Local guide
Galvanized pipe, and why your 1963 house behaves the way it does
Florissant was built out between 1947 and 1980, and galvanized steel was the standard supply pipe for much of that stretch. If your house is original, this is probably the most consequential thing in your walls.
- Why it fails from the inside
- The three symptoms in order
- How long it actually lasts
- When repiping is the honest answer
The short version
Start here
Work down the list. Most situations are answered in the first two rows.
Decade one to two
Zinc coating protects the steel. Water runs clear, pressure is full, nobody thinks about it.
Fine
Decade three to four
Coating wears through, steel begins to corrode inward. Scale builds. Pressure starts dropping so gradually nobody notices.
Narrowing
Decade five
Rusty water at first draw. Noticeably weak pressure at upper-floor or end-of-run fixtures. Occasional discolored water after the main is shut off and back on.
Symptoms
Decade six and beyond
Pinhole leaks begin. The interior diameter can be a fraction of original. This is where most original Florissant homes are now.
Failing
After repiping
Full diameter, clean water, and no more opening walls to chase the next pinhole.
Reset
General guidance for Florissant-area homes. Every house is different — call if you are unsure.
Detail
How to tell what you have
Look at the pipe
Galvanized is dull grey steel, threaded at the joints, and a magnet sticks to it. Copper is copper-colored and soldered. PEX is flexible plastic.
Check the first draw
Run a cold tap first thing in the morning after the water has sat overnight. Rust color at first draw is the clearest sign.
Compare fixtures
If the fixture nearest the main has decent pressure and the one farthest has almost none, that is a scaling pattern, not a fixture problem.
Watch after a shutoff
Discolored water when the main is turned back on means scale is loose inside the pipe.
Count the leaks
One pinhole is bad luck. A third in two years is the pipe telling you it is done.
Check the age
If the house was built before about 1970 and there is no record of a repipe, assume galvanized until you see otherwise.
The honest answer
Partial or whole-house?
Sometimes only part of the system is original, and that changes the recommendation.
Plenty of Florissant houses have had partial work done over sixty years — a bathroom remodel that replaced the branch lines, a kitchen update, a basement finish that swapped a run of pipe. What is often left is the original trunk line, which is exactly the part that matters most for whole-house pressure. So the first thing we do is find out what is actually still galvanized rather than assuming it all is. If the branches are already copper or PEX and only the main trunk is original, a partial repipe can solve the pressure problem for meaningfully less than a whole-house job. If everything is original, doing it once is cheaper than doing it in pieces.
Common questions
What homeowners ask us
How long does galvanized pipe last?
Commonly cited service life is around forty to fifty years, and most original Florissant homes are past sixty. Water chemistry and usage shift it either way.
Does galvanized pipe cause low water pressure?
Yes, gradually. Corrosion builds inward and narrows the pipe until the effective opening is a fraction of the original diameter. No fixture repair reverses it.
Is rusty water from galvanized pipe dangerous?
It is generally an aesthetic and plumbing problem rather than an acute health one, but it is a clear sign the pipe is deteriorating. If you have concerns about water quality, have it tested.
Can galvanized pipe be cleaned out instead of replaced?
Not practically. The corrosion is the pipe wall itself. Attempting to clear it aggressively tends to open leaks.
How much does repiping a Florissant home cost?
It depends on size, layout, how much is accessible and whether you choose PEX or copper. We quote it after seeing what is actually still original.
Free estimate
Get a real number for your home
Guides are for planning. For an actual price, tell us what you have and we will give you a firm number.
Related: galvanized pipe replacement, low water pressure, leak detection, cast-iron drain lines, signs you need a plumber
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