Re Plumbing old house

[timoney]

I recently purchased a late 60s house and am renovating it . A plumber who seemed to mean well told me that id be better off taking all the plumbing out including the piping and starting from scratch . Is this necessary . The last people had good heat they tell me. And i may sell on. The piping is all copper and looks fine although i would consider getting new rads .He said something like it would be difficult to pressure test. I am also adding a couple of rooms that need radiators too and moving the hotpress.

 

[beaky]

We have 1963 house and probably getting it entirely re-plumbed. Reasons are 1/ single pipe system so last rads must be bigger as things stand 2/ 1/3 of house has gunbarrell which we suspect has started to corrode in two places and should be replaced anyway 3/ new rads x 3 going in and 4/ some of the existing copper pipes run along the wall above the skirting and we think we would like them moved.

so we have given ourselves 4 reasons for replacing the pipes but looks like it will turn out quite expensive so the decision has not yet been finalised. So what reasons do you have for wanting the copper pipes replaced?

 

[timoney]

Thanks beaky,
The one thing that i may have in common with yours is that they may be on the single system. The pipes look fine and were all well lagged . As most of the house has suspended timber floor i am able to see them and the floor was well ventilated and are dry. I did take a couple of rads off ,as i am doing an extension and maybe this is where he thinks the system is difficult to pressure test. But i thought i could flush out the system and maybe get new rads. As im sure it is a lot of work to re pipe all of it again.

 

[Bronte]

If you are renovating it's better to do the full plumbing now and not afterwards, why don't you get a quote for the price, and also get another plumber to have a look and see what he says. If you have problems in a couple of years and have to take up tiles/floors etc you'll be very glad you did and you'll have saved yourself a lot of money.

 

[Carpenter]

If you are planning extension work it may make sense to replace an existing installation in its entirety, especially if its approaching 40 odd years old. Copper piping will become coated in lime or sludge deposits over time and it can become "porous" with age and fittings can suffer from dezincification also. With a new installation you have an opportunity to avail of the latest advancements in plumbing and heating technology, such as thermostatic controls, zoning etc. As rightly pointed out you don't want to be ripping up new work to replace an old fitting or pipe that's just started to weep.

 

[timoney]

Thanks very much for yer replys . I think it makes sense to do it all now but i may get another plumbers opinion to keep myself happy