Whole house re-pipe (Houston, Katy: how much, inspection, income)

[jwtomt2day]

Unfortunately we need to repipe our home.
The 1975 galvinized has run its course. We are thinking type L copper. Looking for any recommendations for a good, licensed plumber who pulls permits and can sweat the hell out of some copper. If there is any reason why you think that's a bad idea, we'd like to hear about it. Thanks

[imback]

If the electrical wiring is also the 1975 original, it's also on its last legs, and up for replacement anyway in the near future. So you might consider having the house re-wired at the same time the re-plumbing is done. Yes, no fun to consider the additional expense, but some tasks (like pulling permits) can be consolidated and your house (and life) will only be disrupted once if the work for both is done at the same time. The wiring can be also modernized to handle the increased number of electronic devices people - more wall outlets/ per room, broad-band cables/wires, etc... Not to mention the safety aspects of good electrical wiring.

[DSL_PWR]

Why not PEX piping?

[HookTheBrotherUp]

Pex will be cheaper, and easier for the plumbers to install. I brought an old house in Montrose and was able to have all the walls opened and exposed, so it was not a problem for me, but I went with type L copper myself. More expensive, but I wanted it for the antimicrobial effect which you won't get with Pex. In the end, it is what you prefer, and can afford. I did not hire a plumber, I did all the work, but I did pull a permit and had it inspected. I did get my copper from U-Plumb it on Montrose, they sell copper made in the USA, not the Chinese product sold at the box stores, and I got them to deliver the 20' pipes to my home. Good luck!

BTW, I want to say I paid between $400-600 for the copper and fittings less than 2 years ago. And about fifteen years, or so ago, I had a home in Katy that I had redone in copper for the same reason you are doing it, and I hired a plumber, and he had a helper, and that cost about 2K. Copper has gone up a lot since, so you can see it will get expensive. If you live in the unincorporated areas, chances are you will not need a permit, just hire a good plumber.

[jwtomt2day]

I heard that copper has come down in price. Our main reason for wanting copper is the fear that the PEX will fail in 25 years-right when we hit retirement and have a fixed income.

PEX is cheaper---until you have to do it again.

The initial electrical inspection went well but I'll check out the need for an upgrade.

Any plumber recommendations?

[ipuck]

Originally Posted by jwtomt2day

I heard that copper has come down in price. Our main reason for wanting copper is the fear that the PEX will fail in 25 years-right when we hit retirement and have a fixed income.

PEX is cheaper---until you have to do it again.

The initial electrical inspection went well but I'll check out the need for an upgrade.

Any plumber recommendations?

Chance of you staying in the house for 25 years is less than 10% and even lower here in Houston.

[PedroMartinez]

This thread got me wondering about the life of PVC. I Googled it and found that PVC has a life of greater than 100 years for plumbing.

That gave me a little peace of mind.

The effects of UV on PVC is kind of debated, but it looks to not cause much of an issue.

Originally Posted by ipuck

Chance of you staying in the house for 25 years is less than 10% and even lower here in Houston.

Even at 5%, that is close to 200,000 people.

Additionally, I see Houston as becoming less transient in the future and people staying in homes longer.

[jwtomt2day]

Who still does PVC?

[jwtomt2day]

I would like a pvc quote as well.

[Ghost Town]

So how much it would cost to re-pipe and re-wire let's say an average size house with average industry standard materials? Just curious, but need to know for future.