One leak under the sink is a repair. A second leak in a different room a few months later is a pattern. When the pipes in your walls start failing in more than one place, patching them one at a time gets expensive and stressful, and a whole-house re-pipe often makes more sense.
Here are the signs we look for in homes around Greensboro, Summerfield, Oak Ridge and Stokesdale, and what a re-pipe actually involves.
6 signs it may be time to re-pipe
1. Leaks keep showing up in different places
A single leak usually means a single bad fitting or a damaged section of pipe. Leaks that keep popping up in different spots usually mean the pipe itself is wearing out. Fixing one leak doesn’t stop the next one. If you’re not sure where water is coming from, start with leak detection so you know what you’re dealing with.
2. You have gray plastic polybutylene pipe
If your home was built or plumbed roughly between the late 1970s and the mid-1990s, it may have polybutylene: flexible gray plastic supply pipe. Polybutylene can break down from the inside, especially at the fittings, and it can fail without much warning. It’s no longer accepted by building codes for water supply. Not sure what you have? Our polybutylene pipe check will tell you.
3. Rusty, brown or metallic-tasting water
Many older homes have galvanized steel pipe. Over decades it rusts from the inside, which can turn your water brown or give it a metallic taste. If it only happens with hot water, the water heater may be the culprit instead, and we can check both.
4. Low water pressure at more than one fixture
One weak faucet is usually a clogged aerator or a bad valve. Low pressure across the whole house can mean corroded pipe has narrowed on the inside and is restricting flow.
5. Pinhole leaks in copper pipe
Copper lasts a long time, but some homes develop tiny pinhole leaks, often a sign the pipe is thinning. One pinhole can be repaired. Repeated pinholes usually mean more are on the way.
6. You’re remodeling anyway
If walls and floors are already open for a kitchen or bathroom remodel, it’s the easiest and most cost-effective time to replace old supply lines. Since we’re licensed electricians and plumbers, we can handle both trades in the same project.
What a re-pipe involves
A re-pipe replaces the hot and cold water supply lines that feed your fixtures, usually from the main shutoff through the house. Our re-pipes use PEX, a flexible, corrosion-resistant supply pipe that’s well suited to running through existing walls and crawl spaces.
Every home is different. Whether your plumbing runs through a crawl space, a slab or finished walls changes the approach. Here’s how it works with us:
- Send us the form. Tell us what’s going on.
- We walk through your home and look at the existing plumbing.
- You get a written estimate and a plain-language explanation of the scope. Estimates are subject to on-site inspection.
- We plan the work around your household, then complete the re-pipe, test the system, and walk you through it before we leave.
Repair or re-pipe?
Not every leak means you need a re-pipe. If your pipes are in good shape overall, a repair is the right call, and we’ll tell you so. A re-pipe makes sense when the pipe material itself is the problem: polybutylene, badly corroded galvanized steel, or copper that keeps springing leaks. Learn more on our Whole House Re-Pipe page.
Request a free re-pipe estimate
Custom Electric and Plumbing is a licensed, insured, veteran-owned company based in Summerfield, serving Greensboro and the Triad for more than 18 years (NC Plumbing License #33755). If you’re seeing any of these signs, request a free estimate online and we’ll take a look. See all of our plumbing services.
