HyrePlumber
Find a Local Plumber

HyrePlumber tools

Repipe cost estimator

Type the linear feet and a low and high rate per foot from your bids. Opening and patching walls gets its own line.

10 years to replace lead service lines, under EPA’s 2024 rule EPA, Lead and Copper Rule Improvements fact sheet, October 2024, retrieved September 5, 2026: “For the first time, the vast majority of water systems will be required to replace lead service lines within 10 years.”

Repipe cost = linear feet × the rate per foot on your bid, plus opening and patching walls. 200 feet at $8 to $14 per foot, plus $2,000 of access and patching, is $3,600 to $4,800. Ask your water utility about the service line before you price it.

Work out your repipe

Arithmetic on your figures. Nothing is stored or emailed.

From the bid’s takeoff, not the floor area.

From your lowest bid. Leave at 0 until you have one.

From your highest bid, or the same as low.

0 if the rate already includes opening and patching walls.

— Total on your figures
— Pipe line
— Access and patching

What this assumed —

A check on a bid, not a quote. Hidden conditions push a real price up.

Worked examples

Two bids, run through the estimator

A band from two bids

200 ft of supply at $8 and $14 per foot, plus $2,000 to open and patch walls. Pipe $1,600 to $2,800; total $3,600 to $4,800. The rates are examples; type the ones on your bids.

One rate, patching included

150 ft at $20 per foot, with patching already inside the rate, so the access line stays at 0. Total $3,000. Typing patching again would count it twice.

Total = linear feet × the $/ft on your bid, plus access and patching. HyrePlumber publishes no national repipe price.

A repipe is priced on openings and fixtures

The tube is one line on the bid. Reaching it, reconnecting each fixture and closing the walls are the rest.

Fixtures. Every sink, tub, shower, toilet, washer, dishwasher, water heater and hose bib is a connection to reach, remake and pressure-test. Ask each bidder what fixture count the price assumes.

Access. A basement or a tall crawl space lets pipe run out of sight. On a slab, new lines can be rerouted through the attic and down inside walls, which means more openings to patch.

Patching. Drywall repair, texture, primer and paint can be in the bid or left to you. Ask where the plumber’s work stops.

Why the rate box starts at 0. HyrePlumber holds no dataset of plumbing bids. A per-foot figure only means something when it comes from a plumber who has walked your house.

What each line on a repipe bid should say

Two bids for the same house can differ because one leaves a line out. Check each row.

LineWhat drives itIf the bid leaves it out
Pipe and fittingsMaterial and total run lengthIt is a materials list, not a finished job.
Fixture connectionsHow many fixtures are reconnected and testedAsk what count the price assumes.
Access and openingsWalls and ceilings cut; basement, crawl space, attic or slabAsk how many openings, and where.
Patching and paintDrywall, texture, tile, paint to matchYou may be hiring a second trade to close the walls.
Water shut-off timeDays without water, and whether water is back each nightAsk for the schedule in writing.
Permit and inspectionYour building department’s fees and inspectionsAsk who pulls the permit. An inspection is a second look at the work.
Service lineThe pipe from the street to the houseAsk the water utility first (next section).

HyrePlumber’s checklist, not prices. We hold no dataset of repipe jobs.

Ask the water utility about your service line first

A repipe replaces pipe inside the house. The service line from the main to the house is a separate pipe, and your water system has a record of what it is made of.

EPA: “The federal government banned the installation of new lead pipes in 1986, yet up to 9 million homes and businesses are still connected to water mains through legacy lead pipes in neighborhoods across America.”

The new rule. “For the first time, the vast majority of water systems will be required to replace lead service lines within 10 years.”

The record you can ask for. Under the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, EPA says water systems are “required to make their inventory and replacement plans available to the public.”

Three questions for the utility. What is my service line recorded as? Is it in the replacement plan, and when? Does the replacement cover the whole line or only the public side? Then price the inside work.

What this page does not say. Not that your line is lead, and not that it will be replaced at no cost. EPA’s action level moved from 15 to 10 µg/L. Ask your utility about your address.

Whole house, part of it, or a repair

A repipe does not have to be all or nothing. Write down every leak first: date, place and what was replaced.

Repair and keep a log

One leak on otherwise sound pipe can be a repair. A dated log shows whether leaks stay isolated or start to spread.

Part of the house

Hot side only, the runs reachable from a basement or attic, or the bathroom that is being remodeled anyway. Walls you are opening regardless cost no extra access.

The whole house

Leaks in unrelated places, coming closer together; a pipe material you have confirmed by looking; or walls coming out for another reason. Then one job can beat repeated openings and patches.

What a repipe bid should state in writing

  • Linear feet and the fixture count

    So two bids price the same job.

  • Which runs: hot, cold or both, and where they stop

    At the water heater? At the meter? At each fixture stop valve?

  • Pipe material and fitting type

    Copper, PEX or CPVC, and the fitting system, by name.

  • How many openings, and who patches them

    And whether paint is included.

  • Permit, inspection and pressure test

    Who pulls the permit and when the inspector comes.

  • Warranty on labor and materials

    For how long, and in writing.

  • “We price by the square foot”

    Floor area says nothing about fixtures or access. Ask for footage and a count.

  • “Sign today and we start Monday”

    A planned repipe is not an emergency. Take the time to get a second bid.

What the estimator leaves out

Hidden conditions. It cannot see rot, a crawl space smaller than described, or a bathroom the takeoff missed. Those push a bid up, not down.

Material choice. It applies no discount for PEX or premium for copper. The rate you type carries that.

The service line. The street-side pipe is a utility question, not part of this sum.

Questions this calculator answers

How much does it cost to repipe a house?
Linear feet × the rate on your bid, plus access and patching. HyrePlumber publishes no national average: fixture count, foundation type and how many walls are opened all change the price.
What counts as linear feet?
The length of supply pipe being replaced, from the bidder’s takeoff. It is not the floor area of the house. Ask each bid to show the footage and the fixture count.
What goes in the access box?
Opening walls and ceilings, patching, texture and paint: anything that is not pipe. If the bid already includes it in the per-foot rate, leave the box at 0.
Should I type one rate or two?
Two if you have two bids or a range, and the answer is a band. With one bid, type the same rate in both boxes, or one box only, and the answer is one figure.
Is PEX cheaper than copper here?
Only if your bid says so. The estimator applies no material discount. The rate you type carries the material.
Do I have to replumb the whole house?
Not always. One leak on sound pipe can be a repair. Leaks in unrelated places coming closer together, or walls already open for a remodel, are the case for a larger job.
Is my service line part of a repipe?
No. It runs from the water main to the house. EPA says water systems must publish their lead service line inventory. Ask your utility what yours is made of before paying to replace it.

Sources and methodology

Figures dated September 5, 2026. Last reviewed .

Related

Find a Local Plumber Back to the home page