Rate my pipe!

ic

Recently moved house, and trying to identify whether the water supply pipe is lead. I've had to dig it out of the wall, I can see the pipework above the stopcock heading into the house is copper, but the pipe below is certainly dark in colour.  The pipe is well and truly coated with mortar and plaster, so I've only been able to scrape a bit off. I'm not keen on going too far as the pressure is tremendous and I dread damaging the pipe! It isn't magnetic.

andyhop

Yeap that’s lead . 

Elmer_BeFuddled

^^^^ Ditto wot 'e sez.
Plus love the newspaper filler/packing above which also looks like a lead pipe attached to a short stretch of copper pipe next to it

ic

Joy, thanks! 

FreeBear

andyhop said: Yeap that’s lead . 

The bulge is indicative of a sweated joint that is used on lead pipes.

Side note - Cement and plaster are corrosive on copper, so if you have pipes running up the wall, consider having them replaced. If you sleeve copper in a length of plastic pipe, neutralise  any flux & clean it  off, it can be chased in to a wall. Avoid having any buried joints that might spring a leak, and put some steel capping over the top.

ic

Thanks all. Actually planning an extension, and this wall's days are numbered. I'll kick off the process of replacing the supply pipe, and will relocate at the same time.