I bought an old house that was built in 1928 and over the last year the water pressure in my shower has slowly decreased. The toilet and sink in that same bathroom work fine as does the plumbing in the other bathroom and in the kitchen. On the outside wall there is a cover that comes off and exposes the pipes. I can see the pipe that comes from the shower head and then splits to the hot and cold faucets. The pipes don't look like copper, so I guess they are galvanized. I've removed the shower head and even fed a wire hanger down the pipe to knock loose debri, but that didn't help. Any suggestions? If you need more information to answer my question, please let me know.

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Originally Posted by jualmand

I bought an old house that was built in 1928 and over the last year the water pressure in my shower has slowly decreased. The toilet and sink in that same bathroom work fine as does the plumbing in the other bathroom and in the kitchen. On the outside wall there is a cover that comes off and exposes the pipes. I can see the pipe that comes from the shower head and then splits to the hot and cold faucets. The pipes don't look like copper, so I guess they are galvanized. I've removed the shower head and even fed a wire hanger down the pipe to knock loose debri, but that didn't help. Any suggestions? If you need more information to answer my question, please let me know.

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Can you take apart the faucet and see if there's some crud stuck in the washer/seats (or cartridge, if it's a newer type)?

Are the pipes you see threaded? Old copper pipes can look pretty black and grimy, not like what you'd think of copper at all. Galvanized pipes and fittings will be threaded, copper will be soldered, and you may see some drips of solder at the joints.

Anyhow, with the showerhead off, does water flow well? It should come out just as fast as it comes out of the tub faucet or the lavatory. You can time it with a bucket if it's hard to tell by looking.

Have you cleaned the showerhead? They can become blocked up inside, sometimes with a crusty mineral residue from the water ("hard water"), which you can dissolve by soaking the showerhead overnight in a bowl of vinegar.

The shower doesn't have a tub and lower faucet. It's a small shower with a pan and a shower head. I'm remodeling the bathroom and have knocked out the walls so it is easy to see all the pipes. I've also got a basement and can see the bathroom pipes underneath the house. I had a plumber come by today and he pointed out sections that are galvanized and he said that those parts were probably corroded. I agree with him because I took some of the sections off and there is a redish buildup inside. The plumber gave me a quote of $750 for labor and parts to do what he called a "repipe", which I guess means he'll replace all the galvanized sections. I'm going to get more estimates. Does $750 seem right?

Honestly, I have no idea if that seems right... I think around here the labor is around $100/hour, but you certainly could ask your plumber.

Unless there's something unusual, replacing the galvanized with copper shouldn't be TOO hard... I would certainly consider taking a try at it myself. Sweat soldering isn't too difficult, and the real magic in plumbing is design and knowing where to put vents and stuff. Just replacing older pipes is not hard.

The key, if you want to do it yourself, is how far back you have to go, and what you have to connect to. If the whole house is plumbed with galvanized, you could be in for some issues, sooner or later. If it's some copper with galvanized branches to the fixtures (I have no idea if this was ever a common arrangement), then replacing it back to the copper is the way to go.

You can use threaded fittings on either copper or PVC (cpvc) to connect to existing galvanized if you decide not to replace it all right now.

ANYHOW.. I am NOT a plumber, and have little direct experience with galvanized... only ripping it out to replace with something better.

IF you're not comfortable learning by doing and following a book, you should probably pay the plumber. Be aware that you can contract with him for "firm fixed price" (sounds like what you got) or "time and materials"... t&m is where they charge you an hourly rate, and for the materials used. This can often be a much better deal if it's an easy job, as long as nothing unexpected happens. And as long as you trust the guys/gals working not to work too slow... rarely a problem even when you're not there to watch them.

You should also probably get at least two, better three, bids on the job before deciding.

Good luck!

~aaron


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