Water Service Line Replacement
Water service line replacement means installing a new buried pipe between the water meter and the house, then connecting it to your main shutoff.
See the servicePipes, leaks and water lines
Repiping older Salem homes with PEX or copper
When galvanized pipe has closed up inside or polybutylene keeps failing at the fittings, patching one leak at a time stops making sense. We replace the supply piping throughout the house in a planned, orderly job.
- Answered 24/7
- Price before work starts
- Our own plumbers
Quick answer
Whole-house repiping replaces every hot and cold supply line from the main shutoff to each fixture. We run new PEX or copper, mostly through the crawlspace and attic, and open walls only where a line must rise to a fixture. Consider it when pressure is weak everywhere, water runs rusty, leaks keep returning, or the home still has polybutylene or galvanized steel supply pipe.
A lot of Salem homes built from the early 1900s through the 1940s still carry some of their original galvanized steel water pipe, and homes from the 1980s and 1990s in the South Salem and West Salem hills sometimes have polybutylene. Both materials were common in their day, and both reach a point where repairs come faster than you can schedule them.
Repiping is a bigger project than a repair, but it is usually less disruptive than people expect. Because most houses here sit over a crawlspace, the main runs can travel under the floor, and new lines rise into walls through small openings at each fixture. We plan the route before anything is cut.
How galvanized steel closes up from the inside
Galvanized pipe is steel coated with zinc. Over decades the zinc wears away and the steel underneath rusts, building up scale on the inside wall of the pipe. The opening slowly shrinks, which is why an old house can have fine pressure at the street and a weak trickle at the upstairs shower.
Scale also breaks loose and shows up as brown water after the supply has been shut off, or as grit in faucet screens. The threaded joints are the thinnest part of the pipe, so leaks usually start there. Once several joints are weeping, the rest are rarely far behind.
Polybutylene and why its fittings fail
Polybutylene is a gray or blue plastic supply pipe installed in many homes during the 1980s and early 1990s. It tends to fail without warning, often at the fittings or where the pipe is crimped, and the failures can be sudden rather than a slow drip.
Because the weak points are spread across the whole system, replacing one failed section does little to lower the risk elsewhere. If you see gray plastic tubing stamped with a PB code at your water heater or under sinks, it is worth having us confirm what you have.
Choosing between a PEX and a copper repipe
Both are sound choices for a Salem house, and we install either. The difference is mostly in cost, labor and how the pipe gets through an existing home. Many repipes end up mostly PEX, with copper kept at the water heater or other exposed spots where a homeowner prefers it.
- PEX bends around framing, needs fewer fittings and usually costs less to install
- PEX tolerates freezing better than rigid pipe because it can stretch slightly
- Copper has a long service record and stands up well in exposed locations
- Copper takes more labor because every turn needs a soldered or pressed fitting
- Either pipe works well with Salem's soft city water
What a repipe day looks like inside your house
Most homes are repiped over a few working days, and we restore water to the house at the end of each day whenever the layout allows it. We protect floors and furniture near each work area and keep the openings to what is needed to reach a fixture.
When the new system is in, we pressure test it before any wall is closed, then flush the lines and check every fixture for flow. When a permit is required, we pull it and schedule the inspection. Drywall patching at the openings can be included in the plan if you want it.
Warning signs
Signs your supply pipe has reached the end
- Weak pressure throughoutEvery fixture runs weak even though pressure at the street and the outdoor faucet is normal.
- Brown water after shutoffsWater comes out rusty or tea-colored whenever the supply is turned back on after any repair.
- Repeat leaks at jointsYou have fixed several leaks at threaded fittings within a year or two, each in a different spot.
- Gray plastic supply pipeGray or blue plastic tubing feeds your water heater or sinks, a sign of polybutylene supply lines.
- Grit in faucet screensAerators clog with rust flakes or grit and need cleaning far more often than they should.
- Mixed pipe patchworkThe crawlspace shows a patchwork of galvanized, copper and plastic sections from past emergency repairs.
On the visit
What happens when we come out for whole-house repiping
- 01
Survey every fixture
We trace the existing supply system, note pipe materials and plan the route for each new line through crawlspace, attic or walls.
- 02
Written plan and price
You get the pipe material, the access openings needed, the expected schedule and a price before any work begins.
- 03
Run the new trunk lines
Main hot and cold lines go in first, usually under the floor, with a new main shutoff where it makes sense.
- 04
Connect each fixture
Branches rise to each sink, toilet, shower and appliance through small openings, and each gets a new stop valve.
- 05
Test, flush and inspect
The system is pressure tested, flushed and checked at every fixture, and any required permit inspection is scheduled.
Typical Salem prices
| What is included | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Whole-house repipe, typical Salem home | $5,800 to $14,900 |
| New main shutoff valve at the house entry | $215 to $460 |
| Drywall patching at fixture openings | $690 to $2,140 |
| Water heater connections redone in copper | $289 to $575 |
Size of the home, number of bathrooms, number of stories and pipe choice set the price. The plumber gives you a final price before work starts, after walking the house.
Around Salem
Where we see this most
Repipes are most common in the early 1900s to 1940s homes around Gaiety Hill, Grant and Bush's Pasture Park, where galvanized steel remains, and in South Salem and West Salem hill homes plumbed with polybutylene.
Prices for every service are on one page: the First Choice Rooter price list.
Call (971) 326-9414Questions
Whole-House Repiping: what Salem homeowners ask
How long does a whole-house repiping job take in an average Salem home?
A single-story house over a crawlspace with one or two bathrooms is often repiped in about 2 to 4 working days. Two-story homes and houses with plaster walls take longer because getting lines to the upper floor needs more planning. We give you a schedule with the price, and we restore water at the end of each workday whenever we can.
Will repiping make my water pressure better?
If weak pressure comes from galvanized pipe that has closed up with scale, new pipe usually makes a clear difference, because the full inside diameter is open again. If the low pressure comes from the city supply or a failing pressure regulator, repiping alone will not fix it. We check pressure at the main before recommending a repipe.
Do I have to move out of the house during a repipe?
Most families stay at home. The water is off while we work and back on in the evening in most layouts. Expect some noise, a few rooms with furniture moved away from walls, and small openings at fixtures until they are patched. We tell you each morning which areas we will be working in.
Can you repipe just part of the house instead of all of it?
Yes. Sometimes the main trunk or one bathroom group is in far worse shape than the rest, and replacing that portion is reasonable. The catch with galvanized steel and polybutylene is that the remaining old pipe keeps aging, so partial work often means a second project later. We lay out both options with prices.
Does a whole-house repipe include the drain lines too?
No. Repiping usually refers to the pressurized supply lines that carry water to your fixtures. Drain, waste and vent piping is a separate system. If your crawlspace shows cracked cast iron or failing drain sections, we can inspect and price that work at the same visit, but it is quoted on its own.
Related work
Often booked together
Leak Detection
Leak detection is a step-by-step search for water escaping from your pipes where you cannot see it.
See the servicePressure Regulator Replacement
A pressure regulator, or pressure reducing valve, sits on the main water line and lowers street pressure to a level your plumbing can handle.
See the serviceAvailable across Salem
Water where it should not be? Call now.
A real person answers 24/7. Tell us what the drains are doing and we will send a First Choice Rooter plumber with the right equipment on the truck.