Whole-House Repipe: What Actually Happens, Day by Day

A whole-house repipe replaces every water supply line in the house, from the point where the main enters to every fixture, with new pipe. It is the permanent answer for galvanized steel that has rusted shut, polybutylene that is failing at the fittings, or copper on its third slab leak. It is also the job homeowners in Mesquite, Garland and older Rockwall most want to avoid, because they picture the house being demolished. Here is what it actually involves.

Before the first day

We walk the house and map every fixture, the water heater, the hose bibs, the ice maker and any appliance with a water connection. We identify where the new lines will run, which in a slab home is overhead: through the attic, then down inside walls to each fixture. We mark where drywall will be opened, agree on the material, and tell you how many days to plan for and which hours the water will be off. For most single-storey homes it is two to three days; larger two-storey homes take longer.

A permit is pulled. Repiping is permitted and inspected in every city we serve, and the inspection is your protection that the work meets code before the walls close.

Day one: access and rough-in

Furniture near the work is covered. Access openings are cut in the drywall: typically behind each fixture, at the water heater, at the main entry, and at a few points where lines change direction. These are planned to be as few and as small as the routing allows, and they are cut cleanly so the patches are straightforward. The new lines are then run through the attic and dropped down the walls. The old lines are left in place, dead, unless something requires their removal.

Water stays on for most of day one, because the new system is built alongside the old one. We usually shut it off only for the changeover.

Day two: connections and changeover

Each fixture is connected to its new supply with new stop valves and new supply lines. The water heater is connected, usually with new flexible connectors and, where required, an expansion tank. Hose bibs are replaced. Then the main is switched over to the new system and pressure tested. From this point the house is on new pipe. The water is typically off for a few hours during the changeover, and we tell you in advance when that will be.

Inspection and closing up

The city inspector looks at the work with the walls open. Once passed, the drywall patches are made. Whether we handle the patching or you use your own drywall contractor is agreed beforehand; either way, the openings are sized and placed to make the patch clean. Texture matching on the older wall finishes common in Mesquite and Garland is the part that takes a skilled hand.

What changes afterwards

• Pressure and flow at every fixture return to what the house was designed for. On a galvanized house the difference is immediate and obvious.
• Water from the tap is clear. Rust-coloured water after the house has sat is gone.
• Every fixture has a working stop valve, which most older homes have not had for years.
• The lines are out of the slab, so the slab leak cycle ends. Clay soil movement no longer works on your plumbing.
• Insurance is sometimes easier to place or cheaper on a house with no polybutylene or galvanized pipe; ask your carrier.

Questions to ask any bidder

1. Is a permit included, and who patches the drywall?
2. What material and fittings, and are they rated for our water?
3. How are attic lines insulated and routed for freeze protection?
4. How many hours will the water be off, and on which day?
5. Does the price include new stop valves, supply lines and hose bibs, or just pipe in the walls?

Family-owned in Rockwall, licensed and insured, with Mesquite and Dallas County on our daily routes. TX Master Plumber TXM11693. (469) 338-5533.