Galvanized and polybutylene pipes: when a full repipe beats another patch

One pinhole leak often means more are coming. Here's when patching stops making sense.

Galvanized rust and polybutylene failures

Galvanized steel supply lines corrode from the inside — rust-colored water and pinhole leaks in ceilings are late-stage signs. Polybutylene (gray or blue flexible pipe, common in 80s–90s builds) fails at fittings and becomes uninsurable on some policies. One visible leak in either system usually means the rest of the run is the same age and material.

PEX vs copper for residential

PEX is what we install on most whole-home repipes — flexible, fewer joints, freeze-tolerant, and it outlasts the mortgage. Copper is still right for exposed mechanical rooms, commercial, or when local code or preference demands it. We don't install CPVC for interior supply lines. We walk the house, count fixtures, and quote both if you want the comparison.

What a repipe timeline looks like

Most whole-home repipes take two to four days. We open small access holes, pull new lines through wall and ceiling cavities, and restore water every night so you're not camping. Drywall patch and texture can be included or left to your contractor — we agree that upfront. Permits and final inspection are part of the job, not optional add-ons.

When patch jobs stop making financial sense

If you've had two leaks in two years on the same material, or a slab leak plus a ceiling leak on galvanized, add up what you've spent on access holes and drywall. A third patch often exceeds the incremental cost of doing the whole house once. We run that math with you — sometimes the answer is monitor and wait, sometimes it's repipe now before the next ceiling comes down.