Copper pipes have been around since the early 1900s, but they didn't gain traction until the 1960s, when plastic was still new, and ceramic pipes were too expensive. Copper is lightweight and pliable and carries a relatively low price tag.
Choosing the right sewer pipe material is crucial for maintaining the efficiency and durability of your home's plumbing system. The material used often depends on the age of your home, with older homes typically using clay or cast iron, while newer constructions favor plastic.
Look at your property's building records or home inspection reports. These documents often detail the types of materials used in your home's construction, including the sewer lines.
Because of the time frame in which they were constructed, the Orangeburg pipes in many homes are nearing their expiration date. Homeowners would be wise to replace their pipes now before they are faced with serious plumbing issues down the road.
Clay pipes started being phased out in the 1960s and 1970s when plastic sewer pipe options such as ABS and PVC were developed.
Plastic (ABS and PVC) became the top choice for new sewer lines in the late 1960s and early 1970s due to its affordability, ease of installation, and resistance to root intrusion.
Signs it May Be Time to Replace Your Clay Sewer Pipes
These include, but are not limited to: Foul odor in your yard or home. Inside, the odor could be coming from drains in the bathroom or from air vents. Strange gurgling sounds coming from pipes in bathroom, kitchen or laundry room.
Pipe Bursting
It's often used for heavily deteriorated Orangeburg pipes. If you have Orangeburg sewage pipes in your home, you may want to have a professional plumber perform a video inspection to identify your sewage pipes condition before it results in expensive repairs.
Clay pipes typically last between 50-60 years, while PVC pipes are expected to last 100 years before requiring replacement.
Orangeburg piping was no longer installed after PVC plastic replaced paper as the preferred material in 1972.
Galvanized pipes are steel pipes that have been dipped in a protective zinc coating to prevent corrosion and rust. Galvanized piping was commonly installed in homes built before 1960. When it was invented, galvanized pipe was an alternative to lead pipe for water supply lines.
For instance, residential sewer line depth ranges from 18 to 30 inches. However, city sewer line depths are different. Your city's sewer lines must always be deeper than the deepest residential pipe to allow waste to flow downhill. As such, these lines can go as deep as needed.
of Orangeburg, New York. The generic name for this type of pipe is “bituminous fiber pipe.” The pipe is made of a combination of cellulose and asbestos fibers impregnated with a bituminous (coal tar) compound.
The briar pipes of today did not exist until the mid to late 1800s. Prior to that, most tobacco pipes were made from clay, stone and later Meerschaum in Europe. American pipes were often made from corn cobs, stone and gourds. The pipes of the Renaissance and Victorian ages were primarily made of Meerschaum.
Understanding Orangeburg Pipes
Orangeburg pipes, also known as bituminous fiber pipes, were widely used as sewer pipes in the United States during and after World War II, especially from the 1940s to the early 1970s. These pipes were made from layers of wood pulp impregnated with coal tar pitch.
Easy Ways To Identify Orangeburg Pipe
Orangeburg as mentioned, is made out of a wood pulp. It should be a brown/black color like ABS, or Cast Iron. To differentiate, you can find exposed orangeburg and then tap/scrape it to see the material (metal, plastic, or wood).
In 1980, cast iron pipes were no longer the pipe of choice. Builders and plumbers replaced cast iron with rigid PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride plastic), which is easier to make, can be made quickly, is harder than other options, and has greater tensile strength. It is essentially a cheaper, faster alternative to cast iron.
Common Health Issues Caused By Cracked Pipes
Broken sewer pipes can release illness-causing bacteria or raw sewage, which can be detrimental to your health if it makes its way into your body through open wounds, the eyes, or the mouth. This can result in illnesses such as: E-coli. Salmonella.
In the 1950s, ductile iron pipe was introduced as an improvement on cast iron. It has higher strength and similar corrosion resistance, making it an attractive material for water and wastewater uses. Similar to cast iron, there were also many types of linings developed to prevent corrosion in line interiors.
It depends on the materials. Metal pipes are often accepted by scrap metal recycling centers, but plastic pipes may need to go in the regular trash. Check with your local recycling center or waste management authority for specific guidelines.
Advancements in plastic pipes provided more durable, reliable, lightweight, and flexible options such as ABS and PVC. It wasn't long before these plastic materials replaced clay sewer pipes as the standard. Although most don't use clay anymore, a modern form of vitrified clay is used today in some cases.
The decline of clay pipe making
In the 20th century these would be produced with plastic or metal stems and plastic mouthpieces. The 20th century also was to see a great increase in cigarette smoking, a fashion which in turn has nearly eliminated pipe smoking altogether.
You can repair damaged clay sewer pipes using pipe relining or pipe patching methods. These no-dig techniques allow for repair without the need to excavate. It is possible to fix badly cracked, misaligned, broken or joint-damaged pipes through trenchless pipe repairs.