Good day America’s finest…i have encountered a few of these cases where copper pipe (supply) appears to be entirely embedded in concrete. other opinions on how hard to write on this…? usually been in older homes so obviously its been ‘ok’ till now. but its still a bad deal. im trying to make sure my rhetoric skills are finely tuned as possible since i recently had a miffed sellers agent who said i was too anal in my inspection (i thought it was a very good report). i realize some contributors will proclaim that they dont give a rats butt if the agent is miffed…we work for the buyer. nonetheless there is merit in not ticking off realtors if possible. anyway…how do others address the copper pipe in the concrete thing?
thanks for any replies
mike in MN
I don’t.
nope
Gosh Mikey you and i agreed lol
Blind pig thing I guess 
lol there you go ruining a moment
If you wanted a kiss you should have called Sean.
There is nothing wrong with Copper embedded in concrete as long as it is protected.
“The copper service pipe was embedded in concrete or masonry, and no protection from damage due to thermal expansion was visible. Standard building practices require that copper pipe embedded in concrete or masonry be wrapped with an approved tape or installed through a sleeve. These methods protect the pipe from abrasion. A qualified contractor should evaluate and repair as necessary.”
He kiss’s and tells lol
i got taken by surprise by a seeming nonchalance attributed to this matter. and this boy is always willing to learn. are you basically saying this is a nonissue and merits no attention whatsoever? there is a ‘copper supply pipe embedded in concrete’ place to note on my inspection forms (checklist forms used while i am developing my personal inspection format) so im thinking there is a potential issue, even if minimal. setups that i see and like have a plastic pipe protector in the concrete with copper pipe (or plastic) coming safely into the house by this means. research i have done seems to indicate this should be the case. you guys seem to indicate that you see no problem with this…im cool with that. just trying to probe deeper in to the matter.
When a pipe comes out of the floor vertically, there is very little chance of an issue as the pipe will slide vertically quite easily.
Now when it comes through a side wall without a sleeve and no clearance around the pipe, that is an issue as only a small settling in the foundation will put a lot of stress on the horizontal pipe.
I hope this helps.
Did you not read my post above?
Are you aware that as water moves through pipes, it surges, and created movement of the pipe, which is why copper and plastic (residential) water mains/supplies are normally embedded in sand as rock will wear into the pipe?
thanks…mike that makes some sense to me though its hard to imagine concrete sliding on a copper pipe with no negative results, but i listen to the more experienced. jeff yes i read your post, sorry did not comment on it but was thinking about it. so if there’s a ‘protective tape’ in place that would be virtually impossible for me to know that. judging from both of your input im feeling this is not as big a deal as i might have thought (especially in a vintage home) and my degree of concern for that matter has lessened. thanks for the input
Rocks are disallowed because the weight of automobiles, etc. can crack the pipe. Pipes in the ground don’t move with water running through them.
If there is tape or ‘other’, you will see it, as usually it will continue on the pipe for a minimum of a couple of inches. If you see no protection, report that it may not be present as it is not visible. A sleeve will normally terminate at flush with the slab to 1/2 inch exposed.
This seems to be a theme of late.
Report writing software is produced by programers, not by inspectors or code experts. Although they may enlist the help of some experts, the “canned” comments should be verified as accurate by the user, before they are included in your report.
Nice article Barry but it seems to be about foundation damage caused by underground water leaks specifically.
mr. pope…i agree, that is exactly why im bringing this question to this panel of fine inspectors
This is a concern of only those 90% who will not be home inspectors for more than 24 to 36 months, when choosing how to describe a defect. Professional inspectors in business for the long term will focus upon writing a complete, accurate and unbiased description of the home they are inspecting.