For a 1,800-square-foot Ohio house with two baths and a crawl space, this site's calculator estimates about $6,200 to $11,500 to repipe in PEX, the flexible plastic pipe. Ohio plumbers average $33.51 per hour, roughly 3% under the national figure of $34.70, which keeps this site's Ohio estimate a little below its national estimate for the same house. Ohio's housing is also on the older side, and that shapes what kind of pipe is probably inside your walls. The call puts you in touch with a repipe company serving your area. Once the company looks at the house, it quotes you a fixed price, and the call costs you nothing through this site.
Aging pipes in Ohio houses
The typical Ohio house went up in 1971, giving the state the 9th oldest housing stock of the 51. More than a third of the state's houses (37.1%) predate 1960, back when galvanized steel water pipe was the norm. Rust builds up inside that pipe over time, which explains why older houses often end up with weak flow or discolored water.
Houses built between 1980 and 1999 make up another 20.0%, the years when builders often used polybutylene and, later, Kitec. If your house is from that stretch, it's worth finding out which pipe you have, and a repipe company can check when it sees the house. Just 17.2% of the state's housing dates from 2000 onward.
Once low pressure, discolored water, or leaks turn up in more than one spot, a repipe is usually worth doing, according to a national guide. Call now and a repipe company will check your pipes.
Repipe prices in Ohio
Below are rough numbers from this site's calculator using Ohio wages. What matters is the count of bathrooms and the square footage, not bedrooms: houses with 3 bedrooms usually come with 2 baths.
| House | Ohio estimate |
|---|---|
| 1,200 square feet, 1 bath, PEX, crawl space | roughly $4,000–$7,500 |
| 1,800 square feet, 2 baths, PEX, crawl space | roughly $6,200–$11,500 |
| 2,400 square feet, 3 baths, 2 floors, PEX, crawl space | roughly $7,900–$15,700 |
Labor makes up around 70% of a repipe bill, so the local plumber wage drives the price. You get a fixed price once the company has seen the house.
Pipe materials and foundation
PEX, a bendable plastic pipe, normally comes red for hot water and blue for cold. CPVC is stiff plastic pipe in a cream or tan color. Copper is metal pipe soldered at the joints.
Take that same house, 1,800 square feet, two baths, over a crawl space (the low open area beneath a raised floor), and here's what each material runs in Ohio:
| Option | Ohio estimate |
|---|---|
| PEX | roughly $6,200–$11,500 |
| CPVC | roughly $7,200–$12,500 |
| Copper | roughly $9,200–$18,400 |
| PEX over a slab | roughly $8,100–$15,900 |
A slab means a concrete floor poured directly on the ground, with pipe running under it or inside it. That adds difficulty to the job, so it raises the cost.
Permits and extra costs
Permits generally run somewhere between $50 and $800, per a national cost guide. Before you hire, ask if the quote covers the permit, the final inspection, and wall patching.
That same guide notes quotes for identical jobs can swing $2,000 to $5,000 apart. Call now to get yours.
Ohio's own house code, and how a repipe gets approved
Ohio sets its own rules for homes. The Ohio Board of Building Standards adopts the Residential Code of Ohio for one, two and three family houses. The Residential Code of Ohio is based on the 2018 International Residential Code. Before any repipe begins, the owner or the plumber must have approval from a certified residential building department. You don't need approval to fix a small leak. But when new pipe replaces a bad hidden water line, the job is counted as new work and gets an inspection. Plumbing may also be checked by a local board of health.
A private well, in other words their own water source rather than a city line, supplies drinking water to about 16 percent of Ohioans. The national figure is about 15 percent, and Ohio's share sits near it.
Staying home while the work is done
Most families remain at home through the whole job, per one repipe company. For a two-bathroom PEX job, the calculator puts the work at about 2 to 3 days.
Verifying an Ohio plumbing license
Plumbing licenses in Ohio come from the Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board, which you can look up here. Search the plumber there before signing anything.
Don't know what's in your walls?
This site's pipe identifier can tell eight pipe types apart by color and feel alone: copper, PEX, CPVC, galvanized steel, polybutylene, Kitec, cast iron, and Orangeburg. If you can see an exposed pipe, the identifier can help you narrow down what type it is. Or just call: a local repipe company will see the house and give you a fixed price, at no charge from us.
