When your plumber tells you the plumbing in your house is old and on the brink of failure, you'll want to schedule repiping before one of the pipes starts leaking. You may want to have the old pipes replaced with copper ones since copper plumbing has a long history of successful use. Here's a look at why copper is a good choice in plumbing water lines and a quick overview of how a copper repipe is done.

Why Copper Is A Good Metal For Plumbing Pipes

Copper has a long history of safe use in plumbing. It's durable so it can be used outdoors and indoors. It tolerates temperature changes and it even protects the water in the lines from contamination from pesticides and other threats in your yard.

Copper isn't bothered by chlorine in the water, so it has a long life. Copper can last for many decades, and it's a good replacement for lead, galvanized steel, and plastic pipes. Copper can also be recycled and turned into new copper plumbing pipes, so it's friendly to the environment.

How A Copper Repipe Is Done

A repipe involves putting in all new water lines. Since the old lines are under floors and behind walls, the plumber needs to create holes or take out part of the drywall or floor to put in new copper lines. Copper lines aren't flexible like some other plumbing lines, so the plumber needs to create enough room to install the pipes.

Copper pipes are fitted together by brazing the pipes and joints together with high heat. This ensures a tight bond that won't leak. However, this is also somewhat time-consuming, so you can expect the work to take at least a few days.

Your plumber will let you know how long the copper repipe should take so you can make plans. You probably won't need to leave your house for a few days since your water will only be off intermittently. When the new pipes are hooked up and functional, the plumber might remove the old ones or just leave them in place.

Your plumber might patch the drywall to repair holes they made, but that job is sometimes left for a drywall contractor to complete. Your new copper plumbing should last for decades, so you probably won't need to replace your plumbing again. You can have peace of mind your copper pipes have proven to be safe so you don't have to worry about anything bad leaching into your water whether the pipes are hot or cold. 

For more info about copper repiping, contact a local company. 

Share