If your Seattle house was built before the 1960s and still has its original supply lines, they are almost certainly galvanized steel, and galvanized steel closes up from the inside. Rusty water in the morning, a shower that fades when someone flushes, a pinhole leak behind the plaster: these are not separate problems. They are one pipe reaching the end of its life. Nic’s Plumbing replaces it the old-house way, with three priced options you approve before we start and the floors and finishes protected throughout.
- Typical culpritGalvanized steel supply lines, common in Seattle homes built 1900–1960
- What you seeRusty or brown water, weak upstairs pressure, recurring leaks
- Your optionsTargeted mitigation, partial repipe, or a full whole-house repipe
- How we quoteGood / Better / Best digital pricing, approved before any work
What is actually happening inside an old Seattle house
Galvanized pipe is steel with a zinc coating. The zinc protects the steel for a few decades, then it wears through and the steel starts to rust. The rust does not fall away cleanly. It builds up as scale on the inside of the pipe, so a line that started at three-quarters of an inch can be carrying water through a hole the size of a pencil. That is why the pressure fades the farther the water travels, why the upstairs bathroom is always the worst, and why the first draw in the morning runs brown: the water has been sitting in a rusty pipe all night.
Seattle’s older neighborhoods make it more interesting. Queen Anne and Magnolia foursquares, Ballard and Wallingford bungalows, Fremont’s early cottages: a lot of these homes have been partially updated over a century. It is common to open a wall and find galvanized feeding copper feeding a run of newer plastic, all joined by whoever did the last remodel. Mixed metals corrode faster at the joints. Add lath-and-plaster walls, original fir floors, low crawlspaces and a permit history that is not always tidy, and a repipe becomes a job for someone who does this in old houses every week, not once in a while.
Old-house note: knob-and-tube era plumbing
Homes from the knob-and-tube wiring era often have the plumbing routed through the same tight chases and balloon-framed walls. Before we plan any pipe route we map what else is in the wall, so a repipe never becomes an electrical surprise. If you are not sure what you have, start with how to tell if you have galvanized pipes.
Mitigation or a full repipe? Both are on the table
Not every old house needs every pipe replaced this year. Our job is to tell you honestly where yours sits. Sometimes a single corroded run to the upstairs bath is the whole problem and a targeted replacement fixes it for a fraction of a full repipe. Sometimes the main line and every branch are equally far gone and a partial fix would just move the next leak somewhere else. We look first, then we lay out what we found and what each path means for the house.
Targeted pipe mitigation
Replace the worst runs and the failing joints, restore pressure where it hurts most, and buy the house time without opening every wall.
- Camera and pressure diagnosis of the whole system
- Replace the failing sections with copper or PEX
- New shutoffs where the old ones are seized
- Honest note on what will likely come next
Partial repipe
Replace the galvanized on the main paths: the service entry, the trunk lines, and the runs to the busiest fixtures, leaving sound newer sections in place.
- Everything in Good
- New trunk and branch lines to kitchen and main baths
- Mixed-metal joints eliminated with proper dielectric fittings
- Wall and floor openings planned to protect original finishes
Whole-house repipe
Every galvanized supply line out, a clean new copper or PEX system in, labeled at a new manifold. The do-it-once answer for a house you plan to keep.
- Everything in Better
- All supply lines replaced, water heater connections included
- Labeled shutoffs and a tidy manifold
- Permits handled, before-and-after photos of every run
Each tier arrives as a written digital quote with its own price. You read it at the kitchen table, ask whatever you want, and approve the one you choose before a single cut is made. That approved number is the number on the invoice. Curious how the process works from first call to final photo? See how our free Good / Better / Best quote works.
How a repipe goes with Nic’s Plumbing
Look, the old-house way
We trace what you actually have: galvanized, copper, mixed joints, hidden chases, the state of the main shutoff, and what the last remodel left behind.
Three priced options
Good, Better and Best, written down, with what each one includes. You approve one on your phone before anything starts.
Protect the house
Canvas runners on the fir, covered work areas, shoe covers, and the smallest openings that let us do the job properly in plaster and trim.
Replace, pressure test, restore
New lines in, old ones out, every joint tested under pressure, water back on the same day wherever the plan allows.
Prove it with photos
Before-and-after pairs of every run, a labeled shutoff map, and a workspace sanitized when we leave.
You can also watch the technician on the way. When your tech is en route you get a live tracking link, so a repipe day starts on your schedule instead of a four-hour window. Every job runs on the same standard; read the full Nic’s Plumbing process if you want the details.
Copper or PEX for an old Seattle house?
Both are good modern choices, and the right one depends on the house more than the brochure. Here is how we usually frame it, and we will tell you which we would choose for your home and why.
| Consideration | Copper | PEX |
|---|---|---|
| Routing through old walls | Rigid; more openings in plaster and floors | Flexible; snakes through existing chases with fewer openings |
| Longevity | Proven over many decades | Long service life; newer, with a strong track record |
| Cold-snap resistance | Can split if it freezes | Tolerates some expansion when it freezes |
| Exposed runs (basement, utility room) | Looks right in a historic home; UV-safe | Should be protected from sunlight |
| Water taste and quality | Neutral once flushed | Neutral; no metal to corrode |
| Typical cost position | Higher material and labor | Usually the lower-cost route |
We go deeper on this in PEX vs. copper for a whole-house repipe, and on the straight galvanized replacement question in galvanized pipe replacement.
What the photo documentation shows on a repipe
Each galvanized run photographed in place: the scale at the joints, the seized valves, the mixed-metal splices from earlier remodels, and the exact wall or floor openings we plan to make.
The same locations with new copper or PEX installed, the pressure test result, the labeled shutoffs, and the openings patched or prepared for your finisher.
Rusty water or fading pressure? Let us look.
We will trace what you have, explain it plainly, and send Good, Better and Best options to approve before any work begins.
Repiping in Seattle’s historic neighborhoods
Most of our repipe work is in the neighborhoods where the housing stock is oldest and most worth keeping. Each of these pages covers what we typically find in that neighborhood’s homes.
Repiping in Queen Anne
Victorian and foursquare homes on the hill, often with three floors of pressure problems.
Repiping in Magnolia
Mid-century and earlier homes with long supply runs and finished basements to protect.
Repiping in Ballard
Bungalows with tight crawlspaces and decades of partial updates joined together.
Repiping in Fremont
Early cottages and craftsman homes where galvanized still feeds the kitchen and bath.
Outside these four? We also repipe in Wallingford, South Lake Union, Belltown and Downtown Seattle. See all service areas.
Questions homeowners ask about repiping
How do I know if my house needs a repipe or just a repair?
One failing joint in an otherwise sound system is a repair. Rusty water at several fixtures, pressure that drops across the house, and more than one leak in a few years point to galvanized that is closing up everywhere at once. We diagnose with a camera and a pressure check, then show you what we found so the decision is yours and informed. Our guide to the signs your old house needs repiping walks through it.
Will you have to tear up my plaster walls and fir floors?
Some openings are unavoidable, but far fewer than people fear. We route new lines through existing chases and crawlspaces wherever possible, plan each opening in advance, and photograph it before and after. Canvas runners and covered work areas protect the floors and trim the entire time. Openings are left clean and square for your finisher, or we can arrange patching as part of the quote.
How long does a whole-house repipe take?
It depends on the size of the house, how many bathrooms it has, and how the walls are built. Most single-family repipes run a few working days, and we plan the sequence so you have water each evening wherever the layout allows. Your written quote includes the expected schedule for the tier you choose.
How much does a whole-house repipe cost in Seattle?
There is no honest single number, because a one-bath bungalow and a three-story foursquare are different jobs. Square footage, fixture count, wall construction, access, and copper versus PEX all move the price. That is exactly why we quote three tiers in writing after looking at the house, so you see real numbers for your home before deciding. Our repipe cost guide explains what drives the price.
Do I need a permit to repipe a house in Seattle?
Replacing water supply piping generally requires a plumbing permit and inspection in Seattle. We handle the permit and schedule the inspection as part of the job, and the inspection record becomes part of the house’s paper trail alongside your before-and-after photos.
Will a repipe fix my water pressure?
If the pressure loss is caused by scale inside galvanized pipe, which is the usual case in older Seattle homes, then yes: new full-bore lines restore the flow the house was designed for. If the cause is a failing pressure regulator or a utility-side issue, we will tell you that instead of selling you a repipe.