Las Vegas and Clark County
Pipe Repair in Las Vegas
The hard question on a pipe repair is never how to fix the hole. It is whether fixing this hole is money well spent on a line that is about to produce another one.
Talk to a plumber
Describe the symptom and where you are in the valley. We will tell you what it usually means and what it takes to fix before anyone comes out.
Call Now (725) 257-2386Serving Las Vegas and Clark County.
Worth having ready
- Which fixtures are affected, and whether anything else behaves differently
- When it started, and whether it is getting worse
- Roughly how old the house is, which narrows the likely pipe material
Pipe repair covers pinhole leaks in copper, split lines, and corroded galvanised sections. The repair is straightforward; the judgement is whether the rest of that run has the same remaining life, because a patch on a failing line buys a short reprieve.
Symptoms
What pipe failure looks like
- A visible drip or spray from a supply line
- Green or white staining on copper, which marks a weeping joint
- Rust coloured water after taps have been unused
- Declining flow across the house over a long period
- Damp drywall or a stain that returns after painting
- A second leak on the same run within a year or two
Scope
What pipe repair covers
What is included
- Cutting out and replacing the failed section
- Repairing accessible copper, PEX and galvanised supply lines
- Under slab repair once the leak is located
- Rerouting a run where that is cheaper than repeated access
- Assessment of the remaining run so you know what is next
- Isolation valve replacement where the existing one will not hold
What is not included
- Drywall, tile and flooring restoration
- Whole house repiping, quoted as its own job
- Repair of pipework inside an appliance
Process
How a repair is scoped
Find the actual failure
Water tracks along framing, so the wet spot and the failure are rarely in the same place. Chasing the stain instead of the source is how two holes get opened.
Judge the whole run
One pinhole in a twenty year old copper run is information about the rest of that run, not an isolated event.
Price both answers
Repair now against replacing the run. You get both, with what each is likely to buy in service life.
Make the access small
Cuts placed where they are cheapest to close, and kept to what the repair needs.
Pressure test before closing
The repair is proven under pressure before anything gets covered back up.
Pinholes come in groups
A pinhole in copper is a symptom of conditions along that whole line: water chemistry, velocity and the age of the pipe. Those conditions do not apply to one inch of it. So the second pinhole, when it arrives, usually arrives on the same run.
That is the single most useful thing to know when deciding what to spend. One repair on an otherwise sound system is sensible. A third repair on the same run is a repipe you are paying for in instalments, and at a worse price.
Galvanised lines fail from the inside
In the oldest central valley housing stock, galvanised steel supply is still in service. It corrodes internally, so the first symptom is not a leak, it is flow that has been quietly declining for years, sometimes with rust coloured water after the taps have sat overnight.
Patching galvanised is generally poor value. The section you replace is fine and the sections either side are the same age, so the useful conversation on that material is usually about replacing runs.
Under slab: repair or reroute
Once an under slab leak is located, there are usually two routes. Open the slab and repair at the point of failure, or abandon that section and reroute the line through the attic or along a wall.
Repair is cheaper and keeps the original layout. Rerouting costs more, avoids breaking concrete, and takes that run out of the ground for good. On a line that has already failed once, the second option often ages better.
On pricing: we have not published price ranges on this site, because a range we cannot stand behind is worse than no range. Scope and price go in writing before any work starts.
Straight answers
Fair questions about this work
Can you just patch it for now?
Usually yes, and sometimes that is the right call. You should know it is a patch and roughly what it buys you.
Why do you want to look at pipe that is not leaking?
Because the pipe that is not leaking yet is the same age, in the same conditions, as the pipe that is. That is what decides repair against repipe.
Will my insurance cover it?
That is between you and the insurer, and it usually turns on the cause. We document what failed and why, which is what they will ask for.
Coverage
Pipe Repair across the valley
We cover pipe repair throughout the Las Vegas Valley and Clark County.
Las Vegas
Downtown, the Arts District and the historic central valley, where galvanised supply still turns up.
Plumber in Las VegasNorth Las Vegas
Aliante and Eldorado newer builds against a wartime era core with very different plumbing.
Plumber in North Las VegasHenderson
Green Valley, Anthem and Inspirada, plus the original townsite with very different needs.
Plumber in HendersonBoulder City
The oldest housing in Southern Nevada, built for Hoover Dam workers in the early 1930s.
Plumber in Boulder CityParadise
The Strip corridor, UNLV and Paradise Palms. Dense, mixed use and mid century in parts.
Plumber in ParadiseSpring Valley
Chinatown corridor, Peccole Ranch and Rhodes Ranch. 1980s to 2000s, and lots of restaurants.
Plumber in Spring ValleyFAQ
Pipe Repair questions
What causes pinhole leaks in copper?
Corrosion driven by water chemistry, flow velocity and pipe age. Because those conditions apply along the whole run, pinholes tend to recur on the same line.
Should I repair or repipe?
One leak on an otherwise sound system is a repair. Repeated leaks on the same run mean you are buying a repipe in instalments at a worse price.
Can a slab leak be fixed without breaking the floor?
Sometimes, by abandoning that section and rerouting the line overhead or through a wall. It costs more than a spot repair and it avoids opening concrete.
Why is my water rust coloured in the morning?
It often points to corroding galvanised steel supply, which is still present in some older central valley homes and corrodes internally as it ages.
Related
Related services and guides
Repiping
Whole house or one run, in copper or PEX, with the disruption explained up front.
Repiping detailsLeak Detection
Find it before you open anything. Slab, wall and irrigation leaks located first.
Leak Detection detailsEmergency Plumbing
Burst lines, sewage backing up, no water. What to shut off before we arrive.
Emergency Plumbing detailsPlumbing Repair
General repair across supply, drain and fixtures, diagnosed before it is quoted.
See plumbing repairSigns of a Slab Leak
Six signs, one test you can do yourself, and why valley homes are exposed.
Read the full guideNeed pipe repair in the valley?
Describe the symptom and we will tell you what it usually means and what it takes to fix.