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How much could it possibly be to replace the plumbing in a 1k square foot house?

It's not that big of a house. The previous owner's stripped the copper piping from under the house. (that's another side question.. isn't copper only found in older houses?) I have some friends in this business that will work for $10/hr to get the work done. But how long could it possibly take? I can finance all the supplies that will be needed.. just the labor is starting to freighten me. The place has all of the fixtures. They are a bit outdated.. but I'll get around to replacing them later.

Public Comments

  1. Yes, it's the labour that will kill you;-{ I don't know what you'll get for $10/hour. Draw a diagram of the house & measure the dimensions. Go to Home Depot, or your local hardware & compare. Probably plastic pipe is cheaper these days. Fixtures are expensive, but you still have those?
  2. " friends in this business that will work for $10/hr" At that price, replace the copper. Would you trust someone charging that rate with PEX? And what about the GRND?
  3. If your friends are willing to work for $10 an hour, do they know what they're doing? Have they repiped before? Are they plumbers? If no, it will probably end up costing you more to have them do it (and fix what they did wrong) than to have a plumber do it. Repiping prices are based on the work involved (how long are the runs, how many joints/fittings are there, how many fixtures.) not necessarily correlated to square footage. RE your side question: no, copper is what is used to re-pipe homes that were originally plumbed with galvanized pipe. As far as cost-in Southern California (I am a contractor) I just paid my plumber $1750.00 to repipe a duplex with two one bath units. That's about average.
  4. hire a licenced plumber, you will save in the long run.
  5. The big problem with a renovation job is the "Rape & Pillage" that occurs to get the new pipe in place. Can your friends be responsible for patching and clean-up? Are they capable of a good job? Even most pro contractors are'nt. If the pipe is only stripped from under the house, and it was copper, I'd advise just repairing the damage if you can manage that.
  6. hi: might want to consider plastic pipe if your budget is low. the plastic will do the same job as copper. also may want to do the cold side of piping first. close the valve to your hot water heater and turn on the water. see if you have any leaks and the workmanship is ok. "then" you will know what to do. it will only cost you half as much money to find out.