When the water pipe in your house keeps leaking, or it’s a type of pipe known for trouble, fixing one spot at a time stops making sense. A repipe replaces the home’s hot and cold water supply lines in one project, from the main shut-off to each fixture. We repipe in PEX only. We don’t do copper repipes.
Las Vegas Water Experts is a family owned and operated plumbing company based in Henderson. Our small family team does the work ourselves, led by owner Jason Miller, who has more than 24 years of plumbing experience. We’re licensed, bonded and insured, and we answer 24/7.
Homes That Usually Need a Repipe
Most of the repipes we do in the valley come down to four kinds of pipe:
- Polybutylene. Gray, flexible plastic supply pipe that was installed in many U.S. homes from the late 1970s into the mid-1990s. It’s often stamped PB2110 and tends to fail at the fittings without much warning.
- Kitec. Orange (hot) and blue (cold) plastic-and-aluminum pipe with brass fittings, sold from about 1995 to 2007. In our mineral-heavy water, the brass fittings can lose zinc, a corrosion process called dezincification, which restricts flow and causes leaks.
- Galvanized steel. Found in some of the oldest homes downtown and on the east side. It rusts from the inside, so pressure slowly drops and the water can turn brown.
- Aging original pipe with repeat leaks. After decades of hard water, older metal lines can develop pinhole leaks, sometimes under the slab. Two or three leaks in a few years is usually a sign more are coming.
Why We Use PEX
PEX is flexible cross-linked polyethylene tubing. Because it bends, it needs far fewer fittings than rigid pipe, and fewer fittings means fewer places for a leak to start. It can be fished through walls and the attic with small openings instead of long trenches. It also holds up well in valley water, which is hard: 17 to 25 grains per gallon, about 22 typical. Scale doesn’t corrode PEX the way it wears on old metal pipe. Our Las Vegas hard water guide explains what that water does to the rest of your plumbing.
In most valley homes the original water lines run in or under the concrete slab. When we repipe, we usually run the new PEX overhead through the attic and down the walls to each fixture, and the old under-slab lines are left out of service. That also takes those lines out of play for future slab leaks.
Kitec Homes: Fittings and Pipe Together
Some companies offer to replace only the brass Kitec fittings. When we repipe a Kitec home, we replace the fittings and all of the pipe at once, in PEX, so nothing from the original system is left behind. To check your home, look at exposed pipe at the water heater and under the sinks. Kitec is usually orange and blue and printed with a name like Kitec, PlumbBetter, IPEX AQUA or XPA, and its fittings may be stamped “KTC.” White, crusty buildup on a fitting or hot water flow that slowly drops off are warning signs.
When to Call
- You’ve found polybutylene or Kitec at the water heater or under a sink
- You’ve had more than one leak in the past few years
- Water pressure has dropped across the house, or the water runs brown at first
- You’re buying or selling an older home and want to know what’s in the walls
- You’re remodeling and the walls are already open
Our Repipe Process
- Look first. We check the visible pipe, the water heater, the main shut-off and the layout of the house, then tell you honestly whether a repipe or a targeted repair makes more sense.
- Plan the routes. We map where the new lines will run and where the wall openings will be, and we explain up front what we will and won’t restore. Drywall finishing, texture and paint are usually done by a contractor you choose; where the drywall can go back in place, we can often secure it again when that’s within the estimate.
- Pull the permit. A repipe is concealed-pipe work, so it needs a permit from your city or Clark County. As a licensed contractor, we pull the permits our work requires.
- Install and connect. New PEX goes to each fixture, usually with new shut-off valves, and the system is checked for leaks before it’s closed in.
- Inspect and walk through. The building department inspects the work, and we show you the new main shut-off and how the system is laid out.
Many repipes start with a leak. If yours did, see our pages on pipe repairs, leak detection and slab leak repair, or read slab leak signs in Las Vegas. Repipes are common in the older parts of Henderson and downtown Las Vegas, and in Kitec-era homes in areas like Southern Highlands.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you do copper repipes?
No. We repipe in PEX only. It’s what we know best, it needs fewer fittings, and it handles valley water well.
How long does a repipe take, and will I have water?
It depends on the size and layout of the house. Before we start, we give you a schedule and tell you when the water will be off.
Is PEX OK in a hot Las Vegas attic?
Yes. PEX is made for hot water service, and attic runs are common in valley slab homes. What actually harms PEX is sunlight, so we keep it covered and secure it the way code requires.
Can you just replace the Kitec fittings?
We don’t do fittings-only Kitec work. When we repipe a Kitec home, we replace the fittings and all of the pipe together. The national IPEX settlement leaves out Clark County homes, and its claim deadline passed on January 9, 2020. We’re plumbers, not lawyers, so we can’t say whether any settlement claim is still open for your home.
My house is from the 1980s. Do I need a repipe?
Not always. If your pipe is in good shape, targeted repairs may be enough. If you have polybutylene or repeat leaks, a PEX repipe is usually the better long-term choice, and we’ll tell you which we’d recommend.
Thinking about a repipe? Las Vegas Water Experts is a Henderson-based, family owned plumbing company. We’re licensed, bonded and insured, and we answer 24/7. Call 702-577-5505 to set up a look at your pipe. NV LIC# 0095727. Prefer to write? Use our contact page.