House Main & Shut-off Rust

Here’s a gem of a main shut-off located in a pit just inside the garage. It did not seem damp but there was heavy rust and evidence of prior repair. Also seems like they reduced the pipe diameter when it was repaired. Not sure if that is relevant.

Does that look like an acceptable amount of rust or is that pipe ready to bust? I vote for the latter but I don’t want to be an alarmist. I would think that needs to be replaced pretty soon, eh?

What do the pros say?

Report what you see…

Let them know that it is excessively rusted, appears to have been repaired at least once, and could leak at any time. And recommend repairs, as needed, to prevent leakage, water damage and adequate supply there from…or, some such verbiage.

Thanks, Larry. That reaffirms what I was thinking. I’m still doing practice inspections and that almost missed being reported due to my template layout…and being inconsistent with my noting defects during the inspection. I’ve been relying on the photos to jog my memory too much and that needs to stop!