How a repipe works
A plain-language guide to what the job involves, so you know what you are being quoted for.
The usual order of work
Most whole-home repipes follow these five stages. Details differ from house to house.
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Look and quote
The plumber checks what pipe the house has, counts the fixtures, and looks at how lines can be routed through the attic, crawlspace or walls.
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Protect and open up
Floors and furniture get covered. Small access openings are cut in drywall where new lines need to reach a fixture.
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Run the new lines
New hot and cold lines go in alongside the old ones. The old pipe is disconnected and is often left inside the wall rather than torn out.
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Switch over and test
Fixtures are connected to the new lines, the system is filled and pressure tested, and every joint is checked for leaks.
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Close the walls
Access openings are patched. Whether texture and paint are part of the job depends on the quote, so ask.
Pipe materials, old and new
What is in the walls now decides whether a repipe makes sense. What goes in decides how long it lasts.
- Galvanized steel Gray metal, threaded joints Often replaced
- Common in older homes. The zinc coating wears away and the steel rusts from the inside, which narrows the pipe, lowers pressure and tints the water.
- Polybutylene Gray flexible plastic Often replaced
- Installed in many US homes from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s. Known for becoming brittle and failing without much warning, and no longer made for home plumbing.
- Copper Rigid metal, soldered joints Used for new lines
- Long-lasting and familiar. Costs more in material and labor, and can develop pinhole leaks over time depending on water chemistry.
- PEX Flexible plastic, red for hot and blue for cold Used for new lines
- Bends around corners, so it needs fewer joints and fewer wall openings. The red and blue lines on this site's home page are drawn after it.
- CPVC Rigid cream-colored plastic, glued joints Used for new lines
- Lower in cost than copper. Can turn brittle with age, so it needs careful handling during later repairs.
This is general background, not a statement of what PRX installs. Call (470) 470-3115 to ask what they recommend for your home.