How Much Does Repiping A House Cost?
The cost of repiping a house with 2 bathrooms is $8,500 according to Networx.com. In contrast, the cost of repiping is stated as $4,000 to $10,000 by Houselogic.com. The low end starts around $2,000 dollars for PEX tubing and it can go as high as $15,000 for copper. Extensive repiping and demolition are also cost factors. These costs cover the labor needed to cut open your floors and walls, remove old piping, replace the piping, and repair your home. Additional costs vary by location for permitting, materials, and cost of labor.
Average Cost of Replumbing or Repiping a House
The average cost to repipe or replumb a house is about $8250; replumbing costs ranged from $1,500 to $15,000 in the US for 2019. This estimate includes the cost of repiping a house on slab. Read more about the average cost to replumb a house.
- Average: $1,043
- Range: $351 – $1,776
- Low: $140
- High: $4,250
Cost of Plumbing a House Per Square Foot
The cost of plumbing a house per square foot is about $4.50 per square foot.
Home Repiping Cost Factors
There are 4 major cost factors that influence how much repiping costs. These include how many plumbing fixtures you have, if the access is difficult, what type of repiping you choose, how big your home is, the fees for permits, and the cost for labor.
How Many Fixtures You Have
Most home have at least 2 bathrooms, a kitchen sink, dishwasher, and washing machine. The more sinks, toilets, showers, bathtubs, and other fixtures in your home the more it will cost to get repiping services. It takes longer and it requires more materials to complete the job.
Difficulty To Access Fixtures
Piping runs in walls, floors, and ceilings. The more work it takes to access the pipes the longer it takes and the more it will cost. Pipes who’s access is in closets or crawlspaces cost more than those that are simply behind walls. The pipes must be exposed to be replaced wherever they are. This is one advantage of PEX tubing as it can be ran with less invasive demolition.
Type Of Replacement Pipe
The type of replacement piping you choose also has an effect on the cost. There are 3 major types of pipe used in homes: PEX tubing, CPVC piping, and Copper piping. PEX is one of the most popular replacement piping options as it’s flexible, takes less time to install, and is cost-effective. Copper piping is the costliest option as it requires the most demolition and the materials are costlier.
Home’s Square Footage
They say bigger is better and it’s nice to have homes with large square footage, but they do cost more to build and maintain. Repiping costs more if your home is larger simply because it takes longer and requires more piping, fittings, and labor.
The average cost to repipe or replumb a house is about $8250; replumbing costs ranged from $1,500 to $15,000 in the US for 2019. This estimate includes the cost of repiping a house on slab.
Cost to Repipe a House with PEX
Depending upon the square footage and layout of your home you should expect to pay between $2,000 and $5,000 less to repipe with PEX instead of copper pipes.
Whole-House Repiping with Copper
When repiping your home, copper pipe is one of the most durable and longest lasting pipe types. With that being said you should expect to pay a premium price for copper compared to PEX with prices ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 to repipe a full home or $2 to $5 per foot.
Cost to Replace Plumbing in an Old House
When you are working on an older home especially a historic home expect to pay a bit more because of building codes and extra caution not to damage any areas of the home. Since working on older homes has its own set of challenges it is best to hire an experienced contractor to perform the work. Average cost for classic home replumbing is between $2,500 and $15,000.
Polybutylene & Lead Pipe Replacement Cost
Depending on the age of your home and the area you live in there is a chance that you could have lead piping which can lead to lead poisoning for your pets and family members. Instead of doing a visual inspection you could test the water in your home for elevated lead levels. Another pipe type that needs to be replaced is polybutylene because these pipes are meant to only be a temporary solution plus they are much weaker than newer PVC or PEX pipe. Regardless of the pipe type, your whole home will need to be repiped and most estimates range between $2,500 and $15,000 depending on the layout of your home.
If your home was built between January 1, 1978, to July 31, 1995 there might be a chance that the Cox settlement stemming from Cox v. Shell case will cover 100% of the price for polybutylene pipes with acetal plastic fasteners.
Replumbing a Mobile Home
Some mobile homes did have polybutylene pipes with acetal plastic fasteners when they were built as well meaning they are also covered under the Cox settlement. That means there is a chance the entire cost to repipe home would be covered, but if not you should expect to pay between $1,500 to $4,000 to repipe using PEX pipes.
Average Cost to Replace Galvanized Pipes
Galvanized pipes cost just as much as other pipe types to replace because it is the same process for every pipe type. Galvanized pipes are safer than lead pipes and last longer than Poly pipes, many contractors will suggest to only update visible pipes but when the pipe is worn down there is a higher chance of damage resulting from water.
Replacing Water Pipe from Meter to Home
According to Home Advisor the national average for water main installation is $1,488 with a range of $200 and $4,230.
Removing & Demolishing Existing Pipes
In order to replace pipes you will need to cut into walls and ceilings to access the piping and then remove the old pipes. For ceiling repair expect to pay between $300 and $1,000 compared to drywall repairs which range between $300 to $800 all the way up to $1,400+ depending on the number of walls that will need to be cut to access piping.
Cost of Plumbing a 3 Bedroom House
During the building phase of a new home there is no price difference for single story or multi story homes, but there will be a price increase when the pipes need to be replaced because of vertical pipes. Also as the distance between rooms that require water access increases the price for materials and labor increases as well. You should expect to pay $0.50 to $5 per foot for materials and $1 to $2 per foot for labor costs.
Should I repipe my house? | Why repipe?
Repiping a home can be an expensive and time-consuming task not to mention the inconvenience of having your home torn apart and water turned off. None the less this is something that must be done, especially if you have some of the following signs.
For starters, if your pipes are having leaks more frequently or they are recurring in the same it may be time to repipe your house. Other signs could be uneven or low water pressure with discolored water due to building up of calcium and minerals leading to burning showers or fluctuations in temperature. Perhaps it is a bit more visual and the water coming out of the pipes is discolored due to metals flaking from inside the pipes.