One of the components of a house that is expected to last for a very long time (sometimes as long as the house itself) is the piping system. This is not to say that damages won’t occur that will require repair.
However, instead of waiting for the damage to occur first, with residential repiping, you can maintain the piping system in your home to prevent future damages. This maintenance process ensures that your pipes don’t waste away or fail which could lead to all kinds of issues.
Therefore, in this article, we will tell you all you need to know about residential repiping to ensure that you are well-informed about the whole process.
Residential Repiping Explained
When we talk about repiping, we are referring to the process involved in replacing the pipes in a building’s plumbing system. It involves replacing the pipes of the initial system with higher quality material as well as rerouting the pipes (if such is required).
As a result of the complexity of this process, you will need to hire the services of a plumbing compnay. While you might try to do it yourself, chances are you’ll get to a point where you’ll end up calling for help. Therefore, you should call for help from the get-go.
When do you Require Residential Repiping?
While residential repiping is necessary to maintain your piping system, not all homes require this process. For instance, a new house that has just been fitted with its plumbing system doesn’t require repiping (except there is an unexpected occurrence).
Therefore, the following are the reasons that will require you to repipe your residential building:
1. The House is Old
If the home you are living in is more than fifty years old, then you need to consider the process of repiping your home. This is important because the pipes were usually made of galvanized steel and staying for such long periods would have corroded the material. Read this article to learn about the factors that affect galvanized steel.
2. Your Water is contaminated
If the water that comes out of your pipes contains minerals or rust, you should repipe. Such brown or red particles in the water are a sign that the rust in the pipe has built up over time. Therefore, you need to call a plumbing company to come and repipe your home.
3. Leaks
Leaks might not require you to repipe the system as pipes are likely to leak from time to time. However, if you notice that the leakage has increased, and you are constantly fixing leaks, it is an indication that your piping system is in trouble. The best solution is to repipe the whole system.
Also Read: Ways You Can Clear a Blocked Drain
How Residential Repiping Works
Since you won’t be carrying out the process yourself, you will have to contact a reputable plumbing company or plumber. The plumber will then visit your home and assess your plumbing system. Based on their assessment, they will resolve whether to shut off the supply of water to your home completely or do a bypass.
The plumber will then work from late mornings to early evenings. This is convenient if you are going to work during those times. Hence, your routine at home will not be disrupted in any way. Even if you stay at home or work from home, a professional will ensure that the disruption is minimal within and around the home.
The period it takes to complete the process depends on the ability of the plumber and the plumbing system of your home. In most cases, the process shouldn’t exceed a week.
The first thing that will be done by the plumber is to cover your furniture and floor. This is done to prevent these things from being damaged by dust or water. Next, they will make little clinical incisions in the ceiling and drywall to enable them to find the pipes. An experienced plumber will be careful in doing this to prevent excessive damage to the walls and ceilings.
In case you have a pipe that runs underneath the floor, the plumber will get to it via the ceiling that is underneath the floor. If the pipe is on the ground bottom floor, it will be excavated out of the ground as carefully as possible.
After the pipes have been located, they are then taken out and replaced with new pipes. In most cases, the replacement pipes are PEX, CPVC, or copper. Visit https://www.bobvila.com/ to learn more about PEX pipes.
Once they are done with the replacement, the walls that have been damaged in the process will be patched up and then repainted. If you are remodeling, you can ask the professionals to include more pipes to meet your new design.
What are the Advantages of Residential Repiping?
The following are the advantages of residential repiping:
1. Your Water is Clean and Healthy
When you repipe your home, the water that flows out will not have a smell or rust particles. Since new materials such as PEX are used for pipings these days, the rusting and corrosion problem that old galvanized pipes had won’t be an issue. Hence, you get to enjoy clean and healthy water.
2. Prevents Plumbing Issues in the Future
While the current cost of repiping the whole system might seem huge, it will pale in comparison to future and recurrent repair costs. Moreover, when you repipe your home, it can last for years without any problems due to the pipe materials that are used these days.
3. Insurance Claims become Fewer
When the pipes in your home aren’t always leaking, you experience fewer damages, which in turn means that your insurance claims become fewer. Consequently, this lowers the insurance rates and leads to improved cash flow in your direction.
Conclusion
In the article above, we have been able to share important information you need to know about residential repiping. We have explained what it means, when you require it, how it works and the advantages you stand to gain from executing this maintenance process.