I have a friend who has a home that has copper plumbing. The residence was built in 1988, and she was told by a neighbor that copper plumbing is bad and has to be removed/replaced in order to keep the value of the home for resale. This doesn‘t seem to make sense and the home DOES NOT have any plumbing issues to date. The neighbor cautioned that copper plumbing can burst. Is there any ring of truth to this or is the neighbor thinking of something else. A home built in 1988 doesn‘t seem that old to me. Please help. All answers are welcome. Thanks.
If the copper pipe is stressed, it will create a leak, but only if stressed. By this I mean thin wall, kinks, etc. I have never heard of copper pipes devaluing a home. If anything, copper will add value compared to CPVC or galvanized. If there are no issues with leakage or significant corrosion, leave it.
The neighbor is totally, absolutely wrong. All types of pipe can burst if frozen. Copper is no worse than the others. Copper that is soldered with no-lead solder is safer than the others, in my personal opinion. P.S. based on the update by the poster. Mixing copper and galvanized will eventually cause problems. It should not damage the copper permanently. I would cut off the visibly damaged parts and replace ALL the galvanized.
Copper plumbing is the best available way to deliver fresh water to a home. I read an answer that stated you should have die electric couplings between to 2 different types of metal and that is 100 % correct. A home built in 1988 would not be at risk of lead contamination since the laws changed in 1976 to protect us from such risk. There are still some concerns about a pipe bursting and it is possible not probable. If the home has slab floors it is possible for the pipes to bend or move with settling. This is rare but it does happen. Another way for the pipes to fail would be if one of the solder joints works loose. This is possible if the pipes are not secured as directed in the UPC ( uniform plumbing code ) You would have a warning before they actually fail. If when you use the hot or cold water from any of the sinks or tubs even the washing machine you hear a rattling noise then you may have a problem. I must agree with the general census that the neighbor is confused. I am a licensed plumber in California and one of my better sales points is that copper pipes will increase the value of the home.
