Copper pipes on home from 1920s

I was recently looking at my pipes and they look corroded. I think I can access all my plumbing from the basement without tearing down walls except the maybe the radiators. I dont think it's the original plumbing. I was wondering how much a plumber gets for this and if it's something that's easy to do yourself. Do you think my pipes should be replaced soon. The water heater is from 2015 and the boiler is 1972 which I'm replace this next summer. I plan to install a water softener since the water is like 27000 grains

The white part is where you will find leaks soon. If it were me, I'd go with PEX. And PEX is relatively easy to install. The green part is oxidation. Not a huge concern, but it will get worse as time goes on.

Is pex pretty reliable and popular. I'm guessing copper is hard to install

Certain types of PEX are. And it also depends on how you connect the PEX together. It can be costly to do. And no, copper is relatively easy too, if you know what you're doing. I personally like PEX better than copper. That's just me though. Other people might have a different opinion.

What do you personally like better about pex and does pex replace all piping even the stuff under the sinks

Vista92 said:

I was recently looking at my pipes and they look corroded. I think I can access all my plumbing from the basement without tearing down walls except the maybe the radiators. I dont think it's the original plumbing. I was wondering how much a plumber gets for this and if it's something that's easy to do yourself. Do you think my pipes should be replaced soon. The water heater is from 2015 and the boiler is 1972 which I'm replace this next summer. I plan to install a water softener since the water is like 27000 grains

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If these joints have no signs of leaking or weeping I'd be inclined to think the installing plumber used an excessive amount of flux.
If and/or when you remove a piece of that pipe you should cut it open and examine the interior surface for corrosion, just for the hell of it.

If I desolder the ends and the inside looks good could I just clean it up and solder new connectors

Vista92 said:

If I desolder the ends and the inside looks good could I just clean it up and solder new connectors

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I'm guessing the problem is not originating from the interior. If it was, I'd think there would be "signs of leaking or weeping" like I said. I only asked because that would be a sign of eventual deterioration from the inside, which does happen but usually starts leaking through.
I'm not saying you couldn't clean up the exterior and maybe stop or slow down the corrosion and deterioration of the piping. Depending on the depth of damage, you may, or may not, cause some leaking.
I suspect once you start cleaning it thoroughly, you'll see how extensive the damage is.

I have one that's been dripping for months if not longer. It's up to about a cup a week. I believe in my case, it was a slight leak that only happened when my boiler got cold and then heated back up to normal temperatures. (Typically on all year for hot water.) I'll replace it one of these days. Hopefully before it lets go completely.

They say, plumbers houses hardly ever getting plumbing work done lol. They always wait until it gets bad [emoji23].

Just curious- I’ve seen this type of corrosion in remodels. Excessive flux, yes. But isn’t this also because the installer didn’t wipe the pipes clean after soldering? I usually rag it off and follow with steel wool. What is standard best practice here?

Sounds good to me!

I'd just board it up and forget about it. Someday, if I heard a tsssss from down below, then I'd think about ripping it all out.

Pex is stupid easy compared to copper. I feel like I'm playing with childs toys when I'm installing it.