How Long Do Copper Pipes Last? Signs They Need Replacing

Copper pipe lifespan in a London house

There is no fixed expiry date on copper. Its life depends on the water running through it, how the joints were made and what the pipe is sitting in. In hard water with sound joints and the pipe clipped in open air or in a void, copper can go on for the life of the building. In the wrong conditions a single section can pinhole within a few years of being installed.

That is why the age of the house tells you less than you might expect. A Victorian terrace re-piped in copper decades ago can have perfectly healthy pipework, while a newer flat can have a run that keeps leaking because of the way it was installed. What decides it is condition, not age.

Pinhole leaks in copper pipe: what they mean

A pinhole is a tiny hole eaten through the pipe wall from the inside. It usually shows up as a fine spray, a bead of water that keeps returning, or a damp patch on a ceiling or wall with no obvious source. Around the hole you will often find green or blue crusting on the outside of the pipe.

One pinhole on its own is normally a local problem with a local cause, and the fix is to cut out that section and replace it. Several pinholes on the same run within a year or two is different. It tells you that the conditions along that run are attacking the pipe, and patching each hole as it appears means paying for the same visit again and again.

What shortens the life of copper pipe

None of these is a sign that copper as a material has reached the end of its life. They are installation and environment problems, and most of them can be avoided when a run is replaced.

• Flux left inside the pipe. Flux is the paste used when soldering joints, and too much of it left inside will slowly eat the copper around the joint. Pinholes a short distance from a soldered fitting often come from this.
• Water moving too fast. Where water turns sharply at speed, for example on a pumped hot water circuit or next to a poorly cut pipe end with a burr left on it, the flowing water wears through the protective film and then through the metal.
• Pipe buried in cement or screed without a sleeve. Copper in direct contact with cement, lime or some building materials can corrode from the outside. Pipes set in a floor should be wrapped or sleeved.
• Stray contact with other metals and damp. Copper resting on a steel joist hanger or sitting in a wet void can corrode where the two meet.
• Frost. Water expanding as it freezes splits copper, usually along its length, in lofts, garages and on outside walls.

Signs your copper pipework is failing

Green staining on a joint that is completely dry is often old and harmless, left from when the joint was made. Staining that is wet, growing or has water dripping from it needs attention.

• Green or blue crusting on joints or along a length of pipe.
• A water meter that keeps moving when every tap and appliance is off.
• A damp patch on a ceiling or wall that comes back after it has dried.
• Drops forming on the underside of a pipe or a fitting.
• A second or third leak on the same run.
• Pipes that are visibly thinned, dented or flattened where they pass through joists.

If water is coming through a ceiling near light fittings, switch off the electricity to that area at the consumer unit before you do anything else, then turn off the water.

Repair or replace: how to decide

A single leak on a run that has otherwise been trouble free is a repair. The damaged section is cut out and replaced, and a good repair on sound pipe will last as long as the pipe either side of it.

Replacing the run starts to make sense when the same stretch has leaked more than once, when the pipe near the leak is thinned or pitted along its length, or when the run sits somewhere expensive to reach, such as under a tiled floor or behind a fitted kitchen. In those cases the cost of repeat visits and repeat damage quickly passes the cost of doing the job once.

Replacing all the copper in a house is rarely justified by leaks alone. It usually makes sense only when the floors are coming up anyway for a renovation, or where a whole system has been badly installed. If you are deciding what to use for the new run, our guide to copper vs plastic pipes sets out where each belongs.

Copper, lead and older London houses

Some older London properties still have a length of lead pipe, usually where the supply comes in from the street or rises to the kitchen tap. Lead is dull grey, soft, and shows a shiny silver scratch if you scrape it gently with a key. It is a different issue from ageing copper and should be replaced rather than repaired.

Galvanised steel pipe, occasionally found in older conversions, corrodes from the inside and restricts flow as it goes. If you are seeing rusty or brown water, our guide to brown water from hot tap problems explains how to tell whether the pipe or the cylinder is the source.

Finding a hidden leak before it does damage

Many copper leaks are found only when the ceiling below stains. If you think water is escaping somewhere you cannot see, the meter test is the quickest check: turn off every tap and appliance, note the reading, and look again after an hour. Movement means water is going somewhere.

Our leak detection and repair service traces the leak before anything is lifted, so only the floorboard or the patch of wall directly over the fault is opened. If water is already coming through, read what to do if water is coming through the ceiling first.

Call 020 4652 5111 to book. Our rates are on the pricing page and are agreed before we attend.