Advice about some rusting pipes in my house

[FlameOn]

So I moved into my newly built house a year and a half ago now and I notice there's a pipe that leads outside my house and seems to be rusting pretty badly, the corner part is starting to flake off lots and there are piles of rust I've had to wipe away a couple of times since summer began. The whole pipe is steel (not the plastic ones that they use for water) and from the location it looks like its feeding into the gas meter outside my house.

So a few questions about this issue; Should I be concerned about a what looks to be a fairly major rusting pipe (potentially carrying gas)? Is there a chance of a leak? since the one year warranty is up I assume the builder is no longer responsible for this? So what companies would I call to fix issues with gas lines like this? Enmax or something like that? Or some contractor?

Thanks guys!

Spoiler!

[kermitology]

Originally Posted by FlameOn

So I moved into my newly built house a year and a half ago now and I notice there's a pipe that leads outside my house and seems to be rusting pretty badly, the corner part is starting to flake off lots and there are piles of rust I've had to wipe away a couple of times since summer began. The whole pipe is steel (not the plastic ones that they use for water) and from the location it looks like its feeding into the gas meter outside my house.

So a few questions about this issue; Should I be concerned about a what looks to be a fairly major rusting pipe (potentially carrying gas)? Is there a chance of a leak? since the one year warranty is up I assume the builder is no longer responsible for this? So what companies would I call to fix issues with gas lines like this? Enmax or something like that? Or some contractor?

Thanks guys!

Spoiler!

All new builds regardless of builder should be covered by New Home Warranty which is 5 years. The builder is responsible.

[burn_this_city]

The risk of a leak is probably small, if they used pipe dope it should be sealed up. The walls of the pipe will be thick enough that the corrosion will be a non-issue. One thing though, if thats in your basement, wheres the moisture coming from that would corrode it that badly?

[FlameOn]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

The risk of a leak is probably small, if they used pipe dope it should be sealed up. The walls of the pipe will be thick enough that the corrosion will be a non-issue. One thing though, if thats in your basement, wheres the moisture coming from that would corrode it that badly?

I'm not sure where the moisture is coming from, I've been checking if from time to time when it rains and there isn't any water there at all. Edges of the pipe where it meets the wall seems like it's sealed well enough. From the rust marks it seems to be where seal around where turn meets the pipe. Is it possible the pipe is getting water in it itself?

[FlameOn]

Originally Posted by kermitology

All new builds regardless of builder should be covered by New Home Warranty which is 5 years. The builder is responsible.

Hm... so builder is not going to do anything about it. Tells me to just paint over it.

At this point we won’t go back in but we do recommend applying an all purpose primer to prevent the oxidization from spreading. This is something you can purchase at Rona/Home Depot.

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by kermitology

All new builds regardless of builder should be covered by New Home Warranty which is 5 years. The builder is responsible.

My understanding is that under ANHW only structural defects are covered after the first year (for four additional years, or five total).

http://www.anhwp.com/hbTemplates/Con...antyProtection

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by FlameOn

Hm... so builder is not going to do anything about it. Tells me to just paint over it.

If you remove the rust and paint over it, it should stop rusting.

[Northendzone]

try calling Atco, see what they say.

[billybob123]

Could be condensation on the pipe that's causing the rusting. You can solve it by painting over the pipe. I'd use something like yellow paint since it's probably a gas pipe. Your relative humidity in the basement could be high enough that the temperature difference between the gas in the pipe and your basement causes condensation on the pipe that then corrodes the metal.

I'm not a plumber, gas fitter, or anything professional, so take my advice for what it's worth - which is nothing!

[Barnes]

Remove the drywall around the area and see what's going on. Why is it caulked coming through the drywall? If your going to have a pipe on the finished side of drywall why hastily seal it like that unless it is to stop water from dripping.

It seems to be in an odd spot too. Where is it coming from and where is it going after the bend?

[THE SCUD]

If that's your gas pipe coming through your garage wall into the garage (I have the exact same thing), the gas pipe is very cold (due to being connected to the exteriour) in the winter, but comes into a garage (mygarage is finished, so it is quite warm even in the winter) so, as a result, there is a lot of condensation on the pipe. I cleaned it periodically this past winter and painted it with rustoleum and that's stopped any issues.

[FlameOn]

Originally Posted by Barnes

Remove the drywall around the area and see what's going on. Why is it caulked coming through the drywall? If your going to have a pipe on the finished side of drywall why hastily seal it like that unless it is to stop water from dripping.

It seems to be in an odd spot too. Where is it coming from and where is it going after the bend?

I believe it goes directly out of my house to the gas meter. It's sealed that way because there's basically a hole in the wall where it goes outside the house. Since the whole basement is unfinished, this was just left the way it was when they finished installing stuff??

Originally Posted by THE SCUD

If that's your gas pipe coming through your garage wall into the garage (I have the exact same thing), the gas pipe is very cold (due to being connected to the exteriour) in the winter, but comes into a garage (mygarage is finished, so it is quite warm even in the winter) so, as a result, there is a lot of condensation on the pipe. I cleaned it periodically this past winter and painted it with rustoleum and that's stopped any issues.

Sounds about right. What were you using to clean the pipe with SCUD?

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

It's right on a 90 deg elbow which could be a restriction which means a temperature drop and possibly condensation on the outside of the pipe. I'd be willing to bet that's most of your problem.

Just go over it as best you can with a wire brush, get all the rust off and paint it, and you should be okay.

[FlameOn]

Thanks guys! I'll try cleaning off the pipe and painting it over.

[Barnes]

Oh, the photo is looking down and those are stairs at the bottom. I thought it was going 90deg into a ceiling and it was some sort of bulkhead in behind and the stairs were walls further in the background.