Rotted Pipe...What to do?

My Great Aunt recently asked me to replace her bathroom sinks. She had the type that hung on the wall and wanted to replace with a cabinet style. No big deal. The installation went great. However, in one of the bathrooms after putting the p trap back on and running some water I noticed there was a leak. After looking more closely I noticed it was coming from the middle of the pipe. When I felt it it just crumbled. It didn't take much pressure at all to collapse the pipe. The home is about 50 years old. My first question is to find out if it is normal for copper pipes to do this. Another note, while I was working on the other bathroom I was checking for the same thing and once again the same problem occured. I removed some of the tile and wallboard and checked the copper pipe past the 90 degree elbow and it just crumbled with little pressure. My concern is that I don't know how far back it goes down the pipe and I'm not sure really what to do. I could start removing the tiles and see where it takes me, but I want to make sure it's fixed. I'd rather find out this way than with a leak that causes a lot of damage. Does anyone have any experience with something like this and can anyone give me some direction.
Thanks!

Some drain cleaners are very caustic to copper waste lines.

I always prefer the natural types.
www.bio-clean.com

You may be looking at pipe replacement.

This is why plumber's make so much money. You need to find some pipe that hasn't rotted out and go from there. Hope this isn't on the second floor.

I run into 30 to 50 year old copper drains all the time and they do the same thing you are describing. Not uncommon at all.

Hey, good luck...

go to the brass

just take it back till you hit a brass fitting
usually you can tie onto that fitting with a FERNCO clamp type
rubber fitting and re run the line out of pvc.


you might want to inspect things pretty well ,

but if you can take that horzontal line back to it turns into a verticle down wards joint , usually the pipe going verticle is not a problem (yet)

their is going to be a lot of work very soon out ther because of
copper drain lines installed in the 60s rotting out....

I got that problem in my own house too on the main 3 inch toilet line
going across my sons downstairs bedroom ceiling. Patched it once with a fernco clamp but i know I will eventually have to get serious and tear out the ceiling someday.


not looking forward to this project