Cause of Pipe Failure
Many factors affect the life expectancy of plumbing systems.
Manufacturing Defects. Residual stress from improper manufacturing increases the chance of cracking and pinhole leaks later on. - Improper Installation. Premature failure can result if lines are improperly installed. This includes contact with concrete or dissimilar metals, lack of pipe support, and poor workmanship.
- Design Defects. Undersized drain lines can lead to clogs, excessive corrosion, and premature failure.
- Location. Drain lines on ground floors suffer from the combined gravitational effects of cumulative use and corrosion.
- Improper Use. Garbage disposals introduce grease and food residues that adhere to the interior walls of pipes, causing stoppages and backups, and often premature corrosion.
- Corrosion. All metals corrode in contact with water, air, and chemicals. Corrosion can be internal, such as through contact with water and caustic cleaning chemicals, and external, such as from salt air near the ocean or contact with acidic or alkaline soils.
- Patterns of Occupancy. In occupied homes, pipes maintain a consistent level of moisture. In homes used only sporadically, pipes can dry out, leading to cracking. Piping in high-population buildings typically accumulates more corrosion and buildup.
- Lack of Maintenance. Lack of routine preventive maintenance, such as hydrojetting of main sewer lines, can lead to premature failure.
- Highrise Considerations. A midrise or highrise building adds another level of complexity with sophisticated mechanical systems that use pumps to distribute flow throughout the building via large-diameter steel piping. Each part of the system is prone to failure and can cause catastrophic water damage.
Telltale Maintenance Patterns. A good way to determine whether the pipes in your building are nearing the end of their life expectancy is to watch for emerging maintenance patterns. There will be increasingly more pinhole leaks, clogs, and backups, more homeowner complaints, and more service calls. Particularly if you are managing mold resulting from water damage from plumbing leaks, it may be time to evaluate replacing the system as a whole rather than making spot repairs.
Partial Repairs
If boards choose to replace some lines with copper and not others, mixing copper with galvanized can lead to galvanic corrosion between the dissimilar metals, which will speed the deterioration of the pipes. As a result, partial replacement of galvanized lines is not a permanent solution to the problem. Sometimes, plumbing in an older building can be replaced gradually. Following is a program implemented by one association:
Because our building is 35 years old, we assume a plumbing drain problem inside a unit extends to the entire line. So instead of repairing the immediate problem, we replace the line serving the unit and the units above and below. We allocate $8,000 per year for unidentified plumbing work in the Reserve Study. We attack the problem from the outside of the building, wherever possible, to minimize the inconvenience of repairs inside units. This almost always requires removing and replacing the stucco, but it is no worse than the cabinet, drywall, and painting inside the unit. It is much easier to coordinate work on the outside, which means it gets done sooner. This policy has virtually eliminated weekend plumbing emergencies. -Mike G.
Reserving for Pipe Replacements
A “lifetime building component” may be a correct reserve study term, but it is actually a misnomer, in that nothing lasts forever. This is particularly true of piping systems. To generalize, galvanized steel pipes have a life expectancy of 30-50 years, copper 40-75 years, and cast iron 50-75 years, but it is not unusual to see pipes fail prematurely. Because most reserve studies have a 30-year horizon, HOAs rarely plan for pipe replacement. Unfortunately, that can result in system failures, water damage to buildings and personal property, mold, and loss of use.
Insurance
Many insurance carriers will not pay for water leak damage if they determine the damage resulted from the board's failure to replace the failing lines. Insurance will normally pay for sudden, unexpected losses, but not losses where the board knew about the problem and took no action to correct it. Other carriers will pay for the damage, but by the third or fourth leak, they will cancel the policy. Once canceled, the premiums for new insurance will be significantly higher.
Repiping Projects
Evaluation methods include videoing and hydrojetting sewer and storm drain lines, physical inspection, destructive testing, pipe sampling and analysis, and prototype repairs to typical units. Pipe replacement costs vary significantly due to accessibility problems. The costs associated with opening walls in units to expose the plumbing lines and repairing those walls can be greater than the pipe replacement itself. There are many options and combinations of options to consider in a pipe replacement project, which can be made only after a thorough investigation.
Alternative Technologies. Pipe coating and lining are attractive options because they do not require costly demolition and renovation within units. These processes all need to be carefully considered for their appropriateness. Often, a combination of strategies is the best approach.
Hazardous materials are often encountered in re-piping projects. It is wise, in the planning phase prior to establishing the budget, to incorporate a pre-demolition survey to determine the prevalence of hazardous materials. If there has been any type of pipe failure, with resultant water damage, anticipate mold. It is not unusual for mold remediation to add a 25% or more to the total cost of a project.
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