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Lebanon Plumbers, home

Leak Detection & Pipes

Pipe Repair and Repiping

On older housing the real question is rarely how to patch this leak. It is whether the rest of that run is about to do the same thing.

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What is included

What this service covers

What we actually do on this job, and what you can expect us to deal with while we are there.

  • Repairing pinhole leaks and failed joints
  • Replacing corroded galvanized supply runs
  • Repiping in copper or PEX
  • Rerouting pipe out of unheated or inaccessible spaces
  • Replacing failed fittings, valves and appliance connectors
  • Adding isolation valves so future work does not need the whole house off
  • Commercial pipework repairs

Signs to look for

You may need this if you are seeing any of these

  • Weak pressure upstairs but acceptable downstairs
  • Discoloured or rusty water after the house has stood empty
  • Pressure collapsing when a second tap is opened
  • A repeat leak in the same run
  • Visible green staining or crusting on copper joints
  • Damp patches that appear and dry and come back

Why it happens

What usually causes it

01

Galvanized corroding inward

The defining problem in the older Lebanon city stock. Zinc coating goes, rust builds inside, and the bore narrows until flow is a fraction of what it should be. It fails gradually enough that households stop noticing.

02

Pinholes in copper

Water chemistry, velocity and decades of service thin the wall until it weeps. Where one pinhole appears in a run, others usually follow within a couple of years.

03

Fitting and joint failure

Compression fittings, older solder joints and push connectors in inaccessible spots all fail eventually, and the ones behind appliances or inside cabinets do the most damage before anyone notices.

04

Freeze damage in the wrong location

Pipe run through exterior walls, crawl spaces or unheated additions splits in a cold snap. Putting identical pipe back in the same place guarantees a repeat.

Our approach

How we handle this job

Specific to this work rather than a generic checklist bolted onto every page.

  1. 01

    Establish what the run is made of

    Copper, galvanized, PEX and CPVC all fail differently and are worth different amounts of repair. Knowing what you have changes the recommendation entirely.

  2. 02

    Judge the run, not just the leak

    We look at the condition either side of the failure. One clean pinhole in sound copper is a section repair. A galvanized run closing along its length is not worth patching.

  3. 03

    Give you both numbers

    Where repiping is worth considering, you get the repair price and the repipe price together so the decision is yours with the figures in front of you.

  4. 04

    Fix the cause where there is one

    If the location caused it, rerouting or insulating the run is usually a small addition while the work is already open, and it is what stops a repeat.

The galvanized problem, which is most of this work here

A large share of pipe repair calls in this county come back to the same material. Homes across Lebanon city and the older borough cores were originally plumbed in galvanized steel, and galvanized has a finite life that most of it has now exceeded.

It fails inward. The zinc coating goes, rust builds on the inside wall, and the bore narrows year after year. Because it happens slowly, households adapt without noticing: you stop running the shower while the washing machine is on, you accept that the upstairs bathroom is weak, you run the tap for a while after a holiday until the brown clears.

None of that is normal, and none of it is fixed by patching the spot that finally leaked.

A press tool crimping a fitting onto copper pipe

Repair or repipe, honestly

We will not push a repipe on a house that does not need one, and we will not quietly patch a run that clearly does.

One pinhole in sound copper is a section repair. A galvanized run that is closing along its length is a repipe conversation, because the money spent patching it repeatedly over two years usually exceeds doing it properly once.

What you should expect from us is both numbers, and a straight explanation of what we saw when the pipe was exposed.

A brass gate valve being soldered onto copper pipe beside insulated pipework

Fixing the reason, not just the failure

Where a freeze caused the split, the same pipe in the same unheated space will split again. Rerouting the run into heated space, insulating it properly, or adding an isolation valve and drain point so it can be emptied each winter is usually a small addition to work that is already open.

That is treated as part of the job rather than as an extra, because otherwise we are both just booking the next call. See burst pipe repair for the seasonal side of it.

Questions

Pipe repair questions

Specific to this job. Every service page here has its own, none repeated.

General FAQ

Common questions

Should I repair this leak or repipe the whole run?
It depends on the material and the condition of the pipe either side of the failure, which is why we look before recommending. One clean pinhole in otherwise sound copper is a straightforward section repair and there is no reason to do more. Galvanized steel that has been corroding inward for decades is different, because the section next to the failure is in the same state and you will be calling again. We will give you both prices and let you decide rather than making that call for you.
How do I know if I have galvanized pipes?
They are dull grey, have threaded fittings rather than soldered ones, and a magnet sticks to them firmly. Copper is obvious once you see it, penny coloured and soldered. The functional test is easier: if pressure upstairs is poor, if it collapses when someone opens a second tap, and if the hot water runs brown after the house has been empty a few days, you almost certainly have galvanized somewhere in the system.
Is PEX as good as copper?
For most residential repiping, yes, and in some respects better. PEX handles freezing far more forgivingly, needs fewer joints because it runs in continuous lengths, installs into finished spaces with much less opening up, and costs less. Copper remains the choice in some situations and for exposed runs where appearance matters. We will explain which we would use in your house and why rather than defaulting to one.
Do you have to open up walls to repipe?
Some access is needed, but far less than people expect. PEX can often be routed through existing cavities, basements and crawl spaces with a small number of planned openings rather than stripping walls. In an older Lebanon city rowhome with a full basement and accessible joists, a surprising amount can be done from underneath. We will walk the route with you and show you where access is needed before starting.
My water pressure is bad upstairs only. Is that the pipes?
Very likely, if the house has original galvanized supply. Corrosion narrows the bore, and the fixtures furthest from the incoming main feel it first, which is why upstairs suffers while the kitchen tap seems acceptable. It is worth ruling out the simple causes first though: a partially closed main shutoff, a failing pressure reducing valve, or a clogged aerator or shower cartridge at the fixture itself.
Can you repipe while we are living in the house?
Usually, yes. Water gets shut off for sections at a time rather than for the duration, and we sequence the work so you have a functioning bathroom and kitchen at the end of each day wherever it is possible. On a larger repipe there will be periods without water, and we will tell you when those are in advance so you can plan around them.
Will you fix the wall afterwards?
We leave openings clean, square and ready for a plasterer or drywall finisher, and we will tell you honestly what putting them back involves. We are plumbers rather than finishers, and a plumber who claims an invisible repair on a plaster wall in a hundred year old house is overpromising.

Related services

Where we cover for this

All service areas

Ready when you are

Need pipe repair in Lebanon County?

Tell us what is going wrong. We come out, look at it properly, and give you the price before anything starts.

  • Licensed and insured
  • Residential and commercial
  • Price agreed before work starts

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Tell us what is going wrong and we will arrange a visit.

(717) 000-0000

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