the pipes are copper, the solder maybe lead if old, if newer its mostly tin based. and the shut off valve is brass.
this is normal. its a very weird setup, but if the whole thing was lead, it would be pretty soft. as lead is a soft metal. easily bends, forms, etc.
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I’m curious what makes this installation weird? The reason I ask is that 95% of the homes in the United States have copper water piping. If this installation is weird to you I wonder how many other inspectors think this is weird too?
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It’s not weird to have copper pipes. It’s a weird way of installing a faucet shutoff. Why is the pipe looping back down? What else does it shut off?
It looks more like a main shut off then a faucet shut off setup.
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It’s very common in some older homes to have a main water shut off accessible under one of the sinks. The main comes into the valve and then it looks like it services the rest of the house or possibly another fixture along with the fixture above the cabinet. Pretty standard stuff for some older homes.
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I think it might be the main and it is also feeding a line under that wood floor.
That is why it is always important to take a shot from farther away when asking questions so we all see it from a different perspective, and see the whole picture.
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Appreciate the comments… in the picture again it looks much more copper in color for some reason than what I can see with a light… I did find that brass can contain up to 8% lead… ANYWAY thanks for your help again!
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Good questions Dustin.
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But brass is still widely used. Brass is an alloy made mostly of copper and zinc, but when they made these faucets and valves from the late 1970s to 2014, the brass could also have up to 8% lead in it
Here in Missouri I have never seen this. Maybe they did it different here. Never a shut off under a sunk like that.