Oh fuck, how much does it cost to get plumbing replaced?

[quadriga]

We had a leak a bout a month ago. Got it fixed. Now more leaks have sprung up all over. I think we need to get all the pipes replaced. The plumber said that this might happen as the pipes are old, but they are only something like 25 years old, I didn't think that is that old. He said when you fix one leak on old pipes new leaks may occur elsewhere at a later date. Anybody have any idea how much this will cost? It's weighing on me because money is tight right now.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

1. About as much as

the national debt.

at least, that's the rumor.

[siligut]

2. Cost us $2000

They know they have you by the balls; what can I say.

[TZ]

3. I don't want to scare you

but if you have to get dry wall done to get at the leaky pipes you could be for a big bill.
My friend Lizerdbits had this problem and it ended up being over $5,000

[LeftyFingerPop]

4. I think your plumber should take a pill to relax himself...

because he might be seeing dollar signs.

First of all, are you talking supply lines or waste lines?

Are they copper?

Was your leak at a joint, or did the pipe rot out mid-run?

[quadriga]

7. Sorry I didn't respond earlier

I had to step out. The pipes are copper, they are the water lines not the wastelines. There are a few leaks and they are probably mid-run because the last one was, but I don't know. All leaks are below the floor board and the house is around 1000 square feet.

[LeftyFingerPop]

12. Ok thanks. Without knowing your exact financial situation, etc....

1) Your copper lines are not broken until they actually break.

2) The main risk seems to be that a line would break inside your walls, causing interior water damage.

3) I'm assuming that you have a basement and that your a majority of your lines are easily accessible.

4) Start by inspecting the lines that you can get to easily.

5) Look at all soldered joints for signs of leaks.

6) Inspect the pipes mid-run. Try to get a feel for how bad they are.

7) If the pipes are generally bad in your basement, you can probably assume that they are going bad in the walls also.

8) Since money is a concern, replace all accessible pipes yourself, starting with the ones that look the worse.

9) Learn how to cut pipe, and how to solder with a torch. Read books and/or take a class (it is relatively easy).

10) Buy your materials and have at it, doing as much as you can.

11) Once you have replaced all the pipe you can, you will have a very good idea how bad they were because you can inspect the interior.

12) At that point, you can make a decision on whether to call a plumber in to replace the rest of the pipes in your walls.

13) In summary, do as much as you can by yourself before calling a pro in to minimize cost.

14) Don't worry...do a little at a time. It is not that daunting once you have some basic skills.

[evlbstrd]

5. It doesn't have to break you.

I replaced most of the plumbing in my 80-year-old house. It's easy to learn to do yourself.

[quadriga]

8. Did you have to do any welding?

This might be an option.

[evlbstrd]

9. It's not welding, it's soldering.

No funny helmets and visors to wear, although eye protection is always recommended. The torch is cheap enough and you buy the first one with a nozzle. Use it to heat the pieces of copper (cleaned with emery cloth and coated with a little flux) that you want to join and run the solder all around the joint. That's all there is to it.
Here's a video demo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doqoEJJOdYA

[havocmom]

10. We did it with PEX and it was not difficult at all

re-plumbed all the water lines in our little house (basement, so easy to do)AND put in new, efficient radiator heat system. The PEX flexible plastic made it easy. Fittings were simple and doing the whole house, only one fitting had to be done twice, and it was part of the radiant heat system; turned out the metal fitting to the radiator was defective.

[evlbstrd]

11. I've seen PEX in use.

If I had to re-plumb a house again, that's what I'd do.

[havocmom]

13. A-MAZING stuff. We are not young and it was all do-able

Things are dry where they are supposed to be dry. In an old house, that is a nice change ;)

[evlbstrd]

15. I hear ya there.

I can't squeeze into the places I used to either. The sound of a drip will drag me from a dead sleep.

[usregimechange]

6. Depends on the extent. You might be able to use some pipe fix it stuff to last you

[lizerdbits]

14. Mine wound up being about $6000

for a 2 story TH with 2.5 bathrooms. Mine was built with polybutylene which they stopped using because it was so prone to leaking, especially with temperature changes. After my 3rd leak inside (on top of the 4 in my HWH closet on the outside but attached to the house) I threw my hands up and had it all replaced (fortunately no damage, I never came home to a pool of water). And that didn't include drywall.

If you have a smaller house then I'm sure it will be less. I also have an air handler that uses hot water to make hot air so I had a maze of pipes. Some goes in for the water, some goes in for the heat, and then some goes back out to the HWH. That probably jacked up the cost.

ETA: Maybe you could have smaller portions done over time. It will probably be more in the end but easier in the short run financially.

[trof]

16. Do you know about the class action suit?

There is a time limit/statute of limitations rule, but 2 friends whose houses had poly got them completely replumbed with pvc for free.
Google it.

[lizerdbits]

17. Thanks, I checked into that

Mine was built in 1991 and I replaced in 2007, everything I saw had a 13 or 14 year limit. :( I didn't even buy it until 2004 and everything was fine for the first couple years.

[Hotler]

18. I can't see why a copper pipe would leak mid-run..

unless it had froze at one time and split or it was rubbing against another piece of pipe. P.S. soldering pipe is easy to learn, the trick is to have a dry connection. You can't have any water near the joint. If you can't stop the water from trickling into the joint push a small piece of white bread no crust in the end of the pipe a few inches in and solider your joint. The bread will dissolve when the water is turned on.

[samsingh]

19. depends - could be over a 1000