Repiping Your Home

When it comes to repiping a home, the quality and experience of the plumber are critical. Repiping a home isn’t something that most homeowners will ever have to deal with. It means that there’s been a critical failure in the home’s pipe materials. For example, it could have been a plastic pipe that deteriorated over time or a metal pipe that has corroded due to the water quality.

You’re basically starting from scratch when a plumber is replacing your home’s pipes. The difference is, when the pipes were installed during the home’s construction, there wasn’t any insulation or drywall hindering the process. Now, the plumber has to use their knowledge and experience to determine the best way to go about getting the job done. They have to consider the least intrusive way to replace the pipes so that the cost and inconvenience are minimized.

The entire repiping process will likely take about two to three days, depending on the size of the house. Some parts of the home are easier to repipe as well. For example, the first floor may be relatively easy if the home has a full basement or crawlspace. It would be fairly straightforward to get water up to the kitchen sink or hall bathroom/toilet. There also might not be much drywall that would need to be replaced.

When water needs to be transported to a second story, that’s when it’s a bit more challenging. Drywall might have to be cut so the pipes can be put in place. Otherwise, there might be a way to get water to the attic and then bring it down to the second floor. It really requires a plumber with extensive experience and expertise to make sure the job is done in an ideal manner. A good plumber will adhere to code, make sure that the same problem will not occur again in the future, and minimize the amount of work it takes to repair the home after the repipe is complete.

It should go without saying that the job needs to be done by a qualified professional. If an amateur or inexperienced plumber attempted to repipe a home, you could end up with disastrous consequences. The greatest threat to doing a job like this by yourself is doing something incorrectly. All of a sudden, a leak that springs up while you’re away will end up dumping up to 50 gallons a minute of water right into your home.

Unfortunately, most homeowner insurance claims are for water damage. Doing the job on your own means that you’re relying on your homeowner’s insurance as your only option. When a licensed insured plumber does the job, you’ll have their insurance to fall back on if there’s a problem. That’s why it just makes more sense to hire a qualified professional to get the job done right.

The repiping process might even be an opportunity to make some improvements. If the home is very old, it probably won’t have all the safeties required by current code. Once the house is repiped to today’s standards, you’ll know that an experienced plumber is meeting today’s safety codes. An amateur likely won’t be aware of proper code, so they won’t put valves, expansion tanks, or other components that could be crucial when it comes to protecting the home.

If a home needs to be repiped, Boulden Brothers will look at each case individually and decide what’s in the best interest of the homeowner. Is it best to do an isolated repipe for just one bathroom that’s having a problem, or should the whole home be redone? Which pipe material (metal or plastic, for example) would be best? We’ll answer all those questions for you, explain exactly what needs to be done, and keep you informed every step of the way. The most crucial step is being adequately prepared in advance.

To get started with repiping, contact us online or give us a call today.