Signs you need a whole home repiping
You should think about repiping your home’s plumbing if:
- Your pipe’s material has reached its average lifespan in Charlotte:
-CPVC: 20–25 years
-Copper: 50 years
-Galvanized iron: 50–65 years
-Galvanized steel: 40–50 years
-Brass: 40 years
- You notice low water pressure. Metal piping (steel, iron and copper) will develop mineral deposits that thicken over time. These deposits reduce the size of the pipe’s passageway, making water flow slower through your plumbing.
- Your pipes are corroding. Discoloration, flaking, or divots or bumps on the outside of your pipes usually means that they’re corroding from the inside. Your pipes will eventually start to crack and leak.
- You get frequent leaks. Water flow puts a lot of pressure on your pipes. As they get older, your pipes will start to form weak spots (usually near joints), which will eventually cause a leak.
- Your water is brown. Another sign that your metal pipes are corroding from the inside is brown or rust-colored water. Over time, steel and iron pipes can start to rust and will carry that rust through your fixtures, which explains the rusty water. The pipes will continue to deteriorate until they crack or burst.
- Your pipes are made of:
-Lead: Lead in drinking water can have negative health effects on people (especially children and pregnant women). Lead pipes are dull grey and so soft that, if you scrape them with a knife or coin, you’ll see a shiny, silver-colored metal underneath. If your home was built before 1920, there’s a chance you have lead piping.
-Polybutylene: While polybutylene pipes aren’t known to cause health problems, they do become brittle over time and will eventually crack or burst. You know you have polybutylene pipes if they’re white or gray and have the letters “PB” printed on them. If your home was built before the mid-1990s, your home probably has polybutylene piping.
Best pipe material for repiping a home
In our professional opinion, the best materials to repipe a house in the Charlotte area are PEX and PVC.
However, you can’t just pick which material you want to use. That’s because the IRC (International Residential Code) has strict regulations on which pipe materials can be used where. We’ll break down where each pipe material can be used.
Inside your home
-Supply lines: PEX
-Drain lines: PVC
Outside your home
-Main water line: Both
-Main sewer line: PVC
Need help from a professional plumber? Call us at (704) 357-0484 or contact us online and we’ll get back to you in just 5 minutes.
