For a typical 2,000 square foot, two-bath house, published guides put a PEX repipe at about $4,000 to $10,000, with an average near $6,500. Copper on the same house runs about $8,000 to $18,000. Those are guides only, and a written quote after a visit is what counts. For the bigger picture of what a repipe involves, start at repiping a house in Los Angeles.
How much does it cost to repipe a house with PEX?
Plan on about $4,000 to $10,000 for a two-bath, 2,000 square foot house, according to published guides, and $4,500 to $8,500 for a 1,500 square foot house. Per square foot, figures range from about $2 to $7. The spread comes from access, bathroom count and what each guide counts as finish work.
PEX pipe itself is cheap, roughly $0.50 to $1.00 per foot for half-inch tubing in published comparisons. The money is in labor, and the PEX savings come from needing fewer hours: pipe runs in long lengths, bends around corners and needs fewer joints. A manifold layout, where each fixture gets its own line from a central hub, uses more tubing but fewer fittings and makes later leaks easier to isolate.
Three things set the quote more than the pipe does: whether the plumber can reach most runs through an attic or crawl space, how many bathrooms and fixtures there are, and who patches the drywall.
What is the average cost to repipe a 2 bathroom house?
A two-bath house in PEX typically lands between $4,000 and $10,000 in published guides, and many contractors quote toward the middle of that range for a single-story house with a crawl space. A two-story house, a slab foundation or plaster walls pushes it up.
Per-fixture counting helps you sanity-check a quote. A two-bath house has about a dozen supply points: two toilets, two lavatories, a tub and a shower, a kitchen sink and dishwasher, a washer, a water heater and two hose bibs. Ask for the quote to list them. A quote that skips the washer box or the outdoor spigots is cheaper for a reason.
Add the permit and inspection that LADBS requires for replacing water supply lines, plus a pressure regulator if your static pressure runs over 80 psi, which is common in lower-elevation LADWP zones according to contractor sources. See water pressure regulators for what that part does.
How does PEX repipe cost compare with copper?
Copper costs about 40 to 60 percent more than PEX on the same house in most published comparisons, and some guides put it near double. On a 2,000 square foot house that is roughly $8,000 to $18,000 for copper against $4,000 to $10,000 for PEX. Copper pipe costs more per foot and takes longer to solder.
Half-inch copper runs about $2 to $4 per foot against $0.50 to $1.00 for PEX in the guides we checked. Labor adds the bigger gap: copper repipes commonly take three to seven working days against one to three for PEX. Copper also needs more wall openings, so patching costs more.
If you want the long-term argument, lifespan and heat, it is on the page for PEX versus copper. Cost alone does not settle it. Copper is the choice some buyers and some exposed runs justify.
How much should a copper repipe cost?
For a 2,000 square foot, two-bath house, expect about $8,000 to $18,000 for copper in published guides, with per-square-foot figures from about $4 to $14. A quote at the very top should show a reason, such as a two-story house, tight access, plaster walls or Type K tubing.
Copper has types. Type L is the usual choice for house supply lines, and Type M is thinner and cheaper. Ask which one is in the quote. Copper also needs lead-free solder for potable water, a rule that has applied nationally since 1986, as LADWP notes in its guidance about lead sources inside homes.
If you are quoted copper because the house already has copper, a partial repipe or a spot repair might fit the problem better. See repairing a copper pipe leak before committing to a full job.
How much does it cost to repipe a mobile home?
Mobile and manufactured homes usually cost less to repipe because they are smaller and have shorter runs, and published guides put them roughly in the low thousands for PEX. We could not find a reliable Los Angeles-specific figure, so ask for a written quote rather than trusting a national average.
The access differs. Supply lines in a manufactured home often run through the underbelly, and a belly wrap or underside panel has to be opened and closed again. In California, the Department of Housing and Community Development, not the city, issues permits for alterations to a mobilehome itself, and a park may have its own rules. Ask the park manager and HCD before work starts.
How much does polybutylene pipe replacement cost?
Replacing polybutylene is priced like any other repipe: PEX at about $4,000 to $10,000 for a typical two-bath house, more for copper. The old polybutylene is usually capped and left in the walls. The national settlement that once paid for replacement closed years ago, so you pay for it yourself.
Many insurers decline or surcharge a house with polybutylene, per inspector and repipe-company sources, which is why some owners treat the repipe as a cost of staying insured. You can read how to spot the pipe and decide on the page for polybutylene pipe replacement.
Does PEX flow as well as copper?
Slightly less per size, because PEX has a smaller inside diameter than copper of the same nominal size, and fittings that sit inside the tube narrow the opening further. In a house, plumbers offset that by running three-quarter-inch trunk lines and sizing branches properly, so you do not notice it.
We did not find a reliable published flow chart with exact inside diameters in the sources we could open, so we will not print one here. Ask the plumber how the trunk lines and branches are sized and what pressure to expect at the farthest fixture. Expansion fittings on PEX type A give a fuller opening than crimp rings on type B, a point covered in PEX A versus PEX B.
Common questions
How much does a PEX repipe cost per square foot?
Published figures range from about $2 to $7 per square foot installed, with more of them around $3.50 to $6. The wide spread comes from differences in access, fixtures and finish work. Per-square-foot is a rough check on a quote, not a way to price a house, because fixtures and access drive the labor.
Is repiping with PEX cheaper than copper?
Yes, commonly by 40 to 60 percent and sometimes close to half. PEX pipe costs less per foot, installs faster and needs fewer wall openings. The savings are real, but copper has its own strengths, and the right choice depends on the house and your plans for it.
Does the PEX repipe cost include drywall repair?
Not always. Many plumbers do the piping and leave drywall patching, texture and paint to another contractor, which adds a separate cost. Ask for the quote to say whether patching is in, and to what finish. This is the most common reason two quotes for the same house differ by thousands.
Do I need a permit to repipe with PEX in Los Angeles?
Yes. A repipe replaces water supply lines, which needs a LADBS plumbing permit and an inspection before walls close. The plumber normally pulls the permit and schedules the inspection, and the fee is a small line next to labor. Ask to see it in the quote.
How long does a PEX repipe take?
The plumbing commonly takes one to three days for PEX, according to published timelines, compared with three to seven for copper. Inspections and drywall patching add to the total, so the whole project often runs a week or two from the first day to final sign-off.
Want a number for your own house? The quote page lets you ask for a written quote after a visit, and the full cost breakdown covers the rest of the price drivers.