# How can you tell if your pipes are galvanized, lead or copper?

> How to tell if pipes are galvanized, lead or copper: where to look at the meter, safe magnet and scratch tests, and what stays hidden in walls. Check yours.

URL: https://chicagolakerepiping.com/guide/how-to-identify-your-water-pipes/

Learn

A magnet, a coin or key and five minutes at the basement wall tell most pipes apart. Here is what galvanized, lead and copper pipe look like, how to test each without damaging anything, and what stays hidden until a wall is open.

Last Updated: October 25, 2026

**Much of the answer is at the basement wall, where the water line comes in from the street to the meter.** Galvanized steel is gray, threaded and holds a magnet. Lead is gray, soft and not magnetic, and a light scratch shows bright silver. Copper is reddish brown, not magnetic, and scratches pink. Brass is yellowish, threaded and not magnetic. What runs inside the walls takes more work to see.

The test needs only a fridge magnet and a coin or key. [Chicago Lake Repiping](https://chicagolakerepiping.com/), which offers and manages [galvanized pipe replacement](https://chicagolakerepiping.com/galvanized-pipe-replacement/), [whole-house repiping](https://chicagolakerepiping.com/whole-house-repiping/) and lead service line replacement across Chicago and nearby Cook County suburbs through licensed and insured plumbing contractors, put this guide together so that a homeowner can sort out the basics before anyone opens a wall.

Key takeaways

- Start at the pipe entering through the basement wall (the service line), then the pipe leaving the meter (the interior piping).
- Magnet sticks: galvanized steel. Magnet does not stick: lead, copper, brass or plastic.
- A light scratch tells the rest: silver for lead, pink for copper, yellow for brass.
- Do not scratch near joints under strain, cut anything, force a valve or touch the grounding clamp and wire.
- The inside of a pipe, the pipe in the walls and the buried line outside cannot be seen from the basement.

## Where to look

**The service line.** In the basement, find where the water pipe comes through the foundation wall or up through the floor from the street. That short exposed length, before the meter or main shutoff, is the end of your service line. It is the pipe Chicago’s lead inventory rates.

**The meter and main shutoff.** The water meter, if the building has one, sits on that line near the wall, with the main shutoff valve on one side or both. Do not confuse it with the gas line: gas pipe is also threaded steel, but it runs to the gas meter and to the furnace, water heater burner and stove, not from the foundation to the water meter. Homeowners report mistaking the gas shutoff for the water main, so follow the pipe.

**The interior piping.** The pipe that leaves the meter and main shutoff is the house’s own supply system. Follow it to the water heater, along the basement joists, and to wherever it rises into the floors above. Check again at the water heater connections, under the kitchen sink and at the laundry, because old houses mix materials.

## What each material looks like

| Material | Color | Joints | Magnet | Light scratch |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Galvanized steel | Dull silver-gray; may show rust at joints | Threaded fittings screwed onto the pipe | Sticks firmly | Gray steel |
| Lead | Dull gray, soft | Smooth bends, rounded bulge where joined | Does not stick | Bright, shiny silver |
| Copper | Reddish brown, dark brown or green with age | Soldered or pressed fittings, smooth | Does not stick | Pink, penny color |
| Brass | Yellowish to dull brown | Threaded, like galvanized | Does not stick | Yellow, gold-toned |
| Plastic (PEX, CPVC, PVC) | Red, blue, white or cream | Crimp rings, clamps or glued fittings | Does not stick | Not needed |

Galvanized steel is the threaded gray supply pipe that turns up in older Chicago houses. Lead turns up on service lines and sometimes inside older homes; Lead-Safe Chicago says the city’s service lines were primarily lead until the federal ban in 1986. Brass is still listed in Chicago’s plumbing code and appears in older buildings and in valves and fittings. Plastic water pipe is not listed for water distribution inside Chicago, so plastic in a city house is either a past repair or something a previous owner added (the [guide to whether PEX is allowed in Chicago](https://chicagolakerepiping.com/guide/is-pex-allowed-in-chicago/) covers what to do about it); in suburbs that follow the Illinois code, PEX can be the original pipe of a newer system.

## How to test safely

Lead-Safe Chicago gives the same two tests for a service line: hold a magnet to the pipe, and if it does not stick, scratch it lightly with a key. Lead is soft enough that the scratch shows silver.

Keep it gentle and keep it to the right spot:

- **Scratch lightly, on a straight run of pipe.** A coin edge or key is enough. Do not file, cut, saw or drill into any pipe.
- **Stay away from joints and anything under strain.** Old threaded joints and lead pipe can be weak, and a pipe that moves when touched should be left alone.
- **Leave the grounding wire alone.** A clamp with a heavy wire attached to the water pipe near the meter is part of the electrical system’s grounding or bonding. Do not touch, loosen or scratch near it, and do not remove a pipe it is attached to.
- **Do not force the [main shutoff](https://chicagolakerepiping.com/main-water-line-shutoff-replacement/).** An old valve that has not been turned in years can break when forced. Testing the pipe does not require turning anything.
- **Wash your hands after touching a pipe you suspect is lead,** and do not sand or scrape it.

Lead-Safe Chicago asks residents to report what they find, which helps correct the City’s inventory. The [guide to the galvanized requiring replacement label](https://chicagolakerepiping.com/guide/galvanized-requiring-replacement/) explains how that inventory sorts lines.

## Reading what you find

**Galvanized from the wall to the fixtures.** The house may still have its original steel supply piping. That is the system that narrows from the inside, and the [cornerstone guide to galvanized pipes](https://chicagolakerepiping.com/guide/galvanized-pipes-chicago-homes/) covers what it means and what to do about it.

**Lead at the wall, galvanized or copper after the meter.** The service line is lead and is a separate project with its own rules and programs; see [lead service line replacement](https://chicagolakerepiping.com/lead-service-line-replacement/) and the [lead line cost guide](https://chicagolakerepiping.com/guide/lead-service-line-replacement-cost-chicago/).

**Copper at the wall, galvanized inside.** The service has been replaced at some point, but the interior has not. A new service feeding old galvanized is the situation the [repipe after lead service line replacement guide](https://chicagolakerepiping.com/guide/repipe-after-lead-service-line-replacement/) addresses.

**Copper everywhere you can see.** The visible pipe has been replaced. Check whether the copper rises into the walls or whether it changes to steel at the ceiling, and look for brass or dielectric fittings where copper meets steel.

**A mix.** Old houses carry their repair history in the basement: a copper section where a leak was fixed, a brass union, a short run of plastic. Each transition is a place to look closely, and the [copper repiping](https://chicagolakerepiping.com/copper-repiping/) page explains why copper and galvanized need a proper fitting between them.

## What you cannot tell without opening walls

The basement shows the ends of the system. Several things stay hidden:

- **The inside of the pipe.** Galvanized narrows from the inside while the outside looks fine. Only flow and pressure tests, or a cut section, show how much bore is left. The [low water pressure guide](https://chicagolakerepiping.com/guide/low-water-pressure-old-chicago-house/) covers the tests.
- **The pipe in the walls.** Copper in the basement can turn into galvanized risers above the ceiling, and pipe in the walls can include abandoned lines left from an earlier repair. Homeowners report finding disconnected old pipe behind a wall during a bathroom remodel.
- **The buried line outside.** The few inches of service line you can see may not match the rest. Homeowners report finding a newer copper intake beside an old, cut-off lead one, and service lines can be joined or branched underground. Confirming what is buried takes the City’s records or digging.
- **Solder and fittings.** Lead-Safe Chicago notes that lead can be present inside a home in old faucets, in the solder used to connect plumbing, and sometimes in interior lead pipe, and that faucets made before January 1, 2014 were allowed to contain more lead.

## The City lookup and a water test

Two checks fill the gaps. The City’s service line inventory lookup, linked from the [Lead-Safe Chicago water page](https://www.leadsafechicago.org/water), shows what the City’s records say about your service line. A free lead test kit, requested through 311 or the City’s water quality site, shows what actually reaches your tap. A test tells you about the water, not which pipe a result comes from, so it works best alongside what you found at the wall.

If what you found points to galvanized inside or lead outside, the next step is a walk-through that starts at the meter. Call the number on this page or use the estimate form, or try the [do I need a repipe tool](https://chicagolakerepiping.com/tools/do-i-need-a-repipe/) first.

## Questions about this guide

### How do I tell if my service line is lead?

Find the pipe that comes through the basement wall from the street to the meter or shutoff. Lead is dull gray, does not hold a magnet, and shows shiny silver where a key lightly scratches it. Lead-Safe Chicago gives the same test. Then check the City's service line inventory for your address and request a free water test through 311.

### What does brass water pipe look like?

Brass is yellowish to dull brown, threaded at the joints like galvanized steel, and not magnetic. Lightly scratched, it shows a yellow, gold-toned metal rather than the pink of copper or the silver of lead. Chicago's plumbing code still lists brass pipe, and it turns up in older buildings and in valves and fittings.

### If the pipe coming out of my basement floor is copper, can I still have lead?

Yes. The copper you can see may be a newer section joined to an older line outside the wall, and homeowners report finding an old lead intake abandoned next to a newer copper one. Interior lead, old solder and older brass faucets can also carry lead. A water test shows what reaches the tap.

## Related service

### Galvanized pipe replacement

Galvanized pipe replacement swaps restricted steel supply pipe for copper, with code-listed transitions wherever old pipe stays and a flush after every cutover to clear loosened scale.

## More guides

- Learn [Galvanized pipes in Chicago homes: what to do about them](https://chicagolakerepiping.com/guide/galvanized-pipes-chicago-homes/)How to tell whether a Chicago bungalow, two-flat or greystone home still has galvanized steel supply pipe, what its symptoms do and do not prove, and how Chicago's code, permits and lead rules shape the fix.
- Learn [What does 'galvanized requiring replacement' mean in Chicago?](https://chicagolakerepiping.com/guide/galvanized-requiring-replacement/)The label on Chicago's service line inventory describes the pipe from the street, not the pipes in your walls. Here is where it comes from, why galvanized is treated like lead, and what to do with it.
- Cost Guide [How much does lead service line replacement cost in Chicago?](https://chicagolakerepiping.com/guide/lead-service-line-replacement-cost-chicago/)What the City says a full replacement is worth, who gets one free, what the Homeowner-Initiated waiver covers and leaves out, the inside-the-house work no program pays for, and what nearby suburbs offer.
- Learn [Why is the water pressure low in my old Chicago house?](https://chicagolakerepiping.com/guide/low-water-pressure-old-chicago-house/)Weak water flow upstairs has more than one possible cause, and a repipe only fixes one of them. Here is the order to rule them out, from the street to the shower head.
- Learn [Why is brown or rusty water coming out of the tap?](https://chicagolakerepiping.com/guide/rusty-brown-water-from-tap/)The color alone does not name the source. Which taps, hot or cold, first draw or all day, and what happened on the street this week narrow it down before anyone blames the pipes.