Copper Repipe in Santa Cruz

Copper or PEX. Copper is proven, rigid, and lasts decades. PEX is flexible, faster to route through finished walls, and resists the pinholing that copper can develop in aggressive water. We will tell you which makes sense for your house rather than defaulting to whichever is easier for us.

Pressure comes back. The most common reaction after a repipe is that showers and fixtures work like they did when the house was new. That is corroded pipe removed, not a pressure regulator adjustment.

Discolored water stops. The rust is corrosion product shedding off the inside of your pipe. New pipe, no rust.

Leak risk drops to near zero. Pinhole leaks in old galvanized tend to arrive in clusters once the material reaches end of life, often inside walls where they cause damage before anyone notices.

Permitted and inspected. A repipe is permitted work. We pull it and schedule the inspection so it is documented properly, which matters at resale.

How a repipe actually runs

Walkthrough and quote. We look at what material you have, where it runs, how many fixtures, and what the wall and ceiling access is like. Access drives the price more than the pipe does. You get a flat number.

Permit. Repiping is permitted work. We pull it before starting.

Rough-in. New lines run alongside the old wherever possible, which keeps open wall time down. Most houses stay livable throughout, with water off for part of each working day rather than the whole job.

Inspection. The inspector sees open walls before anything is closed up.

Patch and finish. Drywall repaired and textured. Ask us up front what level of finish is included, because this is where quotes differ most between contractors and where people get surprised.

How long it takes

A single-story two-bath house is typically a few days. Two stories, more bathrooms, a slab foundation, or plaster walls instead of drywall all add time. Anyone quoting you a duration before seeing the house is guessing.

Signs you are close to needing one

Rusty or brown water when a tap is first opened in the morning. Pressure that has dropped so gradually you adjusted to it. More than one pinhole leak in a year. Visible corrosion or heavy scaling on exposed pipe at the water heater or under the house. Any two of these together in a pre-1960 house usually means the system is at end of life rather than having one bad section.

Related work

If your trouble is the sewer lateral rather than the supply lines — backups rather than pressure loss — see trenchless sewer repair in Capitola. For everything we cover across the county, start at our Santa Cruz plumber page.