San Francisco old house (1937) sewer lateral and plumbing
Dear all,
We will be doing a remodel project for our San Francisco house (built in 1937), to convert 2BR 1BA into 3BR 2BA. During this process, we are considering to replace the current sewer lateral and the plumbing of the entire house. This is because that during rain season, sometimes the rain water will come into the garage, as the drain right outside of the garage door is small.
Here are some photos:
So, the idea is to break the concrete to install a "channel drain (or trench drain?)" right outside of the garage door. Since we will be breaking some of the concrete near garage door area, so we thought that might as well to replace the sewer lateral (which is also outside garage). Then we thought, since we will be replacing the sewer lateral and it's a smaller ~1460 sqft house with just one level, we might as well "also" replace the pluming of the entire house (as we will be replacing all the electrical wires in the house).
Here are my questions:
1. Is such thinking logical? We want to control our budget, and we want to make sure that every penny spent would make sense. The kitchen will also be remodeled, but currently there is nothing wrong with the kitchen plumbing (as far as I know), and we will not change the location of kitchen sinks, etc. However, the house is old (1937), and who knows what can happen with the current old plumbing. The thing is that by investing so much $$$ to replace the plumbing of the entire house, it may (or may not) increase the value of the house. It seems that we are just paying for a "peace of mind". What are your opinions to replace the plumbing of the entire house? Would you do it? Why and why not?
2. Is there any big advancement (or innovation) regarding single family home plumbing, for the past 88 years? I don't know if the plumbing had been changed for this 1937 house before (no city records). What other "value" do I get (other than "peace of mind") by replacing the plumbing of the entire house?
Thanks so much!
Comments (6)
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2 months ago
2 months ago
2 months agolast modified: 2 months agoThere are several issues here:
1. This may be a combined sewer (sanitary and stormwater) or it may be separate.
The drain outside your garage is obviously stormwater and the inlet is too small. I don't know if the problem is the lateral is too small, but obviously the inlet is.
2. Any buried drain lines that are original to the house (I don't know about that one in front of your garage is original) are likely going to be clay tile once they go outside the foundation wall.
3. Clay tile drain lines are prone to root intrusion, breaking and shifting. At this point they are nearing the 100 year mark - and may be viable for a while longer - but it's not uncommon to have to dig them up and replace them because they broke, collapsed, shifted, etc.
4. The main stack inside the house is likely cast iron and will last unless you see obvious corrosion.
5. The remaining original drain lines (1.5"-2") are likely galvanized. Galvanized drain lines should be replaced whenever you get a chance. They corrode and cake up inside. Put in PVC drain lines to the cast iron stack whenever you do renovations. You can keep a galvanized vent line - they will generally be fine, but the drain lines will not be. Below is a galvanized bathroom sink drain I cut out of my bathroom (1943 construction). Note how the inside is completely closed off.
6. The original supply lines are likely galvanized. They usually have been pretty well messed with over the 100 years - so copper, PVC, etc. spliced in. They usually are pretty plugged up also. Again if you are opening a wall, replace the galvanized pipes with PEX or possibly copper... but probably PEX due to the cost of copper. I typically just start over completely with the supply lines, and you probably will also. Note, you can't mix copper and galvanized without a transition.
So, what "value" do you get from this?When I buy an older home, I do look at the mechanical systems. If they have been updated, that's a big positive for me. I do not want to buy a nicely finished home knowing that I'm going to have to open the walls and redo the kitchen and bathroom, especially, because they didn't do the mechanicals.
What's more, if you intend to keep the home, it means that you have fewer worries about having to dig things up, or open walls, or have drains not work, etc.
Does that translate to a dollar value? Probably not.
Also, plumbers doing a significant rehab are simply not going to work with galvanized pipes at all. If I have a small repair or modification I'm not going to switch the pipe material, but if it's any significant amount of work, it's going in with new materials.
- 2 months ago
Sigrid