEZE-PROOF PIPES: how to freeze-proof plumbing in a building, how to avoid freezing pipes, how to thaw frozen pipes: how to winterize a building against freezing and frost damage.
HOT WATER HEATERS - a detailed guide to all types of hot water sources, problems, inspection, repair
Plastic Water Supply & Drain Piping Failures, Leaks, Repairs, Lawsuits: Water Supply Piping Defects and Plastic or polybutylene water supply piping failures, leaks, and litigation.
PLASTIC PIPING - Leaks, Repairs, Lawsuits: Water Supply Piping Defects and Plastic or polybutylene water supply piping failures, leaks, and litigation.
Our main article on plastic supply and drain piping leaks, failures, litigation, repairs, at PLASTIC PIPING. Excerpts are just below.
PB (polybutylene with mechanical fittings) Piping leaks: especially in mobile homes and in the U.S. South, for example trailers and double-wides throughout Florida that were piped with this material - per M Cramer. See "Polybutylene Piping: Time Bomb?" Daniel Friedman, Journal of Light Construction, August 1996 [Technical Q&A].
If plastic water piping is installed, such as polybutylene water supply piping, it should be at least 18" from the water heater.
New mobile home and trailer units: 3/4" supply piping, min 6" off ground; shutoff valve required;
Tank Types Encyclopedia an encyclopedia of tanks in buildings, water tanks, fuel tanks, gas tanks, heating system expansion tanks, oil tanks, water cisterns, water pressure tanks, pressure booster tanks, antique, modern
Water Tanks - how to diagnose problems with water tanks, such as the need for air, how to add air, stop water pump short cycling to avoid damage - water storage water pressure tank safety.
Water Testing for contaminants in drinking water - what test are available, what tests to ask for, what they cost, how people cheat on water tests
Wells, Cisterns,& Springs types of sources of drinking water, what they look like, what goes wrong, what to do about it
Basement Wells as a water source, what to watch out for, how to inspect, test, make safe
WINTERIZE A BUILDING: how to freeze-proof plumbing in a building, how to avoid freezing pipes, how to thaw frozen pipes: how to winterize a building against freezing and frost damage.
Plumbing Links our big list of links to plastic piping and other plumbing defects
Critique, contributions wanted: Contact Us to suggest corrections or additions to articles at this website, and if you wish, to receive online listing and credit as a contributor. Particular thanks are due to the many experts and also consumers who read and critique technical articles at InspectAPedia.com.
Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.
Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.
Mark Cramer Inspection Services Mark Cramer, Tampa Florida, Mr. Cramer is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors and is a Florida home inspector and home inspection educator. Contact Mark Cramer at: 727-595-4211 mark@BestTampaInspector.com 11/06
Roger Hankey is principal of Hankey and Brown home inspectors, Eden Prairie, MN. Mr. Hankey is a past chairman of the ASHI Standards Committee. Mr. Hankey has served in other ASHI professional and leadership roles. Contact Roger Hankey at: 952 829-0044 - rhankey@hankeyandbrown.com. Mr. Hankey is a frequent contributor to InspectAPedia.com.
Arlene Puentes, an ASHI member and a licensed home inspector in Kingston, NY, and has served on ASHI national committees as well as HVASHI Chapter President. Ms. Puentes can be contacted at ap@octoberhome.com
Compression fittings for plumbing connections, Wikipedia photograph, web search 08/09/2010, original source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Robinetterie-raccords.JPG
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
er
Plumbing Diagnosis & Repair: Water supply, drainage, septic systems, water testing, water contamination, defective plumbing materials & products.
The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 2010, $69.00 U.S., is available from Carson Dunlop. The Home Reference Book is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. InspectAPedia.com ® author/editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume.
Cheating on water tests: Testing Water for Real Estate Transactions - make sure your water test is valid
Mobile View
