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Repipe cost calculator

A repipe is priced per fixture, not per foot, because the fixture is where the labour is: a stop valve, a stub-out, a hole to cut and a hole to patch. Set the fixture count, the material and how you are getting to the walls, and the band follows.

Why per fixture works

Linear feet of pipe is the cheapest part of a repipe and the least predictable to measure from a drawing. Fixtures are countable from the doorway and they carry the work: each one needs a manifold port or a tee, a run, a stub, two stops and a patch. Estimating per fixture and multiplying for access is faster and lands closer than measuring pipe.

The storey multiplier exists because vertical runs cost more than horizontal ones — more fishing, more drilling through plates, more time on a ladder that is not being spent on pipe.

Patching is a real line

The drywall line is optional here because plenty of shops sub it or exclude it. Whichever you do, say so on the quote in writing. "Repipe" means different things to a plumber and to a homeowner looking at a wall full of holes.

What the material choice changes

Copper roughly doubles the material line and adds an hour and a half per fixture over PEX, most of it in joint preparation. PEX home runs cut labour but need a manifold location and a lot of tubing. CPVC sits between the two on both counts and is the usual answer where local practice or insurance favours a rigid system.

The one thing the material must not change silently is the size. A 3/4" PEX line does not carry what 3/4" copper carries, because the inside diameter is smaller. Re-run the pipe size calculator when you switch.

Code notes

IPC UPC Both codes list approved water distribution materials, and both jurisdictions inspect a repipe in two stages: a pressure test with the walls open, then a final. Some authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) restrict certain materials in certain occupancies. Confirm before the material is on the truck.