3 Reasons to Repipe Your Building

Just like any other material, even the pipes in your building eventually wear out. The best solution for your pipes is repiping, which is the process of replacing pipes. However, this is neither a temporary fix nor replacing just a short section of the pipe. This entails a complete replacement of the plumbing system. 

Repiping is a challenging task that is most often best left to the experts. With the high cost associated with replacing and repiping in mind, it is important to know at least 3 reasons to repipe your building.

Something is Wrong with the Water

When you start experiencing poor tasting or smelling water, it means that your pipes might be deteriorating. If this happens, it’s high time to consider repiping. 

Additionally, the pH levels in the pipes can change any time, depending on the carbon dioxide in the pipes, which is the most common cause of rising acidity in the water. Although not unhealthy or harmful, acidic water causes corrosion the pipes and the rust will affect your health if you keep on consuming the water. Replacing the pipes sooner is also the solution to this.

Noisy Pipes

One sure way to know if your pipes already need replacing is to listen to the sounds that they make. When pipes are getting older, banging and creaking noises become common. This is because pipes tend to become loose when they age. Higher water pressure or even difference in the water temperature cause stress in the pipes which results in their looseness. Creaking pipes can be fixed but repiping is the solution if you want the problem completely gone. 

Pipe Leakage

Leaks in the pipes can just easily contribute to really high water bill if they go unnoticed for a long time. This is why it is important to check the condition of your pipes from time to time which is why you have to make sure that you can easily check your pipes through an access door.

Aside from raising your water bill, a leak in the pipes may result in damage to your property when flooding occurs or through constant wetness in walls or floors. If your pipe has one hole, you should expect more holes in the next months to come. If this happens, you can decide to fix the holes one by one but it is better if you just repipe the whole system. 

Little bit of water seeping through may seem harmless. However, not only is this wasteful and irresponsible, but it can also cause mold build-up in your building. If this happens, you won’t have to deal with just water damage but you’re inviting in the hazardous effects that mold can have on your health.

Materials Used in Repiping

Of course, for your repiping to be successful, you have to ask a professional to inspect the site. They know better when it comes to repiping especially on how to fix underground pipes. 

While planning on repiping, you have to know certain materials that can be used such as metals or plastic. 

Metal pipes are usually galvanized with the following: copper, steel, iron, or brass. Plastic pipes range from Kitec, Poly, Ethylene PE, PVC, and Polybutylene. 

Repiping of a building depends on a lot of factors. Sure you can just easily fix your pipes when it comes to the ones inside your building and is accessible through an access door. However, the overall fixing of your pipes also depend on the distance away from the city’s mainline, the number of bathrooms and fixtures, as well as the size of the structure to be repiped. 

Risks of Refusing Repiping

Think of your plumbing system as something similar to the arteries in your body. Once they start malfunctioning, it is difficult to repair them and might cause even bigger problems. So when you neglect to maintain your plumbing over the years, the possibility of a plumbing emergency arises. Moreover, if you refuse to replace the pipes as they exhibit any of the above-mentioned signs, the occupants of your building or home will suffer the consequences. Understand that failing to repipe your home is futile and you can’t put a price on the health and safety of all the occupants of your building or home.

Repiping is not a simple, easy way. It requires a plumbing experience and requires help from an expert. While it is costly to repipe, it is still better than finding a temporary solution.