[pgettinger01]

Sometimes the shutoff valve is hidden behind a flat plastic or metal plate on a wall. Copper does develop leaks over time. It is the cost of ownership. Today they use plastic pipe and crimp it.

[Dlbonivich]

My daughter lives in a house with copper pipe in Tampa. The pipes get pin hole leaks. Her entire first floor flooded. All new floor drywall up 5 feet. Mold remediation was necessary. Had to move out for 2 weeks. House was built early 90’s

[Dimagolfer]

I was told by plumbing companies that the majority of leaks in copper water lines are caused from lightning strikes! I don't know how true this is, but living in the #1 lightning state sounds correct!

[rphil11ort]

As an fyi. My cousin had leaks in her buried pipes last year after 40 years of living in the condo and the insurance company paid to replace the pipes at $6000

[nick demis]

As a retired plumber I can say that copper water pipes start to leak anywhere from 30 to 50 years. If the pipe has a blue line on it, it is type L tubing and should be closer to 40-50 years. If it has a red line on it, it is type M tubing and 30 is about the life span. Anything after 25 years, it's keep your fingers crossed and hope it last a long time. You may want to look into one of the insurance companies like American Home Shield. With the right coverage, they will cover the complete cost if you have a leak.

[jjombrello]

I have copper in mine. Built in 1998. No problems to date. Had a leak in the plastic lines for the sprinklers, though.

[Ghat724@gmail.com]

Yes, copper deteriorates with nany small leaks fue to chemical interaction with a number of materials. Twice I had to replace the copper water service line from the street and under my concrete garage floor to my equipment room. The copper pipe ran through a conduit that added to the deteriation. The second replacement was with a sturdy, blue plastic pipe and since had had no problems. Nothing is worse than hearing running water outside the house and cannot find the source. In the plus side all the leaking water was before my water meter. Goid luck!

[paulat585]

Originally Posted by jcmty77

I was told my 30 year old house will need its copper piping replaced soon due to florida's water...i havent had leaks yet, but he said to expect them. Is this true for the villages?

my house is in Del Mar, south of spanish springs. it is stick built. I cannot find the water shut off valve (in or near the house). The only one I have is at the curb near the meter. has anyone else had this problem?

Yes. I had it in a house built in 1990. Had 4 different plumbers give me a quote. 2 said they wouldn't touch the job. 2 estimated the job to be $6K. Stick-built home. Problem was pitting in copper pipes. Shut off valve was buried under landscaping at the right front of the house (with entry on the left side). Sold the house. It has since sold a 2nd time for what looked like at $25K profit.

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by jcmty77

I was told my 30 year old house will need its copper piping replaced soon due to florida's water...i havent had leaks yet, but he said to expect them. Is this true for the villages?

my house is in Del Mar, south of spanish springs. it is stick built. I cannot find the water shut off valve (in or near the house). The only one I have is at the curb near the meter. has anyone else had this problem?

Nothing last forever, including us. As far as water and pipes, I am an ex New Yorker.
In high school, I had a summer job at a machine shop. They were making faucet valves
made from Monel an expensive stainless steel that by the way is tough on the tools.
I asked and they were sold to people down south. I also later had a job doing demos involving chemistry. I would take NY water with me.

There is no shortage of people trying to sell you something. As far as copper plumbing,
first of all it has been made with thicker and thinner walls. My suggestion is I would ask people who have homes the same age as yours and built by the same builder.

Does not help but our NY home with copper plumbing was built in 1948. We sold it before moving to the villages but it is now only 73 years old. I doubt with Florida water and likely lesser quality copper plumbing it will last that long here.

Aside-scrap copper is about $2.30 a pound. Perhaps, someone sees your home as a copper mine.

[virtualcynthia]

Make sure that if you do have to replace your copper piping, you tell them you want to keep the piping. It has value. You can sell it. I’m sure they will.

[OhioBuckeye]

Originally Posted by jcmty77

I was told my 30 year old house will need its copper piping replaced soon due to florida's water...i havent had leaks yet, but he said to expect them. Is this true for the villages?

my house is in Del Mar, south of spanish springs. it is stick built. I cannot find the water shut off valve (in or near the house). The only one I have is at the curb near the meter. has anyone else had this problem?

Never had this problem in Florida but had a terrible problem in Ohio. Our copper plumbing started leaking on ever side of the house, as
also was replacing waters every 3 yrs. We lived 1 block from water treatment plant & they said we had a lot of oxygen in our lines because the water from treatment couldn’t dispell oxygen from lines in that short of distance. So I had copper pipes breaking I replace them with plastic as they sprung leaks, never had issues since then. Florida might have another kind of water issue. That’s all I can tell you! Is any of your neighbors having copper pipe problems? If not find out if they have copper plumbing, if they have copper pipes, maybe you have another kind of problem. Hope you get it figured out, good luck!

[nuge2u]

Copper is the premium way to go for water pipes. Problems come when copper comes in contact with concrete or acidic soils. Both are problems for our Fl homes. Care must be taken where pipes pass through or come in contact with concrete they must be wrapped. Mine near water heater were not. They corroded in the block wall where the contractor had not wrapped the pipe where came in direct contact with the concrete mortar to build the wall. Other possible area of concern is outside where copper lines are used from water main to water meter then into house. Ideally this line would be enclosed in plastic most local soils are acidic.
Just arbitrarily changing out copper is a scam.

[jarodrig]

Originally Posted by jimbo2012

FYI, yes older homes have copper, if no shut off in garage there's one outside.

They use CPVC not PVC otherwise

PVC supplies the water to the home shut off valve , then CPVC for the pipes inside the home …..

[jarodrig]

Originally Posted by pgettinger01

Today they use plastic pipe and crimp it.

They are glued , not crimped…….

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by virtualcynthia

Make sure that if you do have to replace your copper piping, you tell them you want to keep the piping. It has value. You can sell it. I’m sure they will.

That doesn't sound practical at all. Any demolition material removed from the house would normally belong to the contractor. As a contractor, if you asked me to save the copper pipe, I would just add the value of it to the contract, and you would lose money on the deal.