When Should I Repipe My Home?
If you are looking to repipe your home the first question we think you should ask is… well, why? There are many different reasons to repipe your home and usually the reason for repiping will decide which repiping option is best for you the homeowner.
Old Galvanized Piping – Galvanized Piping should ALWAYS be replaced. Galvanized Piping was originally thought to not rust as easily as other types of piping but the truth is it rusts very easy and if you have galvanized piping you are almost assured to have rust in your lines.
It is not healthy to be drinking water from these old rusted pipes. Also, it limits the amount of water flow and can cause other problems in other parts of your house as well. You can think of this rust as cholesterol for you pipes.
Leaking Copper Piping – If your copper piping (or any piping for that manner) is continually springing leaks in different areas there may be different reasons why. Depending on the type of copper that was put into your home when it was first built or remodeled, the builder may have used a low quality copper. For Example a type M copper is thinner than a type L copper (we only use the strongest types L or K for all copper piping). Another reason is the chemical composition of your water may actually over time eat away at the copper piping depending on how aggressive the makeup of the water is. If the water in your area is a very aggressive solution, you may have over time thinner wall on your piping making leaks and a repipe inevitable.
Illegal Piping – Its a sad truth that many contractors (including licensed ones) sometimes put in piping that is illegal and not up to building code. There is usually a reason this piping is not legal and should be taken seriously as it may be a hazard. Many times people never know until they get some work done or try to sell their home and find they can sell it because of the hazard this piping creates.
There are many other reason you may want to repipe your home but in our experience these are the most common. Feel free to call us also with any questions you have about all this information as well at 925-462-1090
What Should I Repipe My Home With?
Great question. Generally the three most common ways to repipe your home are through (1) replacing piping with new copper piping (2) Replacing with “Pex” piping (3) coat lines of pipe with pipe lining.
1. To us and our customers, replacing your old piping with new copper piping is the most traditional and pragmatic way to go. Its a good way to take care of the problem one time and not have to worry about it again (or until the company who does it warranties it). Many companies now have 50+ year warranties on repiping with copper lines giving you plenty of time to think of other things.
Note: there are some reports of health hazards of older people becoming sick from copper piping that you can read at the following: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1245202/Copper-pipes-cause-Alzheimers-heart-disease-people-50.html
2. PEX piping is actually our preferred methods depending on if your city or county will allow it or not. It is a plastic composite style piping which has been approved for repipes in many areas and in our experience is a GREAT product. It is also much for cost effective in general than copper piping. More info about specific information on PEX piping can be found at: http://www.pexinfo.com/
3. Pipe lining is a lining system that will actually coat the inside of the existing piping creating a new inner piping usually also guaranteed for 50+ years in most cases. Especially in the cases of pipes that are leaking in concrete slabs on in the ground, this can be a particularly good application.
With any more questions please contact us and as always we would be more than happy to answer any of your questions considering this!
-Aaron
925-462-1090
