If you need to replace the water pipes in your home, you have a choice between using a general plumbing contractor or a repiping specialist for your plumbing replacement. Some homes have serious plumbing issues that require all of the water distribution plumbing to be replaced. The most common reason for a whole house repiping is because the home was plumbed with polybutylene pipes.
After polybutylene pipes were installed in millions of American homes built from the mid 1970’s to the mid1990’s, it was discovered chlorine in municipal water supplies reacted with the pipe led to pipe failures. Polybutylene pipe was taken off the market, but many homeowners are still dealing with the after effects.
Most general plumbing contractors can handle a repiping, but you are probably better off hiring a plumber who specializes in commercial and residential repiping. Replacing all of the pipes in your home involves locating and removing the original plumbing and installing new PVC, CPVC, PEX or copper pipes.
The original pipes can run through the basement, crawlspace, or attic and are often hidden in walls, ceilings and floors. If the home was built on a concrete slab, the plumbing may run under the slab or be embedded in the concrete.
A residential repiping specialist who has handled hundreds or thousands of commercial and residential repipings will have developed techniques for replacing the piping with minimal damage to your home. They will have a better feel for what type of replacement pipe works best and how to run the new piping if access to the old piping is limited.
In addition, in most cases holes have to be cut in walls, floors or ceilings and a repiping specialist may have contractors who can quickly and professionally make the necessary repairs.
