Cost to repipe a house
Repiping a house in PEX costs $4,500 to $12,000, typically $7,500 for a two-bathroom house. Copper runs $8,000 to $22,000 because every joint is soldered.
National average
$7,500
per project
Repiping a house in PEX costs $4,500 to $12,000, with a typical 1,500 to 2,000 square foot two-bathroom house landing near $7,500. The same job in copper runs $8,000 to $22,000.
Repiping means replacing the supply lines, the pipes that bring water to your fixtures. It does not mean the drains. Those are a separate system and a separate job, which is worth knowing before you compare quotes that may not cover the same thing.
PEX against copper
PEX is flexible plastic tubing, run in long continuous lengths with far fewer joints. It is faster to install, which is most of why it is cheaper: the labour roughly halves. It does not corrode, it tolerates freezing better than copper because it can expand slightly, and it is quieter.
Copper is rigid, soldered at every joint, and lasts 50 years or more. It is unaffected by UV, cannot be chewed through by rodents, and some buyers still prefer it. It costs more in both material and labour.
For most houses PEX is the sensible answer, and it is now what the majority of new construction uses. Copper is worth the premium where pipes are exposed to sunlight, where local code requires it, or where you specifically want it.
Cost by house size
| House | Bathrooms | PEX | Copper |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 to 1,500 sq ft | 1 to 2 | $4,000 to $8,000 | $7,000 to $14,000 |
| 1,500 to 2,000 sq ft | 2 | $5,500 to $11,000 | $9,000 to $18,000 |
| 2,000 to 2,500 sq ft | 2 to 3 | $7,000 to $13,000 | $12,000 to $21,000 |
| 2,500 sq ft and up | 3 or more | $10,000 to $18,000 | $16,000 to $30,000 |
Fixture count moves the price more than square footage does. A compact house with three bathrooms costs more than a sprawling one with one, because every fixture is a termination and every termination is labour.
What drives the price beyond size
Slab against crawl space. A house on a crawl space or with a basement is the easy case: the plumber works from below. A slab-on-grade house means the new lines are routed overhead through the attic and dropped down inside walls, which means more drywall opened and more patching.
Storeys. A two-storey house needs vertical runs inside walls and coordination between floors. Add roughly 20% to 30%.
Wall finish. Drywall is opened and patched routinely. Plaster and lath is slower to open and much harder to patch invisibly. Tile is worse: a shower valve behind tile can mean opening the wall from the other side or accepting a repaired tile field.
Whether patching is included. This is the single largest source of quotes that are not comparable. Some plumbers leave you with open walls and a list of apologies. Ask explicitly: does the price include drywall repair, and does it include texture and paint? Patching typically adds $1,500 to $4,000.
When repiping is the right call
Galvanised steel supply lines. Used through the 1960s, they corrode from the inside, which restricts flow and eventually fails. If you have galvanised, you will repipe eventually; the only question is whether it happens on your schedule or during a flood.
Polybutylene. Grey plastic pipe used from the late 1970s to the mid 1990s. It fails, sometimes suddenly, and many insurers will not write a policy on a house that still has it. If you find polybutylene, treat it as urgent.
Repeated pinhole leaks in copper. Copper corroded by aggressive water chemistry leaks in one spot, then another, then another. Once you have had three, patching the fourth is money spent on a system that is telling you something.
Persistently low pressure at multiple fixtures. Usually corrosion narrowing the pipes. Check the pressure regulator first, because it is a $250 fix rather than a $7,500 one.
Discoloured water when a tap has been off. Rust from the inside of the pipes.
Living through it
A whole-house repipe on an accessible house is three to five days, with water shut off for part of each day and usually back on each night. A slab house or a plastered one takes a week or more. Patching and painting follow after.
Most people stay in the house. Plan for one day with no water in the middle, and for dust everywhere the walls are opened regardless of how careful the crew is.
Frequently asked questions
Does repiping include the drains?
No. Supply lines bring clean water in; drain, waste and vent pipes take waste out. Replacing drains is a separate job, usually more disruptive because the pipes are larger and often in the slab or the floor structure.
Will it fix my water pressure?
If low pressure comes from corroded, narrowed supply pipes, yes, and dramatically. If it comes from the municipal supply, a failing pressure regulator or an undersized service line from the street, no. Have the cause diagnosed before you buy the cure.
Does PEX affect water taste?
New PEX can impart a faint plastic taste for the first few weeks, which fades. Running the lines for a while after installation clears it. Long-term studies have not found it to be a health concern, and PEX is approved for potable water throughout the United States.
Do I need a permit?
Almost always, and you want one. A repipe is inspected work, and an uninspected repipe becomes a disclosure problem and possibly an insurance problem later.
Can it be done room by room?
Yes, and it is sometimes the right answer for a phased budget. It costs more in total, because the crew mobilises repeatedly and the old and new systems have to be joined each time. Expect to pay 30% to 50% more spread across the phases.
Read next
How long does plumbing last$4,500 to $12,000per projectCopper lasts 50 to 70 years, PEX 40 to 50, cast iron drain 50 to 100. Plumbing is the system that fails quietly for years and then all at once, and the material in your walls says roughly where you are.
Burst pipe repair cost$150 to $4,000per projectRepairing a burst pipe costs $150 to $1,200, typically $600. What turns that into a $5,000 bill is not the plumbing. It is the drywall, the flooring and the drying.
Slab leak repair cost$1,500 to $6,000per projectA slab leak costs $1,500 to $6,000 to repair, typically $3,000. It is expensive because the concrete is in the way, not because the pipe is hard to fix. Three methods exist and they cost very differently.
Water main replacement cost$1,500 to $6,000per projectReplacing the water main into a house costs $1,500 to $6,000, typically $3,000. Under a lawn it is the bottom of that range. Under a driveway and a sidewalk it is the top.
Water leak detection cost$150 to $800per projectLeak detection costs $150 to $800, typically $350. It is the step people skip and the one that decides whether the repair costs $600 or $6,000, because a leak guessed at is three holes in the wall.