Whole house repiping in northern Utah

A house needs repiping when the water pipes fail as a system and not just in one spot. The signs are:

• Leaks in different places within a short time.
• Rusty, brown, or yellow water, mostly when a faucet first opens.
• Water pressure that has dropped over the years, worst when two fixtures run at once.
• Flakes of rust or scale in faucet screens.
• Water stains on ceilings and walls from pinhole leaks.
• Gray steel pipe or gray plastic pipe at the water heater or under sinks.

One leak in a newer copper or PEX system is a repair. Several leaks in old pipe mean the rest of the pipe is in the same shape, and each repair only moves the next leak down the line. We look at the pipe material, the age of the house, and the leak history before we recommend a repipe.

Galvanized steel and polybutylene are the two pipe types most often replaced in a repipe. Copper is replaced when it starts to pit.

• Galvanized steel. Gray metal pipe with threaded fittings, found in older homes. It rusts from the inside. The rust narrows the pipe, cuts the pressure, and colors the water.
• Polybutylene. Flexible plastic pipe, usually gray, installed in many homes from the late 1970s into the mid-1990s. It turns brittle with age and tends to fail at the fittings, often without warning.
• Copper. A long-lasting pipe. It can still develop pinhole leaks from age or water chemistry. One pinhole is a repair. A pattern of them is a reason to repipe.

To check yours, look where pipe is exposed: at the water heater, under sinks, and where the main line enters the house.

Both PEX and copper are sound choices, and PEX is the common one for repiping today.

PEX is flexible plastic tubing. It bends around corners, so it needs fewer fittings and fewer openings in walls. It does not corrode, and scale from hard water has a harder time sticking to it. It stands up to a freeze better than rigid pipe, though no pipe is freeze-proof. Sunlight breaks it down, so it cannot be left exposed outdoors.

Copper is rigid metal pipe with a long track record. It handles sunlight and heat, so it suits exposed runs and connections near a water heater. It takes more labor to install, and the material costs more.

Many homes get both: PEX through walls and ceilings, and copper where the pipe is exposed. The table below compares them.

A whole-house repipe follows these steps:

1. We map every fixture, the water heater, and the main line, and plan routes for the new pipe.
2. We check permit rules with your city or county and pull the permit when one is required.
3. We cover floors and furniture and cut small access openings in drywall where the new pipe has to pass.
4. We run new hot and cold lines to each fixture while the old system stays in service.
5. We shut the water off, connect the fixtures to the new lines, and turn the water back on.
6. We pressure test the new system and check every fixture for flow and leaks.
7. The inspector checks the work where a permit applies.
8. The access openings get patched. Your estimate says who does that part.

We remove old pipe where we can reach it. Inside walls, where pulling it out would mean more damage, we leave it disconnected.

A whole-house repipe takes days, not weeks, for most homes. The size and layout of the house set the schedule:

• The number of bathrooms and fixtures.
• One story or two, and whether there is a basement.
• Pipe that runs under a concrete slab, which has to be rerouted through walls and ceilings.
• How much of the basement or the walls is finished.
• Permit inspections, which have to be scheduled.

You can stay in the house. The water is off only while we switch fixtures from the old lines to the new ones, and we tell you ahead of time when that will be. Drywall patching and paint come after the plumbing passes its test. We put the full schedule in your estimate.

We give free estimates and do not post prices. These are the things that change the cost of a repipe:

• Size of the house. More bathrooms and fixtures mean more pipe and more connections.
• Pipe material. Copper costs more than PEX in both material and labor.
• Access. Open basement ceilings are quick. Finished walls, tight crawl spaces, and slab floors are slow.
• Stories. A second floor adds vertical runs inside walls.
• Extras. New shutoff valves, a pressure regulator, or a new main line from the meter add to the job.
• Wall repair. Patching and painting drywall can be part of the job or left to you.
• Permit. Fees vary by city.

Financing is available for larger jobs. Ask about it when we write your estimate.

Repair the leak when the pipe around it is sound. Repipe when the leak is a symptom of pipe that is wearing out all over the house.

Repair makes sense when:

• The pipe is copper or PEX in good shape.
• The leak has a clear cause, such as a nail, a frozen section, or a bad fitting.
• It is the first leak the house has had.

Repiping makes sense when:

• The pipe is galvanized steel or polybutylene.
• The house has had several leaks.
• The water is rusty, or the pressure is poor all over the house.
• You are about to remodel, and the walls will be open anyway.

Hard water adds wear. Park City's quarterly tests found 9 to 24 grains per gallon from the third quarter of 2025 through the second quarter of 2026, and scale builds up inside old pipe. We show you the pipe we find and give you both options when both are reasonable.