DC: Replace lead pipe or filter?

[Anonymous]

We just bought an old house that has a lead pipe at the shutoff in our basement. The inspector said it would be easy to just install a "whole house" filter right that at the shut off, then replace the filters every 6 months or so. He made it seem common. My regular plumber says he's never heard of it. So I decided to call the city to see if they have contractors who would come out and just go ahead and replace the house side of the lead piping, knowing that the city already replaced the public side of it. They gave me 3 names of plumbers who can do this sort of work, and so far none of them have called me back so I'm assuming they aren't interested. I was given a ballpark by WASA of about $2K. So now I am back to considering a whole house filter. Only issue is I have no flippin clue what that is! Anyone out there know what this is, and has anyone done it? I have so many bathrooms and sinks I don't want to just do it in one place or another, would think it's easier to just have it installed for the whole house. Any and all insight would be most appreciated.

[Anonymous]

We replaced our lead pipe five years ago. The work was done by Anchor Construction, which at that time was also a DC WASA contractor. Most of the pipe was on DC land (our "public parking"), and it cost us $1,500. They replaced the whole pipe from our house to the main in the street, but we only paid for the eight feet on our own property.

I have not heard of the filter and would not like that solution, because it involves regular maintenance.

[Anonymous]

We put in a filter because the estimate to replace the lead pipe leading to our house is $10-15k. We have to tear up the front yard=huge project. Whole house filter was an easy temporary solution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We replaced our lead pipe five years ago. The work was done by Anchor Construction, which at that time was also a DC WASA contractor. Most of the pipe was on DC land (our "public parking"), and it cost us $1,500. They replaced the whole pipe from our house to the main in the street, but we only paid for the eight feet on our own property.

I have not heard of the filter and would not like that solution, because it involves regular maintenance.

The maintenance is replacing the filter every quarter.

[Anonymous]

New PP here considering the same thing. How did the previous PPs go about getting quotes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We replaced our lead pipe five years ago. The work was done by Anchor Construction, which at that time was also a DC WASA contractor. Most of the pipe was on DC land (our "public parking"), and it cost us $1,500. They replaced the whole pipe from our house to the main in the street, but we only paid for the eight feet on our own property.

I have not heard of the filter and would not like that solution, because it involves regular maintenance.

The maintenance is replacing the filter every quarter.

Yes, that's what I meant. Filters = $. Obviously, if your estimate is 10K, the cost of filters pales.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New PP here considering the same thing. How did the previous PPs go about getting quotes?

19:50 here. I talked to DC WASA and they gave me the Anchor Construction contact. We didn't get other quotes, I figured they worked with WASA anyway doing this everyday and probably a private plumbing company wouldn't be cheaper, and then the billing might be more complicated because most of it was paid by WASA. We were satisfied with the estimate they gave us and so we went ahead with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New PP here considering the same thing. How did the previous PPs go about getting quotes?

19:50 here. I talked to DC WASA and they gave me the Anchor Construction contact. We didn't get other quotes, I figured they worked with WASA anyway doing this everyday and probably a private plumbing company wouldn't be cheaper, and then the billing might be more complicated because most of it was paid by WASA. We were satisfied with the estimate they gave us and so we went ahead with them.

How did you get WASA to pay for part of it? Do they still do that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New PP here considering the same thing. How did the previous PPs go about getting quotes?

19:50 here. I talked to DC WASA and they gave me the Anchor Construction contact. We didn't get other quotes, I figured they worked with WASA anyway doing this everyday and probably a private plumbing company wouldn't be cheaper, and then the billing might be more complicated because most of it was paid by WASA. We were satisfied with the estimate they gave us and so we went ahead with them.

How did you get WASA to pay for part of it? Do they still do that?

The pipe went through our front yard, most of which is owned by DC. We only own eight feet out from the house. Since they had (have?) a policy to replace the whole pipe at once (partial replacement can cause lead to leach into the water), our decision to replace our end necessitated their replacement of their part. The whole job was done by the city's contractor, and I'm not sure if it would even have been possible for us to hire a plumber to do just our part and somehow coordinate with the city. This was in 2010.