Is Copper A Good Choice For My Home Repipe?

Is Copper Piping a Good Choice for a Home Repipe?

Copper piping has been a trusted and popular choice for repiping projects for decades, offering numerous advantages for whole home repipes and ensuring reliable performance for both hot and cold water throughout the home.

In residential plumbing systems, copper piping is valued for its durability, resistance to corrosion, non-toxicity, efficient heat transfer, versatility, and aesthetic appeal. It comes in various sizes and types to meet different plumbing needs, making it an ideal choice for high-quality water pipes in a home.

Here at Repipe Specialists, we exclusively use high-quality Type L copper piping for our whole home copper repipes. This American-made copper piping is known for its strength and long-lasting durability, making it suitable for the full network of water pipes in your home.

For more information, you can read our article on the different types of copper piping.

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What are the Advantages of Copper Piping?

Copper has been a popular choice for home repipes for several reasons:

• Durability and Longevity: Copper piping is renowned for its durability and longevity, with a lifespan of up to 50 years. Unlike some other piping materials, copper can withstand high pressures and temperature fluctuations without compromising its structural integrity.



• Health and Safety: Copper is a non-toxic material that does not release harmful substances into the water supply, ensuring the health and safety of your household. It is resistant to bacterial growth, providing clean and safe drinking water. Copper pipes also have a higher resistance to fire compared to some plastic piping options, adding an extra layer of safety to your home.
• Versatility: One of the significant advantages of copper piping is its versatility. Copper pipes can be shaped and bent to fit various layouts and configurations of your home. In comparison to PEX tubing, copper is not affected by UV light, making it more versatile in areas that are exposed to sunlight or the outdoors.

Together, these benefits make copper piping a reliable, long-lasting, and safe choice for any whole home repipe.

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When Is Copper Not a Good Choice for a Home Repipe?

While copper piping is a proven and long-lasting repipe material, it is not always the most practical or cost-effective choice for every home. Several factors can influence whether copper is the right solution.

1. Water quality and corrosion risk: Water chemistry plays a significant role in the performance of copper tubing. Homes with highly acidic or aggressive water can experience accelerated corrosion, particularly in pipes with thinner wall thickness. Over time, this can lead to pinhole leaks, reduced pipe lifespan, and an increased risk of hidden water damage.
2. Higher upfront cost: Copper repiping typically involves higher material and labour costs due to the soldering required at each joint and the added complexity of tying into components such as the water heater. For homeowners on a tighter budget, these upfront costs may outweigh the long-term benefits of copper pipes.
3. Installation challenges in slab homes: Copper may be less suitable for homes built on concrete slab foundations. Installing rigid metal pipes in these environments often requires more extensive wall and ceiling access compared to flexible piping systems, increasing labour time and restoration costs.

A professional repipe company (like ours) can assess your home's plumbing layout, existing metal pipes, water quality, and budget to help determine whether copper is the best repipe option.

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Copper vs PEX: What Should I Repipe With?

Although there are several advantages to repiping with copper, PEX is rapidly emerging as the preferred material for home repipes.

On average, copper costs more upfront compared to materials like PEX tubing. This is due to material production and the installation process, which necessitates extensive labor for soldering every connection and joint in the plumbing.

While copper pipes can be vulnerable to highly acidic or alkaline water with a high mineral content, PEX tubing offers superior chemical resistance in these conditions. Unlike metal pipes, PEX is not prone to corrosion or pinhole leaks, making it a durable option for homes with aggressive water chemistry.

Performing regular inspections and maintenance on your copper pipes, including checking for signs of corrosion, can help promptly identify and address any issues.

Ultimately, if you want to steer clear of plastic piping, need to install plumbing in areas exposed to UV light, or have encountered issues with other plastic pipes like polybutylene and CPVC in the past, copper is still a reliable option for repiping your home.

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Get a Quote for your Home Repipe

Here at Repipe Specialists, we've fully replaced the plumbing in over 75,000 homes since 1991. A copper repipe will save you financially into the future (we back our repipes with a lifetime warranty). We continually get positive customer feedback from customers about their overall home repipe experiences. We often exceed their expectations on:

• Speed: Our repipe crews typically complete a repipe in a day, returning on another day for wall patching.
• Convenience: Through our One-Stop Repipe™ process, we handle everything from permits, to wall patching, to inspections.
• Cleanliness: Our crews are trained to protect your home while working (we cover all surfaces with protective sheeting), and to clean up fully at the end of each day.
• Peace of Mind: Repipe Specialists is a fully licensed plumber in every state we operate in, and we back all of our repipes with a lifetime warranty.
• Financing programs: To help take the sting out of unplanned repipe expenses, we offer several financing programs.
• Price: As a specialist that performs hundreds of repipes a week, we can deliver high quality repipes at a lower cost vs generalist plumbers. We have an article that covers repipe cost factors in detail. Our quotes typically range from $4,500 to $15,000 depending on the size and complexity of your project.

Schedule a free in-home consult, and one of our local repipe consultants will explain your copper repipe options and provide you with a written, fixed-price quote.

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