Repiping means replacing the water supply lines that bring fresh water into your home and carry it to every fixture. It is a different system from your drains, and a different job from drain or sewer replacement. If your complaint is water that arrives weakly, looks discoloured, runs rusty, or keeps springing pinhole leaks, the supply side is where the problem lives.
Ocean Plumbing and Air is a licensed Florida plumbing contractor (CFC1432498). We repipe houses across Miami-Dade and Broward, we pull the permits, and we put the full scope in writing before anyone opens a wall.
Supply or drain? Low pressure, rusty water, and repeated pinhole leaks point to supply lines, which is this page. Backups, sewage odour, and gurgling drains point to waste lines instead. See cast iron drain and sewer replacement for that.
Not sure whether you need a full repipe?
We assess the whole supply system, test your pressure, and give you a written scope and estimate before any commitment.
Signs Your Home Needs Repiping
One symptom on its own often has a simple, cheap explanation. Several together usually mean the pipe itself is finished.
- Low water pressure throughout the house, not just at one fixture. Corrosion builds up inside supply pipe and narrows the bore until flow drops everywhere. A single weak faucet is usually an aerator or a cartridge; the whole house being weak is a pipe problem.
- Rusty, brown, or yellow water, particularly on the hot side or first thing in the morning after water has been sitting in the pipes overnight.
- Repeated pinhole leaks. The most reliable signal of all. When a supply line starts leaking in one place and then another a few months later, the whole run has thinned. Patching each hole is chasing a system that is failing everywhere at once.
- Visible corrosion, green or white crust, or flaking on exposed pipe in the garage, utility area, or under sinks.
- Water that tastes metallic or stains fixtures and laundry.
- Hot water taking much longer to arrive than it used to, which can indicate scale narrowing the hot supply.
- Galvanized steel or polybutylene pipe in a home of the right age, which is worth acting on before it fails rather than after.
Galvanized Steel and Polybutylene: Two Specific Problems
Not all old pipe is equal. Two materials in particular are worth identifying, because both have known, well-documented failure patterns.
Galvanized steel was standard in older Florida homes. It is steel pipe with a protective zinc coating, and once that coating wears through, the steel underneath rusts from the inside out. Rust flakes into the water, which explains the discolouration, and rust build-up narrows the pipe, which explains the pressure loss. Galvanized pipe does not improve; it steadily closes up. By the time pressure is noticeably bad, the interior can be substantially blocked.
Polybutylene is a grey plastic pipe installed widely from roughly the late 1970s into the mid 1990s. It reacts with oxidants in treated municipal water, which makes it brittle from the inside, and it tends to fail suddenly rather than gradually. It was the subject of major class-action litigation, and many insurers treat it as a material risk. If your home has polybutylene supply lines, that is worth addressing proactively, and it is worth mentioning to your insurer.
We will identify what you actually have during the assessment, and show you. Material matters, because it changes how urgent the job is and how a leak is likely to present when it happens.
PEX Versus Copper
These are the two realistic choices for a modern repipe. Both are good. They are good at different things, and the right answer depends on your house and your priorities rather than on which one a contractor prefers to install.
| PEX | Copper | |
|---|---|---|
| Installation | Flexible, runs through walls with far fewer fittings and less demolition | Rigid, needs more joints and more wall access to route |
| Wall damage | Typically less, because it can be routed around obstacles | Typically more, because runs must be straight and joined |
| Cost | Generally lower on material and labour | Generally higher on both |
| Corrosion | Not affected by the water chemistry that pits copper | Can develop pinholes in aggressive water conditions |
| Heat and UV | Must be kept out of direct sunlight; not for outdoor exposed runs | Handles heat and sun exposure without issue |
| Pressure loss | Fewer fittings means fewer restrictions | More fittings, slightly more restriction |
| Lifespan | Long, and unaffected by the corrosion that killed your old pipe | Long, with a very established track record |
For most Miami repipes, PEX is the practical choice: less demolition, less wall repair, lower cost, and immunity to the corrosion problem you are replacing. Copper still makes sense for certain exposed runs and where a homeowner specifically wants it. We will quote whichever you prefer and explain the trade-off for your particular layout rather than pushing one.
If you want to read further before deciding, we have written up PEX versus copper in detail, and a comparison of PEX A and PEX B.
How a Repipe Actually Works, Step by Step
- Assessment. We inspect accessible pipe, identify the material, test static and flowing pressure, count fixtures, and map the routes. You get findings in writing.
- Scope and estimate. A written scope covering material, routes, number of access points, wall repair, permits, and finishing. Everything included is listed; anything excluded is stated.
- Permit. We pull it. Repiping is permitted, inspected work in Miami-Dade and Broward.
- Protection. Floors and furnishings covered, work areas contained before anything is opened.
- Access points opened. Small, deliberate openings at planned locations rather than broad demolition.
- New lines run. New supply pipe routed to every fixture, with the old lines abandoned in place or removed where practical.
- Tie-in and pressure test. New system connected, pressurised, and tested before anything is closed up.
- Inspection. Scheduled by us. The inspector sees the work while it is still open.
- Close and finish. Drywall patched, textured, and finished. Painting scope agreed in advance.
- Walkthrough. We run every fixture with you, hand over the closed permit and documentation, and confirm you are satisfied.
How Long It Takes, and What It Is Like to Live Through
For a typical single-family Miami home, the pipe work itself is usually a small number of days rather than weeks. Wall repair and finishing adds time after that. The exact schedule depends on square footage, number of bathrooms, slab versus crawl access, and whether the routing is straightforward.
Most families stay in the house. What that realistically looks like:
- Water is shut off during working hours and restored at the end of each working day wherever the stage of work allows it.
- We sequence bathrooms so you are not left without one, whenever the layout makes that possible.
- There is dust and noise. We contain it and clean daily, but opening walls is not a quiet or tidy activity and we would rather you expect that.
- You will know the plan for each day before it starts, including which fixtures are affected.
If the scope means a genuine interruption to living in the house, we tell you that during the estimate, not after you have committed.
Wall Repair and Finishing: Ask About This Before You Compare Bids
This is where repiping quotes differ most, and where the cheapest number often hides the largest gap.
A repipe requires opening walls and ceilings. Putting them back is real work: patching, taping, texture matching, and paint. Some bids quietly stop at “patch” and leave you holding a house full of grey drywall squares that do not match the surrounding texture. Others exclude finishing entirely without saying so plainly.
Our estimates state exactly what is included: how many access points, patched to what standard, textured to match, and what the paint scope is. When you compare us against another bid, compare that section rather than the totals. A lower number with no finishing scope is not a lower price.
Permits, Code, and Inspection
Repiping is permitted work. It must be performed by a licensed plumbing contractor and it must be inspected. We pull the permit, schedule the inspections, and give you the closed permit at completion.
This matters beyond compliance. Unpermitted plumbing work surfaces later at the worst moments, when you sell, when you refinance, or when you file a claim. A repipe with no permit history can hold up a closing and can give an insurer a reason to question a claim. Our Florida licence is CFC1432498. If a competing bid does not mention permits, ask why before comparing the price.
Warranty and Financing
Our workmanship and the materials we install are warranty backed, and financing options are available on projects of this size. Repiping is rarely something a household plans for, and we would rather discuss payment openly than have it be the reason a failing system stays in the walls. The specific terms that apply to your project are provided in writing alongside the estimate, so you can see the coverage and the numbers before deciding anything.
What Moves the Price
We do not publish one figure for a repipe, because a real number depends on your house. These are the factors that genuinely drive it:
- Square footage and number of fixtures. Every sink, shower, tub, toilet, hose bib, and appliance connection is a run.
- Number of bathrooms, which is usually the single biggest driver.
- Material chosen, PEX or copper.
- Access. Attic and crawl space routing is far cheaper to reach than pipe buried in or under a slab.
- Single storey versus two. Vertical runs add complexity.
- Wall and ceiling finishes that have to be opened and restored. Tile, plaster, and specialty finishes cost more to put back than painted drywall.
- Wall repair and paint scope, frequently the largest variable in the whole estimate.
- Whether the main water line from the meter also needs replacing.
- Permit and inspection requirements for your jurisdiction.
Completed Repiping Projects
- Water Supply Repiping, Residential Property in Miami
- Full Bathroom Re-Piping and Main Sewer Line Replacement, Miami
- Kitchen Remodel and Re-Piping, Miami
- Shower Renovation and Re-Piping, Miami
- Whole Home Plumbing Project, North Central Miami-Dade
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if I need a full repipe rather than a repair?
The deciding factor is whether the failure is localised or systemic. One leak in an otherwise sound system is a repair. Repeated leaks in different places, or low pressure throughout the whole house, means the material itself has reached the end of its life and repairs will keep chasing it. We assess the whole system and tell you which situation you are in.
Will you have to tear up all my walls?
No. A repipe uses planned access points rather than broad demolition, and PEX in particular can often be routed with far fewer openings than copper. We show you where the openings will go before we start, and wall repair is part of the written scope.
Is PEX safe for drinking water?
Yes. PEX is approved for potable water under the plumbing code and is the most commonly installed residential supply material in new construction today. It is not suitable for exposed outdoor runs because of UV sensitivity, which is a routing consideration rather than a safety one.
Can I stay in my house during a repipe?
In most cases yes. Water is shut off during working hours and restored at the end of the day where the stage of work allows, and we sequence the work to keep a bathroom available where the layout permits. If your particular scope means that is not possible, we tell you before you commit.
Does insurance cover repiping?
Usually not the pipe replacement itself, because gradual wear and tear is a standard exclusion. Resulting water damage from a sudden failure is more commonly covered. Polybutylene is a special case that some insurers treat as a material risk, so it is worth raising with your agent. Check your policy; we will supply the written scope and documentation a claim needs.
How long does a repipe last?
A properly installed PEX or copper system is a long-term replacement, not a stopgap. You are replacing a material that failed with one that is not subject to the same failure mode, which is the entire point of doing it once and doing it correctly.
Is repiping the same as replacing my sewer line?
No, and it is worth being clear about. Repiping replaces the supply lines bringing clean water in. Sewer and drain work replaces the waste lines carrying water out. They are separate systems with separate symptoms. Some homes need both, and where that is the case we scope them together so the wall and floor work is only done once.
Get a straight answer about your supply lines
A full system assessment, a pressure test, and a written scope and estimate. Licensed Florida plumbing contractor CFC1432498, serving Miami-Dade and Broward.