PEX repipe cost

Cost guides from 2026 give a clear pattern for an ordinary two-bathroom house of about 2,000 square feet: PEX in the cheaper half of the scale, copper at close to double, and drywall repair on top. One guide quoted a California PEX job of that size at $5,900 to $8,600. Use every number here as a planning figure; the house in front of you gets its own written quote. Still deciding whether to repipe? Read why houses get repiped first. The plastic that most often forces the issue is covered at the polybutylene hub.

What will a PEX repipe set me back?

Guides settle on a band that starts at $4,000 and tops out at $10,000 for an average house, with a typical figure near $6,500, which works out to about $2 to $5 per square foot including labor. Small homes with open access come in low, while multi-story houses and plastered walls push the price up.

PEX is bendable tubing, so crews use fewer fittings and open fewer walls than with rigid pipe. California wrote PEX into its plumbing code in 2009, and it is approved for drinking water in homes. The installer counts as much as the material, so get the pipe brand, the fitting system and the maker's warranty terms on paper.

What should a copper repipe cost?

The published guides start near $8,000 and reach about $18,000, with averages from roughly $12,500 to $14,500 for a similar house, or $4 to $9 a square foot. The pipe and fittings cost more, and soldered joints make the work slower than crimped or clamped PEX.

Copper is rigid and commonly credited with 50 years or more, and sunlight does not affect it. The downsides: soldering inside a wall needs time and fire precautions, and copper can pit in aggressive water. Pasadena's supply is hard, with the city utility's 2025 report listing 202 to 256 ppm, so a plumber may ask about water chemistry before recommending a metal. The best answer to what a copper repipe should cost is two or three itemized quotes with separate lines for materials, labor, permit and wall repair. PEX piping versus copper compares the materials beyond price.

Which is cheaper and which flows better, PEX or copper?

In most guides PEX costs around half of copper and goes in faster. On flow, PEX has a narrower bore than copper sold under the same nominal size, so plumbers often step up a size or run a manifold to hold pressure. Done properly, neither material starves a house.

No single flow rate chart fits every house, because fixture count, pipe length, fittings and street pressure all enter the sum. Better questions for the plumber: how will the system be sized, is the layout a trunk with branches or a manifold, and which lines get upsized to protect shower pressure? Weak pressure after a repipe is a design flaw that can be avoided. The basics of pressure are in causes of low water pressure.

What does a two-bathroom house usually cost to repipe?

Averaged over every material, guides cluster near $7,500 for a two-bath house around 2,000 square feet. PEX comes in under that figure and copper over it. A single-story house with an open attic or crawlspace and no slab is the cheapest layout to work on.

Two bathrooms mean roughly a dozen connection points: sinks, toilets, tub or shower valves, the kitchen sink, the dishwasher, the washer box, outdoor spigots, the water heater and an ice maker. Every extra fixture and every extra foot adds labor. Older Craftsman and mid-century houses around Pasadena often keep the heater in the garage with fixtures on a single floor, which holds runs short, but plaster and lath walls cost more to patch. Have the quote name each fixture, since that lets you line the bids up against each other.

What pushes a repipe price above the average?

A slab foundation, finished walls, extra stories, drywall and paint, permits, new shut-off valves, a water heater hookup and any drain problems found along the way. Houses on a slab can cost noticeably more because lines must be routed through walls and ceilings.

Settle these before signing: is patching and paint included, who obtains the permit, and how will corroded drains be handled if the crew uncovers some? Old drains are discussed under cast iron pipes, and a leak beneath the floor is weighed up on the slab leak decision page. Swapping out concealed pipe in Pasadena calls for a plumbing permit from the Permit Center, and neighboring cities each have their own building office, so fees vary. Failed polybutylene is a frequent trigger; the hub page explains how to recognize it.

What does repiping a mobile home cost?

We have no verified Pasadena figure for mobile homes, and published numbers differ widely. Such homes tend to have shorter runs and smaller pipe, so a repipe often costs less than for a house, though access under the floor and the frame's construction change the answer. Ask for a written quote.

Manufactured homes were a major user of polybutylene, so repiping comes up often. Someone familiar with them can tell whether the supply lines run beneath the floor or overhead, and what park or permit rules apply. A per-square-foot rule of thumb is unreliable here; an itemized quote beats it.

How can I compare repipe bids without getting burned?

Ask each bidder for the same set of facts: pipe material and brand, fixture count, wall patching and paint, permit and inspection, schedule, warranty, and the California contractor license number. Check that license on the state's online lookup before you sign.

A bid that reads "whole house repipe" with a single number is hard to judge, so insist on a written scope. A price far under the others often hides missing patching, permits or fixture connections. A good plumber can describe the layout, the shut-off locations and what happens on each day on site. Requests start at the quote form; cities we serve are on where we work, and the home page lists other services.