sam boswell
Hi Gill, You really should not be drinking out of lead pipes, in 2013. So I would not consider repairing them. Hope this helps, and good luck with your issue .
Water Leak
Posted by Gill Kennedy, on
My mum has had a leak in her kitchen.
The insurance company will pay for the resultant damage caused by the water, but not the repair to the pipe. (This is standard practice). The loss adjuster said they cannot repair the pipe as it's lead so she's going to need a plumber to replace all the piping, to the boundary wall with plastic pipes.
Is this correct? Or can lead pipes be fixed?
It's a tricky situation as she doesn't really have the money to spend replacing all the lead pipework if the existing pipe can be fixed, but is worried this will be an ongoing problem.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Marian Cobuz
Hi Gill, Lead can be repaired as there are plenty fittings available, use plastic as to avoid corrosion. However I'd strongly recommend replacing it, you shouldn't drink water running through lead pipes as this slowly but surely leads to cancer. Get rid of the lead pipes ASAP. Good luck.
Neal Kilkenny
Hi Gill, The answer to your question is yes there are fittings available to repair lead pipes, these parts must be plastic as it is against water regulations to repair a section with another metal as it causes corrosion. However, lead normally leaks due to the pipe walls becoming very brittle, what that means is it is possible to repair the leak and very soon after a leak can occur further down the pipe. There are exceptions to this but it's always best not to take the chance so I would advise to replace the whole pipe, it will give you peace of mind and will probably be the most economical solution in the long run. Post the job on Rated People and 3 Companies will contact you to give a quote. It may not be as expensive as you'd expect.
graeme peddieson
Hi Gill just to let you know that lead pipes can be repaired by cutting out sections and fitting lead to plastic or lead to copper connectors,I would think the pipe would need to be checked first as replacing it to the boundary could be expensive. Regards Graeme
