Cary, North Carolina, plumbing expert Chris Kousis has much to say about home re-piping. As the owner of CK’s Plumbing & Backflow, LLC, Kousis has seen all manner of re-piping nightmares in North Carolina. But that means he knows how to recognize the various levels of seriousness, and he knows how to get to the heart of the best solution.
For those less familiar with the term, “re-piping” refers to situations where new pipes are needed to replace old ones. The cause could be leaks, fracturing materials, or the desire to update your plumbing system. The most important thing, however, is recognizing that re-piping is necessary. And it takes a licensed, experienced plumber like Kousis to figure that out with confidence.
Kousis says that the decision to re-pipe is “dependent on what kind of piping you have” in your home, and what the damage is. “If you have a lot of corrosion, the pipes will turn green around the joints.” That, of course, is a telltale sign that something is really wrong with the piping infrastructure. Leaving a problem like that to its own devices-letting it fester-will only make matters worse: Non-potable water could get into your drinking water, and future re-piping could just get even more expensive when the problem is left alone.
The biggest sign that something’s wrong, says Kousis, “is when you go under a house and half the pipe joints have corrosion and are leaking. The pipes could be brown, too, and you could see the contents bubbling out of the joints.” Even though this seems obvious, it takes an expert to pinpoint exactly what’s wrong and where it’s coming from.
But some signs are more positive than others: “Corrosion helps us tell there’s a problem before the big leaks start to happen,” says Kousis. In that case, prevention becomes key to avoiding massive pipe problems. Hiring a plumber to take a look at the soundness of your pipes on a regular basis could prevent the big leaks Kousis is referring to. It’s much, much better for a plumber to see that corrosion than to find that your pipes are completely rotting away.
In addition, plumbers like Kousis know to look out for certain piping materials that are more susceptible to leaking, cracking, and other damage. Kousis says that “a lot of people have the polybutylene pipe, which is a great kind of plastic, but there were major lawsuits on it based on fitting the plastic joints together.” Because of the shoddiness of the joints on polybutylene piping, Kousis explains that many re-piping jobs his plumbing company has done have involved pipes made of this particular kind of plastic.
A good plumber’s extensive training contributes to the most accurate diagnoses of plumbing problems. “You can tell just by looking for the problem,” says Kousis. But it’s also a solid knowledge of what kinds of materials have been the most problematic in the past, and what telltale signs of damage signal that re-piping is necessary.