One of the projects I immediately started working on after I retired was fixing up my home. I had put off work on the house ever since COVID. Prior to COVID we had remodeled different parts of our home including the kitchen and bathrooms in the house.
After COVID, labor, materials and supplies became so expensive that we opted to just wait on any more work on the house which included delaying re-piping our house despite the pipes being excessively old at 50+ years. We knew we were on borrowed time as every single plumber that came by our house warned us that our galvanized steel pipes won’t last forever. The typical lifespan is 40 to 50 years and we were already over that time frame.
It didn’t help that the current administration then went on a tariff tirade and made costs go up again but when the courts struck down most of those tariffs, we decided we better get going before some other thing happens that causes costs to soar (labor shortage, fuel shortage, supply shortage). It so happened that retiring gave me the perfect window of time to get it started.
The Signs
The water pressure in our shower and kitchen faucets began to drop. Our bathroom sink faucets contentiously needed to have the aerator end removed and had to be cleaned to remove rust from clogging the pores in the aerator. There was rust around the pipe joints from our water heater to the master house piping and pretty much every where else.
The Approach
We would have loved to have copper pipes but the cost for that would have been out of the question so we went with an improved PEX brand with a fairly decent warranty.
We’re fairly certain that we won’t be living in this house as our retirement home. We plan on leaving for a few years and then maybe come back or move somewhere else overseas however if our health deteriorates and we need to come back we may come back here temporarily. This is a two story home and climbing stairs is not something I want to do anymore, at least not on a daily basis.
The calculus boiled down to making sure the piping was good for at least 10 years so we could buy time then decide what we ultimately want to do with the home. The plan is to turn it into a property rental once we leave the U.S.
The Work
The crew that came out surprised me at the speed of which they worked. I didn’t think it would be possible the entire re-piping could be done in two days but it was completed in two days. They did cut sheet rock to access the pipes and re-ran lines all over the house.
The next stage was the plastering guy, yes, just ONE guy who took two days to re-sheet rock the walls and holes and then plaster over.
The next thing that needs to happen is we need to repaint but we’re going to put that off for a while.
Future Work
The next two major work renovations will be to replace the flooring on the second floor and replace all the windows in the house. I’m not sure when that work will get started. The issue is we have furniture all over the place, a long vacation coming up and we don’t know what will happen with labor, materials and supply cost.
The Cost
The 10k cost seemed high to me so I ran the contract and the costs into AI and it reviewed everything, the materials, the scope of work, the labor and it came back and stated it was a reasonable price a bit on the high end but reasonable for the work involved. I talked the sales guy into giving us a discount and he offered $500.
The Result
Overall and so far we are happy with the results. The water runs a lot smoother throughout the house now and I don’t have to worry about a pipe bursting while we’re away or during the next hard freeze. Considering the house is 50+ years old and we’ve owned it for 30, this is the first pipe re-fit it comes out to $333/year or close to $1/day for those 30 years.
Knowing The True Cost of Home Ownership
All of this activity reminded me of a post I wrote almost three years ago on knowing the true cost of home ownership. I will probably also need to replace the HVAC system over the next couple of years and it seems our roof will need to be replaced soon. It never ends…..
Share The Wealth
Do you have any major remodeling in your future?