Repiping Guides for Chicago Buildings

How to tell whether a Chicago bungalow, two-flat or greystone home still has galvanized steel supply pipe, what its symptoms do and do not prove, and how Chicago's code, permits and lead rules shape the fix.

Why a state plumbing license is not enough inside the city limits, what the single-family owner exemption allows and doesn't, how to check the contractor on your permit, and why some plumbers turn the work down.

A building has three separate piping systems. Here is how the pressurized water supply differs from the drain, waste and vent pipes and the sewer line, where they meet, and what a repipe quote should include.

The label on Chicago's service line inventory describes the pipe from the street, not the pipes in your walls. Here is where it comes from, why galvanized is treated like lead, and what to do with it.

Why the water stays on through the bulk of a repipe and goes off only when a section is switched over, what the quote should name in advance, and how to plan a house or a two-flat around it.

A magnet, a coin or key and five minutes at the basement wall tell most pipes apart. Here is what galvanized, lead and copper pipe look like, how to test each without damaging anything, and what stays hidden until a wall is open.

Weak water flow upstairs has more than one possible cause, and a repipe only fixes one of them. Here is the order to rule them out, from the street to the shower head.

The City's updated threshold for a pressure-reducing valve, what the valve does at the meter, why high static pressure stresses old and new piping, and how it fits into a repipe.

What the Department of Buildings' Express permit covers when repiping a Chicago building, what pushes a job into plan review, the documents a riser or condo job needs, and what the suburbs do differently.

How new supply pipe gets through a lath-and-plaster house, where the openings go and why, and how to read the restoration lines on a repipe quote so nothing is left to assumption.

The color alone does not name the source. Which taps, hot or cold, first draw or all day, and what happened on the street this week narrow it down before anyone blames the pipes.

Why a sound-looking copper line can weep through a hole the size of a pin, what Chicago's treated Lake Michigan water does and does not explain, and how to tell a one-off from a pattern.

Where PEX is and is not allowed: what Chicago's water distribution table actually lists, what the 2021 and Phase 3 code changes did and did not touch, which suburbs allow PEX, and what to do about plastic pipe already in the house.

How to turn a home inspection note about galvanized pipe into a decision: what the inspector could and couldn't see, what to measure before closing, the scope options and how buyers and sellers each weigh them.

Neither pipe wins everywhere. Where your address sits decides whether there is a choice at all, and where there is one, routing, joints, exposure and budget decide it.

Three ways to deal with failing water supply pipe, what each one actually changes inside the wall, where each runs out, and what to confirm before signing for any of them.

A lead service line replacement brings a new copper service to the basement wall. Whether the pipe it now feeds should go too depends on what that pipe is, where the new line comes in, and how the two permits fit together.

Typical ranges for a single-family house and a two-flat, what sits inside the price, the City's permit fees, and why two quotes for the same house can differ.

What the City says a full replacement is worth, who gets one free, what the Homeowner-Initiated waiver covers and leaves out, the inside-the-house work no program pays for, and what nearby suburbs offer.

The typical range for a whole two-flat, how the City's per-unit permit fees add up, why risers and the floor between units change the job, and what a two-flat quote should spell out.