Gotta Love Lead Pipes

Robyn and I really enjoy this place. We find it to be quite the charming little home. We like its purple-ness, we like its front porch, we like its tall ceilings, we like its feel, we like the fact that its 106 years old. We have not, however, fully enjoyed all the things that have gone wrong with it since we moved in. Mostly, "things gone wrong" would be every appliance imaginable failing. The place was neglected for a number of years before we moved in. Aesthetically, we've made the house so much more like a home. But there are still a lot of tasks to be done.
The above picture is terrifying for anyone who has ever owned an old home. From the street, we have an old lead pipe running 5 feet under our yard and into our basement. (I'm referring to the light grey piece of piping on the left side of the image.) There is approximately 12 inches of pipe between my basement wall and a shut off valve that has completely rusted through and is leaking into a bucket. (Good solution, right? Shut off valve is broken... insert bucket instead of fixing problem...) I have let this problem go for a couple years now. It's not dripping all that much... I just empty the bucket once a week... I know it's not a good long-term solution...

So, I finally decide it would be a good idea to fix it, you know, since someday the valve is going to actually fall apart, water will flood into my basement, and I'll have no way to stop the flow because my shut off valve completely fell apart... I called a good handy friend of mine who has done several favors for my home in the past. He is always willing to help.

His response after seeing this? "Son, you need to call a professional plumber. And when you call, tell them not to send one of their rookies." I asked for clarification. "If that lead pipe cracks, you're gonna have to dig up your front yard to put a new pipe in from the street. You're looking at a couple grand. I ain't touching that pipe." Come on, now, is there something wrong with the pipe? Looks ok to me... "That pipe is as old as this house. They don't last forever." Oh boy...

I called Max Hofmeyer, a westside plumber. I explained my situation and was told it would be between $200-$300 as long as everything went well, but anytime an old lead pipe is touched, it could disintegrate, in which case I'd be looking at something in excess of $2000. What could I do? It needed to get done...

The plumber arrived this morning at 9:30. He shut off the water, replaced the valve, turned the water back on, and was gone by 10:30. My bill? $150. I was expecting more... I was quoted more... and they charged me less. (If you ever have a plumbing problem, I recomend Max Hofmeyer.)

The best part about all of this is that I no longer have to worry about that old valve falling off. I will sleep better tonight. Oh yeah, and it'll be nice to not have to empty that bucket every week.