The Homeowner’s Checklist of Signs You Need Whole-House Repiping

Unfortunately, a lot of homeowners do not realize that their piping may not be in good shape or up to today’s standards. Most types of plumbing pipe have an expected service life that can be shorter or longer than one may expect depending on conditions. And if you wait until your piping fails, then you can have a serious mess on your hands. 

Repiping in the Vancouver area is our business and area of expertise, and we recommend repiping before you have a catastrophe. So, for today’s blog article, we have created a checklist of indicators that your home may need repiping. 

Vancouver 

The water in the Vancouver area is naturally slightly alkaline. But a pH of under 8 contributes to corrosion in copper pipes. Most communities on the Lower Mainland are trying to make the water more alkaline (a higher pH number) to slow down the corrosion. What all this means is that just by living in the Vancouver area, if you have metal piping inside your house, you risk corrosion which over time will block the pipes. 

Copper Pipes 

If you know that you have copper piping and you live on the Lower Mainland, then this is an added risk for pipe corrosion. 

Water Pressure 

Test the water pressure inside your house from a faucet, and again outside near where water enters the house from the city. Find out from your jurisdiction how much your water pressure should be. Compare these numbers and see if you have adequate or reduced water pressure. Reduced water pressure will indicate that your metal pipes may have corrosion and the water flow may slowly be getting blocked. 

Age of Building 

The older your house, the higher the probability that you need repiping. If your house is more than 50 years old, check your piping and water pressure. 

PolyB 

Polybutylene pipe or PolyB was popular in the 1990s, but over time, we have learned that its service life is only about 10 years. It is no longer being used in home construction, and if you have PolyB piping, then it probably need replacing or it is going to fail, sooner or later.  

Please call us on the Lower Mainland at (604) 349-5325 if you are wondering if your home needs repiping or already know that you do. 

Repiping Vancouver is a division of 604FixLeak offering leak detection, plumbing repairs and restoration services in the Greater Vancouver area. Repiping Vancouver concentrates on whole home or office repiping. 

If you have any questions about this article or need some help with repiping in your home or office, call us today at (604) 349-5325.