Opinions on full or partial pex repipe for a slab leak

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usctrojancpa

usctrojancpa

Well-known member
So my tenant called me on Friday saying that there is a small slab leak in the kitchen area of my Aliso Viejo condo rental (detached 1,350sf condo).  On the first floor there is the kitchen, half bath, and garage which are all on the same side of the home. Upstairs are 2 full bathrooms and the laundry room. Was quoted $6,000 for a full pex repipe of the entire condo with paint and drywall patching. Question I have...is it worth it to do a full repipe or just repipe the downstairs kitchen and half bath or is it an all of nothing for a pex repipe (condo has full cooper piping currently)? 
 
Full.

PEX has weird pressure equalization issues given the flexibility of the pipes. Release valves help ensure there isn't bursting or disconnects from junctions. 1/2 PEX and 1/2 Copper will (IMHO) eventually lead to 100% PEX. May as well get it done all at once.

My .02c
 
USCTrojanCPA said:
So my tenant called me on Friday saying that there is a small slab leak in the kitchen area of my Aliso Viejo condo rental (detached 1,350sf condo).  On the first floor there is the kitchen, half bath, and garage which are all on the same side of the home. Upstairs are 2 full bathrooms and the laundry room. Was quoted $6,000 for a full pex repipe of the entire condo with paint and drywall patching. Question I have...is it worth it to do a full repipe or just repipe the downstairs kitchen and half bath or is it an all of nothing for a pex repipe (condo has full cooper piping currently)?
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How old is the condo? I thought copper suppose to last 30+ years. Agree with go 100 % PEX.
 
Compressed-Village said:
USCTrojanCPA said:
So my tenant called me on Friday saying that there is a small slab leak in the kitchen area of my Aliso Viejo condo rental (detached 1,350sf condo).  On the first floor there is the kitchen, half bath, and garage which are all on the same side of the home. Upstairs are 2 full bathrooms and the laundry room. Was quoted $6,000 for a full pex repipe of the entire condo with paint and drywall patching. Question I have...is it worth it to do a full repipe or just repipe the downstairs kitchen and half bath or is it an all of nothing for a pex repipe (condo has full cooper piping currently)?
Click to expand...


How old is the condo? I thought copper suppose to last 30+ years. Agree with go 100 % PEX.
Click to expand...

It was built in 1998 so about 22 years old. The other thought is to repipe the downstairs areas with cooper pipes or full cooper repipe because I doubt I'll own the condo for another 20 years.
 
nosuchreality said:
How much to hammer the floor and fix with copper pipe?
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That would involve destroying the current kitchen cabinets having to replace them with ones and probably wouldn't be worth the price and hassle.
 
USCTrojanCPA said:
Compressed-Village said:
USCTrojanCPA said:
So my tenant called me on Friday saying that there is a small slab leak in the kitchen area of my Aliso Viejo condo rental (detached 1,350sf condo).  On the first floor there is the kitchen, half bath, and garage which are all on the same side of the home. Upstairs are 2 full bathrooms and the laundry room. Was quoted $6,000 for a full pex repipe of the entire condo with paint and drywall patching. Question I have...is it worth it to do a full repipe or just repipe the downstairs kitchen and half bath or is it an all of nothing for a pex repipe (condo has full cooper piping currently)?
Click to expand...


How old is the condo? I thought copper suppose to last 30+ years. Agree with go 100 % PEX.
Click to expand...

It was built in 1998 so about 22 years old. The other thought is to repipe the downstairs areas with cooper pipes or full cooper repipe because I doubt I'll own the condo for another 20 years.
Click to expand...


Even if you sell it sometimes in the future, you can note that in the selling points as one of the pluses of improvements made while you own it. I always said that I will sell someday, but looking back I held on to my properties much longer because market conditions and advantages play a big role in decisions to dissolve which made me take a back seat on selling, because the rental market is so strong and it only get stronger in the future given 4 millions plus homeowner are current in some form of forebearance and millions more than 90 days behind there mortgage payment. Those equal to massive renters will floood  the pipeline for rental.

Do you want to rent to them? In many cases, these are good tenants and will be horrible for their financial pictures, but I would give them fair consideration, given the crap we living through.
 
Good PEX Repipes crews will get around cabinets without damaging them. We completed a whole house repipe in 2018 (Kitchen, water heater, 2.5 baths) with only small holes punched and no cabinet issues. We used Repipe 1 as have some neighbors.

My neighbor did an entire home repipe after noticing moisture in one of their walls. They had to replace all their drywall on one side of their living room. The pipe leak filled to window level water that was trapped between the slab, the drywall and the stucco. Yes, the kitchen area may have a leak, but since pipes run everywhere there could be leaks yet to be discovered. If not attended to in this go around, they it will more than likely come up within the next 2-5 years.

Appreciation should cover the cost of the re-pipe. It's also a value add when selling.

My .02c
 
$6k might be bit high but call around.

A partial repipe may still cost quite a bit.

I think my friend did his whole 4br SFR in PEX for less than $5k
 
Don't plumbers have a glue they shoot into the pipe to glue up any cracks and holes? 
 
They do this for Air Conditioning units if you have tiny leaks. This stuff works on my evaporator coil where the leak happened, and by luck it is small enough to stop the Freon from leaking. 400 bucks for the sealant and 450 for 5 lbs of Freon top off. Much cheaper than replace the entire system for 9 grands or close to it.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
$6k might be bit high but call around.

A partial repipe may still cost quite a bit.

I think my friend did his whole 4br SFR in PEX for less than $5k
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When did your friend get the PEX repipe done, did it include all of the drywall and stucco patching and painting?  Can you share or PM me the company that they used?  Per SGIP post, I contacted Repipe 1 to come out and get me a quote tomorrow.
 
I used All American Repipe (https://www.yelp.com/biz/all-american-repipe-and-plumbing-fullerton-4) to do a full PEX Repipe in 2014. It was on a 2.5ba SFR and cost $5900 which included drywall and stucco patching (but not painting).
They came out and did the repipe on Day 1.
The inspector came out on Day 2.
The patching took all of Day 3.

For others reading, if you decide to repipe, consider a tankless water heater, piping for a water softener, lines for reverse osmosis (to the refrigerator), and additional hose bibs (in garage or outside).
Also, make sure they give your their timeline for getting the job done.
This company above had a large crew come in and got the repipe done in 1 day. I've had friends who had bad experiences where the repipe took a very long time.
 
Ours as well was completed in the same 3 day timeline as noted, also with the drywall/stucco patch and repair - but not painting. Our contractor put in the pipework for a whole house water filter, but we've yet to install it. The first neighbor who repiped did not have his PEX wrapped with insulation. Ours was, as did the neighbor who had the flooded walls. Don't know if the repiping standards have changed over time or not, but so far everyone I've seen on the street save for 1 neighbor has had the PEX insulated.

One thing we were asked to do with RePipe1 was to purchase a separate shower mixer for each shower/tub combo in the house. This purchase was separate from the repipe quote. It was recommended, but not mandatory to have new mixers. If anyone is considering a repipe, ask the provider if they are including or recommending the shower mixers in their quotes.

My .02c
 
I ending up getting 4 quotes, including from companies mentioned in this thread.  The quotes ranged from $6,000 to $8,500 for full PEX repipe.  The company that I went with is Ameri-Cal Repipe & Plumbing (https://www.yelp.com/biz/ameri-cal-repipe-and-plumbing-buena-park-5) which provided the $6,000 quote and includes stucco & drywall repairs, all permits, insulation on the hot water lines, and installation of new shower and shower/tub values & faucets (I purchased them at Lowes). The work starts tomorrow (Monday).
 
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