Repiping in Aurora, CO

Signs the pipe has reached the end

• A second or third leak in a different room within a year or so
• Brown or orange water at the first draw, mostly from older taps
• Pressure that sags at every fixture, not just one faucet
• Threaded gray steel pipe visible at the water heater or in the basement
• Green crust or damp spots along copper runs and at fittings

One leak on otherwise healthy pipe is a repair. A pattern of failures on pipe that is all the same age is the signal to price out new lines.

What is different about Aurora

Aurora is bigger than Denver by land area, and its housing spans a long stretch of time. The original Fletcher townsite and the neighborhoods in the northwest corner are the oldest part of the city, while the master-planned communities out along E-470 are far newer. A whole-house repipe is a realistic conversation in the first group and an unusual one in the second.

Aurora Water owns the service line up to and including the meter pit, and the homeowner owns the stretch from the meter pit to the building. The utility notes that lead was sometimes used in service lines installed in 1960 or earlier, publishes a service line material lookup map, and runs a Lead Service Line Replacement Program for qualifying Original Aurora homes built in 1960 or earlier. That program deals with the buried service line. It does not replace the copper or galvanized pipe inside your walls, which is where a repipe happens.

The water itself is on the harder side, with Aurora Water reporting average hardness of about 136 ppm, so scale is worth mentioning to the plumber when you discuss fittings and the water heater connection.

What pushes the price up or down

• Number of bathrooms and fixtures, since each one means more runs and connections
• Basement or slab: an unfinished basement makes routing far simpler than a finished one or a slab
• PEX versus copper, which differ in material cost and install time
• Wall and ceiling patching, and whether the quote includes it
• The private service line, if you replace the meter-pit-to-house section at the same time

Once you call

The number connects you with an independent local plumber who works in Aurora. Have the approximate build year, what pipe you can see, and a list of recent leaks ready. Plumbing work is reviewed and inspected by the City of Aurora Public Works Department Building Division, and the plumber normally pulls the permit.