Can you explain re piping? (Cape Coral, Venice: real estate, condo, house)

[beerme1]

I notice frequently in real estate ads the term home was repiped in 07 etc. It seems more frequent in homes that are 10-15 years old.
Does this mean what i think it means? That after 10 years you need to replace all internal plumbing? Is this copper or pvc?
I am admitedly a little confused on the term repiped.
I will say that I appreciate the fact that most people on city data are helpful in the same way that most people on TripAdvisor.com are.
Me included!

Thanks.

[loves2read]

some of water that comes through piping into the home is very acidic--it eats away at copper/metal piping

my daughter's condo (in Venice) was built back in the 80s I think and it was re-piped about 2 summers ago--
they put in PVC pipes--they had to move all people out of one section to do it and then went to the second section
it is not cheap
some people have homes with well water--I would think those would really be ones to watch...
not all areas are effected as much as others...
Venice is bad area from what I understand but I am not FL resident and what I am giving you is what I understood from my daughter's explanation and other info on the board...

[kbuild]

Most areas in SWFL used and buried copper plumbing under the slabs. So when te pipe bursts the water will infiltrate the home under the slab. So now plumbing companies will use CPVC pipe. This will last for years and the pipe is ran from the walls in and out to the service main. No more breking up concrete for repairs.

[d4g4m]

Actually, our water supply is very alkaline, opposite of acid. The ph is higher than 7. That's why we have to use so much soap to get a lather.
Plumbing supply lines are copper, waste lines are pvc.
Our water supply on a ph scale is a high alkaline also known as 'hard' water. Just about all supply lines are under the slab floor then have up lines to a fixture. The water being 'hard' is corrosive and is causing what is known as 'pin holeing' in a lot of copper pipes in the area. If you have a leak near a fixture, you will know it. A way to check if you have a leak under the slab is to turn off the supply to toilets [to discount a tank flap valve leak] then look at your water meter. Besides the 'gallon dial', there is a leak detector, a quarter inch circle that will show water movement [meaning a leak] or blue [no leak]. Leaks under the slab are almost impossible to find or repair. Re-piping is done through the attic.
Along with corrosive actions of our water - over the years you may have noticed that you're turning the faucet valve more to the left to get the same water temperature as years ago. This is because the water heater rods are encrusted with calcium deposits and not being able to heat the water in an efficient manner [also increasing your electric bill] You should also drain the tank at least once a year to remove debris and gunk. [Be certain to turn off the electric to the tank at the fuse box or you will burn out the rods]

[MrTudo]

We had to have our house done here in PC a few months ago. We used the Waterworks from Cape Coral.

One major advertiser in the yellow pages here in PC tried to rip us off for $8,000.00, then realizing they weren't getting the job dropped to $5,000.00. And that did not include fixing the holes in the walls, finising the knock down paint etc

The Waterworks guys did it all for less than $3,000 and that DID include repair of the holes and their knock down people did such an amazing job, you cannot tell they were even here. I highly recommend them.

[beerme1]

Interesting replies. But am seeing a mixed message here regarding copper and pvc. Mr Tudo was your new job all pvc? I don't know what CPVC is I'm afraid.
And why would they build them like this in the first place? I mean really? Having to tear up someones slab seems unreal to me. That seems like there was no thought in planning the design.

[beerme1]

Mr Tudo, I searched for the term re piping before posting my thread and didn't get results. I stumbled on your post RE-Piping a house? and it is informative. Thank you!
Although I'm at a loss why I didn't find it when searching. Oh well.

[MrTudo]

It's not pvc, I'm not sure what it is. CPVC? I could probably dig out the invoice but am too bogged down in work right now to do so.

Why would they build them this way? What way? I'm the last person to ask to defend any of the nonsense that goes on in the building trade but in this case I'm not sure they knew how bad the water was and how it interacts with the copper. This is a worldwide issue. My inlaws place in SE Asia had STEEL pipes. Yuck. Now it's all pvc type material.

However, DO take this seriously as it affects more than your wallet. This stuff ( the water ) will KILL you. Take this seriously as it really does increase the likelyhood of heart disease, atherosclerosis, and other vascular problems.

So even if your house has not been affected and you don't need a repipe YET, YOU are being affected and slowly but surely you are being damaged physically, internally.

This ain't the Poconos. Water isn't flowing from some pure and natural spring. Not here it isn't and not in most places in the US and world. So take appropriate action so you can hopefully avoid the cardio-thoracic surgeons, or worse.

[MrTudo]

Originally Posted by beerme1

Having to tear up someones slab seems unreal to me. That seems like there was no thought in planning the design.

Well and the alternative is also a concern as now you have pipes up thru the attic of the house. A water break up there and there's going to be a major problem with drywall, mold etc. But it seems to beat putting them in the slab.

No other way to do it. Basements are not an option here.

Then there's the cost factor.

[beerme1]

Originally Posted by MrTudo

No other way to do it. Basements are not an option here.

I've never seen this repiping issue in my life. But then there are basements up here so I guess that's why. But when I lived in GA. for 4 years it was not an issue I had ever heard of either but what you're saying makes sense.