On Nov 4, 1:21*pm, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Nov 4, 1:09*pm, Molly Brown wrote:





On Nov 4, 8:36*am, "Ray" wrote:

Let me say at the outset that I am well aware that I can get only an
educated guess in response to this posting, but I would welcome an educated
guess or even pure speculation.

We live in a six-unit coop apartment building built in 1922. It's a very
solid building which has been well-maintained and it in very good shape
considering its age.

The apartments are identical in layout, two on each floor.

The fourth floor consists of six rooms which were once occupied by *servant
girls. It was a dormitory arrangement, with a shared bathroom at one end of
the hallway, and a shared kitchen at the other.

Around 1950 these rooms ceased to be used for habitation and were converted
to storage. At that same time, the hot and cold water pipes were cut and
plugged.

To get to my question: What's likely to be involved if we reconnect the
water supply? (To make the rooms habitable once again.)

The old pipes all remain in place, but I'm sure they are so corroded and
rusted inside that replacement with copper would be essential.

I emphasize that all of the bathrooms are stacked in the same vertical
configuration. I'm pretty sure that the old pipes have been replaced in the
apartments through the years.

So I guess the second question is, is it likely that we can simply extend
the pipes from the third-floor bathroom to the fourth-floor bath?

To repeat, I'm aware that I'm asking for a diagnosis done with a blindfold.
I'm sure all sorts of issues, like water pressure etc., would come into
consideration. But we do know that at one time the plumbing worked on the
fourth floor, and we'd like to restore it if possible.

If you hire a license contractor that knows what he or she is doing
then the new EPA lead laws are going to cost you a bundle because it’s
going to involve making holes in the walls both on the third and
fourth floors. You might want to do the demolition yourself to save
money but make sure you know where to demolish before you do.
You can extend the pipes as long as you’re not extending off a ½” line
which would be too small to branch out from. If you do then more than
one person using the water isn’t going to get enough pressure.
Branching off of a ¾” line is probably going to be O.K. but I wouldn’t
bet my life on it.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

If the OP said "The old pipes all remain in place" why do you assume
that "it’s going to involve making holes in the walls both on the
third and fourth floors."?

If the pipes are still serviceable then all that may be involved is to
cut/sweat off the cap and use a junction to connect any extensions
that are needed.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

The OP said this:

"The old pipes all remain in place, but I'm sure they are so corroded
and rusted inside that replacement with copper would be essential. "

That and the fact that the place was built in 1922 suggest that the
existing pipe is probably galvanized steel. But you have a point, we
don't know for sure what kind of pipe it is. It's impossible to be of
much help on this kind of thing, as there are way too many variables
involved.

PEX run from the existing baths might be a solution, but we don't know
the pipe sizes and if they can support a second bath.