Our rental property is a double brick old house. Around 70 years old. We lived there in the past and didn't have problem with the water flow. The tenant reported poor water flow on the cold water in the kitchen and the shower. Our management agent sent a plumber to check. And what they came back seems to be really big project to fix it. Haven't talked to the plumber yet. Just wondering if 1) Is there other alternatives to fix this? E.g. Must remove the wall tiles & the excavated the wall? 2) How much would this cost? Any ballpark figure is useful. 3) Should we seek second opinion from other plumbers ourselves? Is there any plumber specialised in fixing this sort of issue? Or any plumber should be able to provide a solution. Thanks in advance for the replies. The plumber's summary below. The poor water flow on the cold has been caused by the corroded galvanised water pipe in the shower wall The water flow from the hot shower is fine but that may also need replacing when the water pipes are exposed What we need to do is to replace the water pipes in the shower where they are in galvanised steel ping The recess tee may not need to be removed if it's done in brass or copper , we will only know once it's exposed. We need to remove the wall tiles & the excavated the wall , exposed the piping & then supply & install new piping & fittings where required. What I also recommend is to expose the the plugged up water points then assess if we will need to removed the shower recess tee.
You've got galvanized steel pipes not copper or pvc. Last time I checked you couldn't wave a magic wand to replace them without damage. Get a couple of quotes.
What is on the other side of the wall? Can you access the pipes from there? This will save touching the wall tiles. Marg
Since its gal its probably buggered everywhere, get them to replace the lot. You probably find that the gal is weeping in all sorts of places and most likely causing dry rot too. We had our whole house redone in copper and poly dependent on where the pipes were all the way to the meter.
Hi Marg, The other side is the external wall. It's a double brick house. So does that make it the only solution is to do it from inside?
Probably. Friend partly dismantled their bathroom to get at plumbing before realising they could have accessed from a bedroom next door. Marg.
No, we were lucky in that the risers were already copper. I think the previous owners may have done that.
Just to update the outcome. Got another plumber come in and check. He unscrewed the underneath pipe for bath tub, water washed the rust out. The water pressure is normal now. Both the tenant and us are quite happy. Should always seek a second opinion. Thanks everyone for your reply.
