Whole House Repiping in Richmond, VA

Repiping

Whole house repiping in Richmond replaces the water supply lines that feed every faucet, toilet, shower and appliance in the house. It sounds like a big job, and it is a planned one, but most repipes take only a few working days and the water is back on every evening. When the pipes in a house have started failing along their length, a repipe usually costs less than the string of repairs it replaces, and it ends the worry about the next leak.

Signs it may be time

• Leak after leak. One leak is a repair. A third or fourth leak in different places on the same type of pipe means the pipe itself is wearing out.
• Low pressure everywhere. Galvanized steel pipe rusts from the inside until the opening is a fraction of its old size. If every shower is weak, not just one, the pipes are the likely cause.
• Rusty or discolored water. Brown water when a tap first opens often comes from corroding steel pipe.
• Polybutylene lines. Gray plastic supply pipe was common in homes built from the late seventies through the mid-nineties. It can become brittle and split without warning, and some insurers ask about it.
• Pinhole leaks in copper. Older copper can wear thin and develop tiny leaks, often showing as green spots or a slow drip from a joint.

Repair first, repipe when it is time

Not every old pipe needs replacing. Copper in good condition can last a very long time, and a single failed fitting is just a repair. We show you what we see, sometimes by cutting out a short section of the old pipe so you can look inside it, and we tell you honestly whether the rest of the system has years left. When we do recommend a repipe, the quote puts the cost of the likely repairs beside the cost of the repipe so you can see why.

How a repipe works

Before any work starts, the permit is filed and the new runs are planned so the wall openings are as few and as small as possible. On each working day the floors and furniture near the work are covered, the water is shut off and the new lines are run to the rooms on that day’s plan. Each new run is pressure tested before its wall is closed, and the water is back on by the evening.

On the last day the openings are patched, the old pipe is hauled away and every fixture in the house is run and checked for leaks. After the inspection is passed, you get one folder with the closed permit, the photos of the work and the warranty papers.

What the quote covers

The written quote lists what is replaced: the main line from the shut-off, the hot and cold supply to each fixture, the connections at the water heater, and any shut-off valves we add along the way so each fixture can be isolated later. It says how many days the work takes, how the water schedule runs each day and how the wall openings are closed. Anything we can’t know until a wall is open, such as rotten framing behind a leaky shower, is priced as a separate line so nothing is added later without your say.

Older houses around Richmond

Many Richmond row houses and older brick homes have supply pipe from several eras, with galvanized steel in one place, copper in another and plastic added during a renovation. Crawl space houses in Henrico and Chesterfield often have lines that are easy to reach from below, which can make a repipe quicker. Each house is planned on its own.

A single active leak is covered under leak repair, and a repipe is a good time to replace an older water heater as well, which our water heater page explains. We repipe houses across Richmond, Glen Allen and Midlothian.

Repiping by town

• Repiping in Richmond, VAFrom the Fan and Church Hill row houses to the brick ranches on the South Side, we fix leaks, clear drains and replace tired pipes and water heaters across the city.
• Repiping in Glen Allen, VANewer subdivisions and older homes off Mountain Road alike: water heaters, slow drains and the plastic supply lines that split behind a wall.
• Repiping in Midlothian, VAWooded lots, long sewer runs and roots that find every joint, plus winter nights cold enough to split a pipe in a crawl space.

Guides

• Frozen and Burst Pipes in Richmond: What to DoWhat to do about frozen and burst pipes in Richmond, which pipes are most at risk, how to thaw a line safely and how to keep it from happening again.
• Repiping an Older Richmond House, Step by StepWhat repiping an older Richmond house involves, which old pipes cause trouble, how to tell if yours need replacing and what to ask before you agree to a quote.

Questions about repiping

• How long does a repipe take?

  Most single-family houses take two to four working days, depending on the size of the house, how many bathrooms it has and how easy the walls and crawl space are to reach. The written quote gives the number of days for your house before you agree to anything.

• Will I have water during the repipe?

  Yes, in the evenings. The water is off during the working day while the old and new lines are connected, and we leave it back on each night so you can cook, wash and use the bathrooms as normal.

• PEX or copper?

  Both last a long time when installed well. PEX is flexible, so it runs through walls with fewer and smaller openings, resists freezing better and costs less. Copper suits exposed runs and owners who prefer it. The quote can price both so you can choose.

• Do I need to move out?

  Almost never. Most owners stay home throughout. We work one area at a time, cover floors and furniture where we work, and clean up at the end of every day.