What does repipe mean and why repipe a house?
If you are a “rehabber”, do you know how to repipe a house? There are a lot of fixer upper houses in and around Ft. Worth these days, all over the country actually. Those TV shows has a lot of people thinking they can either fix and flip or fix and live in some of the worst houses, and maybe they can.
However, there is so much more to fixing up a house than slapping on a coat of paint, update the tile in the bathroom and new countertops in the kitchen. There is the electrical and the plumbing and so much behind the cameras you don’t see. It is the plumbing and the process of plumbing repipe we’re talking about today.
To repipe a house is to replace older pipes and materials with new pipe and materials. To repipe a house, the following areas are affected:
- All the water lines in the home and the lines to each plumbing fixture.
- New plumbing connections.
- New valves at every sinks and toilet.
- New water supply lines.
- New main shut off to the house and the water heater.
- New laundry box, ice maker box and the valves at each.
In the natural progression of things, a home ages, there is shifting of the ground and foundation movement will damage the existing pipes. The plumbing pipes and fixtures simply gets old and worn, you may even have numerous plumbing calls because of busted pipes and connections. A plumbing repipe job will replace all those things, giving you better water pressure, even better tasting water.
When should you repipe a house?
Times to consider a plumbing repipe job would any of the following:
- If your home has undergone severe damage like consistent busted pipes.
- Your home is over fifty years old, a plumbing repipe should be something to consider.
- Other examples of when plumbing repipe is needed is when you have consistently low water pressure, or the water pressure varies between rooms for no reason.
- The water coming from any of your pipes is brown or red, strong indication either your water heater is going out or your home needs plumbing repiped. Either way, you are getting a clear message of contaminated water!
How much does repipe cost?
The cost to repipe a house can vary from city to city, area to area. The size of the house will be a huge factor in the cost as well as the type of material used for the repipe job.
How much does it cost to repipe a whole house?
A home with 1,500 square feet getting copper repipe job can start around $8,000 and go up as high as $10,000. The cost to repipe with pex for the same repipe job, you can cut that cost down to $4,000 to $6,000 because it takes less labor and less material. Maybe you’re just doing the kitchen remodel and update, what is the cost to repipe kitchen sink? Labor and materials per drain can range between $250 and $275.
A Final Word Of Caution – Polybutylene
Polybutylene pipes were cheaper for builders and contractors, but they were disastrous when it all came around. Are polybutylene pipes bad? Yes! The plastic that was used by the three major companies that manufactured them reacts to chlorine, disinfectants, and oxidants found in public water supplies. Polybutylene creates flaking and scaling within the pipes and they would eventually burst.
This type of pipe was marketed as “the pipe of the future” and was found to be strong and cold weather resistant. This was a versatile plumbing material that was cheaper than copper plumbing and quicker to install. It was installed in approximately 10 million homes during the 1980s through the 1990s all through the Southern United States.
Experts recommend that if your home is equipped with polybutylene piping, you should have a repipe job done sooner than later. How do you know if you have polybutylene pipes? It can be hard if they’re buried in the ground or inside your walls. Having a professional plumber inspect your pipes is recommended, but if you want to find out yourself, look for plumbing that matches these descriptions:
- Half inch or one inch flexible pipes
- Blue, cream, gray, or silver colored
- A stamp with “PB2110” on the side of any pipe
If you do find any of the polybutylene piping in your home, contact your homeowner’s insurance agent. There isn’t much chance you’ll have any recourse there, but it won’t hurt to ask. If there isn’t any recourse from them, they may be able to direct your other sources to offset the repipe expense. Even if the expense of a repipe job will come out of your pocket, that expense is less than the catastrophe that could be awaiting you in the unknown future of pipe bursting. Call (817) 560-4144 today for your whole house repiping needs in Fort Worth, TX.
