What a whole-house repipe looks like start to finish: an illustrative 1960s crawl space ranch

Last Updated: October 29, 2026

This post shows what a whole-house repipe looks like start to finish, using an illustrative house rather than a real job. Level Repiping Charlotte arranges whole house repipes across Charlotte and the surrounding counties, with the work performed by licensed and insured contractors, and every one follows the same four steps: the call or form, the assessment, the repipe, and the inspection followed by patching. The example below walks through each step in a house type Charlotte has plenty of.

The example house

The example is a one-story brick ranch built in the 1960s, sitting on a vented crawl space. That is a common Charlotte combination: Mecklenburg County assessor records show about 95% of single-family homes built in the 1960s sit on crawl spaces. The example has two bathrooms, a kitchen with a dishwasher, a washer box, a tank water heater in a hall closet and two hose bibbs.

Its supply pipe is mostly original galvanized steel, with short sections of copper where past leaks were repaired. The owners notice weak flow at the back bathroom and brown water when the house has sat for a few days. Both fit how galvanized pipe fails: it rusts from the inside, the bore narrows, and the fixtures farthest from the main lose flow first. Both also have other possible causes, which is why the assessment measures before it concludes anything. The galvanized pipe replacement page explains that failure in more detail.

Step 1: The call or the form

The owners call or use the form and describe four things: the age of the house, the pipe they have seen (gray threaded metal at the water heater with some copper patches), that the house sits on a crawl space, and the slow drip at a threaded joint they spotted under the house. Those four answers already say a lot. A 1960s crawl space house with galvanized pipe and a joint leak is a whole-house conversation, and the crawl space suggests routing under the floor. They do not yet give a price; that needs a look at the house. If you are not sure what your own pipe is, the guide to identifying pipe material helps.

Step 2: The assessment

The assessment maps the system. The person assessing the example house checks the pipe at the main shutoff, the water heater, under each sink and along the crawl space, and confirms the mix of galvanized and copper. Every fixture that needs water is counted: two toilets, three sinks, a tub and shower, a shower stall, the kitchen sink, dishwasher, washer box, water heater and both hose bibbs.

Then the access. Under the house that means the clearance in the crawl space, the direction of the joists and where new lines can come up through the floor behind each fixture. In the rooms it means the tub and shower valves, which sit inside walls; in the example, the hall bath’s valve backs onto a linen closet, so the opening is planned there rather than through the tile.

Street pressure is measured at a hose bib. Charlotte Water says pressure across its system ranges from about 40 psi on high ground to more than 100 psi in low areas near creeks, and new or remodeled residential plumbing needs a pressure-reducing valve where it runs above 80 psi. If the example’s gauge reads above 80 psi, the valve goes into the scope; the high water pressure guide covers how that is decided.

The line from the meter to the house is looked at where it enters. Charlotte Water’s inventory lists only 66 galvanized service lines needing replacement out of 333,871 connections, but the private side is often a predicted classification, so it is checked. If it needed replacing, it would be its own line item under water line replacement.

The result is a written scope with a price. For the example, it lists:

PEX suits this house because long runs under the floor need few joints, but copper would also work and would be quoted for the house. The PEX vs copper guide and the guide to manifold vs trunk and branch explain those two choices.

As for price: a whole house PEX repipe on a single-family home typically runs $4,000 to $12,000 or more in the Charlotte area, with larger, two-story and slab homes running higher. A one-story crawl space house tends to sit lower in that range than a two-story or slab house, and the written scope is what sets the actual figure. The repipe cost guide explains what moves it.

Step 3: The repipe

Mecklenburg County Code Enforcement issues plumbing permits for Charlotte and the six towns. North Carolina exempts some single-family replacements under $40,000 that do not change the design of the plumbing, so whether the example needs a permit is confirmed with the county. The Mecklenburg permit guide covers that test.

New lines go in while the old system still works. In the example, PEX trunk lines run from the new main shutoff along the joists, held in hangers so the tubing does not sag, with insulation added as the runs go in. Branches come up through small holes drilled in the floor plate behind each fixture, and the kitchen and bathroom sink lines come up inside the cabinets. The hall bath valve is reached from the linen closet.

Then the changeover. The water is shut off at the main, each fixture is moved from the old pipe to the new, the water heater is connected, and the old galvanized is disconnected so it carries no water. The new system is pressure tested before any wall is closed, so a leak at a fitting shows while it is still easy to reach. Most families stay in the house during a repipe; in the example, the owners plan around the hours when the water is off.

Step 4: Inspection, then patching

Where a permit is pulled, the county inspects the new piping before openings are closed. Only after it passes are the openings patched to the standard in the written scope. Assessor records list about three in four Mecklenburg single-family homes built from 1960 to 1979 with drywall interiors and most of the rest with plywood paneling, and paneling changes how an opening is closed. The guide to drywall after a repipe covers what to expect.

What changes in a different house

The four steps do not change, but the route does. A slab house has no space under the floor, so new lines run through the attic and drop down interior walls, as the slab leak repair page explains. A two-story house needs lines brought up through walls or closets to the second floor. A house with gray polybutylene follows the same process. The repiping process guide covers those variations.

For a range for your own house without a call, try the repipe cost estimator. For a written scope, call (704) 452-4386.