Know your pipes before you pay to replace them
How galvanized and copper fail, how copper and PEX compare, and what a repipe does to a slab or raised-foundation house in Fullerton. Read the one that matches your symptom first.
- Copper or PEX: choosing the pipe for your repipe
Both copper and PEX are accepted for home water supply when installed to code. The better choice depends on your house, the routes available and how carefully the work is done.
- Galvanized supply pipe: why it fails and what replaces it
Galvanized steel corrodes from the inside until the opening narrows. In older Fullerton homes it is the most common reason for a whole-house repipe.
- Pinhole leaks in copper: repair, or time to repipe?
A pinhole leak is a tiny hole worn through copper pipe. One is a repair. Several in different places usually means the copper is thinning throughout the house.
- Partial or whole-house repipe: which one fits your house
A partial repipe replaces one branch or area; a whole-house repipe replaces every supply line. The right scope depends on how much of the old pipe is still sound.
- Fittings, joints and valves: the parts of a repipe that matter most
Most repipe leaks happen at joints, not along straight pipe. Knowing the fitting methods helps you ask better questions before work starts.
- Repiping a slab home overhead through the attic
In single-story slab homes, new supply lines usually run through the attic and drop down inside walls to each fixture, leaving the old under-slab pipe abandoned.
- Slab leaks: spot repair, reroute or repipe
A slab leak is a supply line leaking in or under the concrete floor. The fix ranges from opening the floor at one spot to rerouting every line overhead.
- What drives the cost of a repipe
No two repipes are priced the same. Knowing what moves the number helps you compare written quotes on the same scope instead of just the bottom line.
- Permits and inspections for a repipe
A whole-house repipe generally needs a building permit and inspection. Requirements and fees are set locally, so confirm them with the City of Fullerton.
- Wall openings and patching: what a repipe does to your walls
A repipe needs access holes at fixtures and along routes. Agreeing in writing on how those openings get closed and finished avoids the most common repipe disappointment.
- Living at home during a repipe
Most families stay in the house during a repipe. A clear schedule of water shutoffs and room access makes the difference between manageable and miserable.
- Rusty or discolored water: finding the source
Discolored water can come from galvanized pipe, a rusting water heater or disturbance in the city's mains. A few simple tests narrow it down.
- Low water pressure: from simple fixes to a repipe
Low pressure has many causes, and most are cheaper than a repipe. Work through them in order before deciding the pipes are the problem.
- Hard water and the plumbing in your Fullerton home
Fullerton's water is hard. Scale does not cause every pipe failure, but it adds wear to pipes, valves, fixtures and water heaters over decades.
- Hiring a plumber for a whole-house repipe
A repipe is a big job inside your home. Check the license, compare written scopes and make sure the contract says what will actually be done.