Whole Home Repiping Services in Georgia

Whole house repiping means replacing the water supply piping throughout a home: the hot and cold lines that run from the main shutoff to every faucet, toilet, shower and appliance. It is a bigger decision than a single leak repair and usually follows a pattern of failures. Drain and sewer piping is a separate system and is not part of a supply repipe.

Signs the supply piping is near the end

One leak does not mean a house needs new pipe; a pattern does. Pinhole leaks that keep appearing in copper, each repair soon followed by another, suggest the pipe walls are thinning. Pressure that has dropped at every fixture often points to galvanized steel narrowing from the inside. Brown water when a tap first opens and fittings crusted with green or white deposits belong to the same picture. A single hidden leak, on the other hand, is a job for leak detection and repair, not a repipe.

Pipe materials found in older homes

Galvanized steel was common in older houses. It corrodes on the inside until the opening is a fraction of its original size, while the outside can look fine. Polybutylene, a gray plastic pipe installed in many homes from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s, has a record of failing at fittings and in the pipe itself, often without warning. Copper lasts a long time in many homes, but some lines develop pinholes tied to water chemistry or age. Some older homes also have lead solder on copper joints; if that is a concern, a water test answers the question.

PEX or copper for the new lines

Repipes are usually done in PEX or copper. PEX is flexible plastic tubing. Because it bends, it can be pulled through walls in long runs with fewer fittings, which usually means fewer openings in the drywall. It tolerates freezing better than rigid pipe, though no pipe is immune, and it must be kept out of sunlight. Copper is rigid, has a long track record and handles heat well, but needs more joints, more soldering and often more wall access. Either can be a sound choice when it is installed to the manufacturer’s instructions.

How a repipe is carried out

  1. Walkthrough and plan. The plumber traces the existing lines and plans new routes through the attic, crawlspace, basement or walls to each fixture.
  2. New lines go in alongside the old. With floors covered, much of the new piping can be run while the existing system still supplies water.
  3. Switchover. The water is shut off, fixtures and the water heater are connected to the new lines, and new stop valves typically go in under sinks and toilets.
  4. Testing. The new system is pressure tested and checked for leaks, and any required inspection happens before the walls close.
  5. Patching. The openings are closed up, to the finish level the estimate describes.

Walls, ceilings and daily life during the work

Repiping is not a demolition project, but it does involve openings. They tend to be small, cut where a line turns, reaches a fixture or crosses framing. A house over a crawlspace or an unfinished basement is usually simpler to reach than a slab home with finished ceilings. Expect the water to be off for parts of the work, and clear the space under sinks and in closets that share a wall with a bathroom. Because a repipe replaces most of the water distribution in a house, find out from the city or county office that issues building permits for your address whether one is needed before work begins.

What the estimate should spell out

A clear written estimate for a repipe names the pipe material, lists which fixtures, hose bibs and appliance connections are included, and says whether new shutoff valves are part of the job. It explains how long the water will be off each working day, roughly how many openings to expect, and who patches them and to what finish. If the line from the meter to the house is just as old, ask whether it is included or priced on its own; that pipe falls under water line repair and replacement.

Whole house repiping by city

Repiping information for each city Alpha serves:

Questions about repiping a house

How long is the water off during a repipe?

It varies with the size and layout of the house. The usual approach is to run the new lines while the old ones still supply water, then shut off the water to make the connections. Where the plan allows, water can be restored at the end of each working day, with a longer shutoff on switchover day. The estimate should say what to expect, so you can plan showers, laundry and cooking around it.

Can part of a house be repiped instead of all of it?

Sometimes. If the failures are limited to one area, such as a single bathroom group or the lines in an exposed basement, a partial repipe can make sense. The trade-off is that the remaining old pipe keeps aging and may fail later, and mixing materials adds transitions. The decision rests on the pipe material, its condition where it can be seen, and where past leaks have happened.

Will repiping fix low water pressure?

It does when the cause is galvanized pipe narrowed by rust, because the new lines bring back the full inside diameter. It does not when the problem lies elsewhere, such as a failing pressure-reducing valve, a leak on the line from the meter, or low pressure from the water provider. A pressure reading at a hose bib and a look at the existing pipe help sort out which it is before you commit to a repipe.

Talk through your piping

If your pipes keep springing leaks or your water pressure keeps sliding, a walkthrough of the house is the place to start. Call Alpha Plumbing and Sewer at (404) 409-4448 to set one up.