Is it worth it to re-pipe your house? We won’t keep you in suspense. The short answer is, “Of course, if your home genuinely needs it”.
We sometimes encounter homeowners of older homes who have a single plumbing or drainage issue that is recurring due to a less than professional repair at some point in the past, and think that because the problem wasn’t or isn’t solved, the plumbing in the entire structure is suspect. But old pipes aren’t bad pipes. Bad repairs of old pipes just make old pipes look bad.
What’s equally common are homeowners of older, pre-war homes who have had multiple, separate issues that required repairs (successful or not) who don’t recognize that multiple points of failure within an older plumbing system are indicative of systemic failure. Their pipes will, unfortunately, likely continue to fail. If they’re lucky, those failures won’t cause a lot of damage. If they’re not, the damage caused will be far, far more expensive than just replacing the entire house’s piping.
When most people think of replacing the entirety of their home’s plumbing with new pipes, they also think of the added expenses of new drywall (or worse, new lathe and plaster), trim, paint, etc. After all, getting to the pipes is a problem. But in many cases, we can remove old pipes and feed in new lines with minimal deconstruction. There will always be some need for wall repairs, but it’s usually much less than homeowners would assume.
By contrast, a burst pipe on the 2nd floor of a two story home can destroy quite a bit and leave a home susceptible to mold. Waterlogged drywall has to be replaced, floors can buckle to the point they have to be replaced and anything that gets wet and can’t be dried out can be ruined.
So if your pipes are old and you’re having issues with leaks in numerous places, it might be a good idea to get a quote for a whole house re-piping. It will probably be less expensive and less involved than you would think.
