Pipes & Fittings Cost Guides

A burst pipe is the most expensive plumbing emergency because the damage compounds every minute the water runs. The pipe repair itself costs $150-$500. The water damage from a burst that runs for hours before discovery costs $5,000-$50,000+. Speed matters more than anything -- turn off the main water supply the moment you discover it. The repair is simple. The damage from delay is not. Here is what to expect for the plumbing repair and how to handle the water damage side.

Emergency plumbing rates are brutal -- $150-$300 just to show up, before any work starts. Nights, weekends, and holidays add 50-100% to normal rates. A burst pipe at 2 AM on a Sunday is the most expensive plumbing scenario possible. Knowing what to expect, what you can handle yourself in the moment, and how to prevent emergencies saves serious money.

Fittings are where pipes connect, change direction, or transition between sizes. They seem like small purchases, but on a typical plumbing project you might use 50-200 of them -- and the cost per fitting varies dramatically by connection type. Choosing the right fitting method affects both your material budget and installation time.

Pipe material is one of the biggest cost variables in any plumbing project. PEX can run a whole house for under $500 in materials. Copper for the same house might cost $2,000-$3,000. But material cost is only part of the equation -- labor, fittings, longevity, and code requirements all factor into the real cost of each option.

Re-piping replaces all the water supply lines in your house -- from the main shut-off to every fixture. It is a major project but sometimes the only option when old galvanized or polybutylene pipes are failing across the system. Spot repairs on corroded pipes are temporary. A full repipe solves the problem permanently. PEX has made repiping dramatically cheaper than it was in the copper-only era. A 1,500 square foot house repipe in PEX costs $2,000-$5,000. The same repipe in copper costs $5,000-$12,000. Here is what determines the price.

A whole-house repipe is one of the biggest plumbing investments a homeowner can make. It's also one of the most impactful -- replacing corroded galvanized or failing polybutylene pipes with modern PEX or copper eliminates leaks, improves water pressure, and adds decades of reliable service. The cost depends on house size, pipe material, number of fixtures, and access.