Estimate whole-house repipe cost in 2026. Compare PEX and copper repiping prices by home size, bathrooms, and foundation type, adjusted for your state.
Estimate the cost to replace all supply lines in your home.
Estimates use 2026 average cost data adjusted for your state. Actual pricing depends on access, existing conditions, and local material costs. Always get a written quote before authorizing work.
A whole-house repipe replaces every supply line in the home. It is one of the largest plumbing projects a homeowner takes on, and the quotes vary more than almost any other job — spreads of 40 percent or more between contractors on identical scope are routine. Knowing what drives the number is how you tell a fair bid from a padded one.
Repiping makes sense when the failures have stopped being isolated events. Repeated pinhole leaks in copper, any remaining galvanized steel supply lines, polybutylene piping (common in homes built roughly 1978 to 1995), water that runs rusty or discolored, or pressure that has degraded across the whole house all point the same direction. The tipping point is usually the second or third leak in eighteen months — at that stage you are paying repair prices repeatedly on a system that is telling you it is done.
PEX has become the default in most of the country. It installs with far fewer joints, flexes rather than splitting during a freeze, resists scale, and costs roughly half what copper does installed. Copper lasts longer, is unaffected by UV and rodents, and carries some resale credibility. In areas with acidic or aggressive water chemistry, copper develops the very pinhole leaks that prompted the repipe in the first place. Ask local plumbers what they install in your water conditions rather than deciding on material reputation.
A repipe requires cutting access holes throughout the house. Whether the plumber patches, textures, and paints those holes is the single biggest reason two quotes differ, and it is frequently buried in the fine print. Permit and inspection are also mandatory and should appear as a line item. If one bid is dramatically lower, check those two items first — that is usually where the difference lives.
| Home size | PEX | Copper | Typical timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1,200 sq ft | $3,000–$7,000 | $5,500–$12,000 | 1–2 days |
| 1,200–2,000 sq ft | $4,500–$10,000 | $8,000–$18,000 | 2–3 days |
| 2,000–3,000 sq ft | $6,500–$14,000 | $11,000–$25,000 | 3–5 days |
| 3,000–4,000 sq ft | $9,000–$18,000 | $15,000–$32,000 | 4–6 days |
| Over 4,000 sq ft | $12,000–$26,000 | $20,000–$45,000 | 5–10 days |
| Factor | Effect on price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bathroom count | +8–10% per bath over two | More fixtures means more runs and terminations |
| Stories | +8% per additional story | Vertical runs and more wall access |
| Slab foundation | +15% | Lines reroute through attic and walls |
| Drywall patch and paint | $400–$2,500 | Often quoted separately — verify |
| Permit and inspection | $90–$450 | Mandatory in nearly all jurisdictions |
| Copper over PEX | +50–90% | Material and labor both increase |
Two to five days for most homes. You typically lose water for part of each working day but have it restored overnight. Larger or multi-story homes run five to ten days. Drywall patching and painting happens after the plumbing inspection passes and adds a few more days if the plumber handles it.
Usually not. Most homeowners stay, since water is generally restored at the end of each day. It is dusty and disruptive work with open walls and crews moving through the house, so people with respiratory sensitivities or small children sometimes choose to stay elsewhere for the roughest days.
Yes. PEX is approved under all major plumbing codes in the United States and is certified to NSF/ANSI 61 for potable water. New PEX can impart a slight taste for the first few weeks, which resolves after normal use flushes the system. Some homeowners still prefer copper for the main kitchen line as a matter of preference.
Almost never. Repiping is treated as maintenance and replacement of a system that has reached end of life, which policies exclude. Insurance may cover the water damage caused by a leak that prompted the repipe, but not the new pipe. Some insurers reduce premiums after a documented repipe, particularly where polybutylene has been removed — worth calling to ask.
Repiping normally covers supply lines only. Drain and waste lines are a separate system and a separate project. If your home has cast iron drains approaching end of life and the walls are already open, doing both together saves considerable labor and demolition cost. Ask for a combined quote if a camera inspection shows the drains are also failing.
Polybutylene is gray, sometimes blue or black, flexible plastic roughly half an inch to one inch in diameter, usually stamped PB2110. Check at the water heater, near the main shutoff, and at exposed connections under sinks. It was installed widely between about 1978 and 1995 and fails unpredictably from the inside. Most insurers and many buyers treat its presence as a serious defect.
Water damage compounds every minute it continues. Licensed plumbers are available 24 hours a day, including weekends and holidays.
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