Whole-House Repipe Cost by pipe material, fixture count and quality tier
The pipe is the cheap part. What it costs to reach it, and to close the wall afterwards, is the quote.
What a whole-house repipe costs
Repiping a house runs $2,500 – $15,000, and most of those jobs are PEX pulled through the routes the old pipe already used. Copper costs roughly twice as much per fixture and lasts longer, which is the entire trade in one sentence.
Repipes are priced per fixture connection: every sink, toilet, tub, shower, washing machine, dishwasher, ice maker, hose bib and the water heater. A quote multiplies that count by a rate covering pipe, fittings and labor, then adds the lines below. Labor is roughly seventy percent of the total, so two quotes on the same house diverge on hours rather than on materials.
This guide takes the number apart. It prices every common pipe material, scales the job by fixture count, splits the bill into product and labor, and lists what gets added afterwards, starting with the drywall repair that a repipe makes necessary and that most base quotes exclude.
Nothing here asks for your address or your phone number. When you want real quotes, the checklist near the bottom tells you what a serious one has to contain.
What each repipe material costs
Installed cost per fixture connection, covering pipe, fittings and labor on a house whose routes are reachable. The total column prices each material across twelve fixtures, roughly a three-bedroom house with two bathrooms.
| Material | Installed cost per fixture, installed | Lifespan | On the worked example | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PEX, trunk and branch | $250 – $700 | 40 – 50 years | $3,000 – $8,400 | Flexible tubing pulled through the existing routes, which is why it is the cheapest repipe: fewer holes, fewer hours, less drywall. |
| PEX, home-run manifold | $350 – $900 | 40 – 50 years | $4,200 – $10,800 | One dedicated line per fixture from a central manifold. More tubing, fewer joints in the walls, and every fixture shuts off on its own. |
| CPVC | $300 – $850 | 30 – 50 years | $3,600 – $10,200 | Rigid plastic, solvent-welded. Cheap and common in the South, brittle with age, and unforgiving of a hard knock in a cold crawl space. |
| Copper | $450 – $1,300 | 50 – 70 years | $5,400 – $15,600 | Soldered joint by joint, and priced accordingly. It outlasts everything here, tolerates heat, and fails early where the water is aggressive. |
A home-run manifold system costs more in tubing and less in joints: every fixture gets its own line from a central manifold and its own shut-off, and there is nothing buried in a wall to fail at a fitting.
How the fixture count changes the repipe cost
The same PEX repipe priced across the fixture counts most American houses carry. Cost scales close to linearly, because each additional fixture is another termination, another shut-off and another hole to open.
| Fixture count | Project cost mid-range pex, trunk and branch |
|---|---|
| 8 fixtures | $2,900 – $4,700 |
| 10 fixtures | $3,600 – $5,900 |
| 12 fixtures | $4,400 – $7,100 |
| 15 fixtures | $5,400 – $8,800 |
| 20 fixtures | $7,300 – $11,800 |
Count every point the supply lines end at, not the number of rooms. An added bathroom and an outdoor kitchen move this number far more than square footage does.
Economy, mid-range and premium repipe costs
The same PEX repipe at three levels of product and workmanship, across twelve fixtures. The bands overlap because real quotes do: the difference is fittings, shut-offs and how carefully the house is opened and closed.
| Tier | Per unit | Project cost on 12 fixtures | What it buys |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economy | $250 – $407.50 | $3,000 – $4,900 | Builder-grade product, a crew working fast, and the simplest version of the job. Buys the function, not the finish. |
| Mid-range | $362.50 – $587.50 | $4,400 – $7,100 | What most homeowners actually sign. Mid-tier product from a named manufacturer, a licensed crew, and a warranty worth reading. |
| Premium | $520 – $700 | $6,200 – $8,400 | Top of the product line, specialist installers, and the detailing that decides how the job looks in year fifteen. |
What the tier buys is the fittings and the finish work: expansion fittings rather than crimp rings, a quarter-turn shut-off at every fixture, proper support and insulation on the runs, and walls left ready to paint rather than ready to patch.
Pipe material versus plumbing labor
On a 12-fixture house repiped in PEX, $4,400 – $7,100 before add-ons, the bill divides like this.
- Materials $1,300 – $2,100
- 30% of the bid Tubing, fittings, manifolds, shut-off valves, supports, insulation and the sealant at every penetration.
- Labor and overhead $3,100 – $5,000
- 70% of the bid Opening walls and ceilings, routing and joining every run, connecting each fixture, pressure testing, the permit and inspection, and the demolition debris that leaves with the crew.
This is the most labor-heavy project on the site, at roughly seventy percent. It is also why the cheapest quote is usually the fastest crew rather than the cheapest pipe, and why access, slab against crawl space, moves the total more than the material choice does.
What gets added to a repipe quote
These are the line items that turn a per-fixture rate into a final invoice. Each is shown as a share of the base cost and in dollars on the worked example, because a percentage on its own is easy to wave through.
| Line item | Surcharge share of the base cost | On the example | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drywall repair and repainting | +15% – 40% | $650 – $2,800 | A repipe means opening walls and ceilings. Patching, texturing and painting them again is usually a separate trade, and it is the line most often missing from a base quote. |
| Slab or crawl space routing | +10% – 35% | $450 – $2,500 | Pipe under a concrete slab has to be rerouted overhead or cut out of the floor. It is the single largest variable between two otherwise identical houses. |
| Water main replacement | +10% – 30% | $450 – $2,100 | The line from the meter to the house, which the repipe stops at. Old galvanized or polybutylene mains are worth doing at the same time. |
| Water heater replacement | +15% – 40% | $650 – $2,800 | Everything is already drained and the connections are already open, so this is the cheapest hour a water heater will ever be replaced in. |
| Fixture and valve replacement | +10% – 30% | $450 – $2,100 | New shut-off valves, supply lines, and any faucet or toilet you were going to replace anyway while the wall is open. |
| Two stories and difficult routing | +5% – 15% | $200 – $1,100 | Vertical runs between floors, finished basements, and anywhere the pipe cannot follow the route the old one took. |
| Permits and inspection | +2% – 8% | $100 – $550 | Required for a repipe almost everywhere. It is also what forces a pressure test to happen before the walls close. |
Two of these are worth taking while the house is already open. A water heater replaced during a repipe costs a fraction of a separate visit, and so does every shut-off valve and supply line you were going to replace eventually.
How location affects repipe cost
Plumbing labor is local and licensed, so the same repipe carries a different rate across the country. These are indicative multipliers on the national figure, not local quotes.
| Region | Multiplier | Project cost on the worked example | Why it moves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northeast | 1.10× – 1.25× | $4,800 – $8,900 | Highest labor rates in the country, older housing stock, and snow-load requirements that add material. |
| West | 1.05× – 1.30× | $4,600 – $9,200 | Wide internal spread. Coastal metros price like the Northeast; the interior sits near the national middle. |
| Midwest | 0.92× – 1.05× | $4,000 – $7,500 | Closest to the national number. Deep contractor supply keeps competitive pressure on quotes. |
| South | 0.85× – 1.00× | $3,700 – $7,100 | Lowest labor cost, but storm exposure raises material specification and insurance-driven demand spikes. |
Location also decides construction type, which matters more here than almost anywhere else on this site: a house on a slab and a house over a crawl space are two different jobs at the same fixture count.
How to read a repipe quote
The cost question here is really an access and restoration question. These two lists separate a quote worth taking seriously from one that ends at the pressure test and leaves you holding the rest.
Red flags
Walk away from a repipe quote if
- The quote states no fixture count, so there is no rate to compare.
- It does not say where the drywall repair ends, or that it is excluded.
- Nothing is said about how the lines will be routed on a slab house.
- The pipe material and fitting system are unnamed.
- Shut-off valves at each fixture are not included.
- There is no permit line, which means there is no pressure test on record.
- The plumber is unlicensed, uninsured, or cannot produce either on request.
Questions
Ask every plumber
- How many fixtures did you count, and which ones?
- What material and fitting system, and why that one for this house?
- How will you route the lines, and how much wall and ceiling comes out?
- Does this price end at pressure test, at patched drywall, or at paint?
- What happens if you find the main or the water heater needs replacing?
- How many days without water, and on which days?
- What warranty covers the labor, and for how long?
What homeowners ask about repipe cost
Why do repipe quotes vary so much on the same house?
Because they end in different places. One quote finishes at a successful pressure test with the walls open; another finishes at painted drywall. That single difference can be a third of the total, and it is rarely stated plainly.
Is PEX as good as copper?
For a house, in most respects yes. It tolerates freezing better, has far fewer joints in the walls, and costs around half. Copper still wins on exposed runs, on very hot water, and on lifespan, which is measured in generations.
What does drywall repair add?
Typically 15 to 40 percent of the base cost, depending on how much wall came out and whether the finish is a flat paint or a texture that has to be matched. It is the single most common exclusion from a repipe quote.
Can I repipe one bathroom at a time?
Yes, and it costs more overall. Each visit repeats the setup and the wall opening, and you end up with a house on two systems for a while. It is a reasonable way to phase an unaffordable job, not a way to save money.
Does a repipe increase home value?
It rarely shows up in an appraisal and it consistently shows up in negotiation. A documented repipe removes a category of buyer objection outright, particularly on a house old enough for polybutylene or galvanized steel.
Do I need a permit to repipe?
Almost everywhere, yes, and it is worth having. The permit forces an inspection and a pressure test before the walls close, which is the only moment anyone independent will ever look at the work.
Figures on this page are indicative national brackets, not quotes. Your number depends on the size, complexity and condition of the job itself, and on what local crews are charging when you buy. Use them to judge a bid, not to replace one.
Cost data
- Angi, How much does it cost to repipe a house? (opens in a new tab) Checked August 11, 2026
- HomeFix Cost Guide, Cost to repipe a house: copper vs PEX vs CPVC (opens in a new tab) Checked August 11, 2026
Projects that pair with a repipe
The calculator prices repipes per fixture on the same national data as every table on this page; no phone number, no lead form.
Price it by the fixture Before the first quote