I recently faced a plumbing issue where our main water pipe burst. We hired a plumber to fix it, and they did a good job. However, they mentioned that our crawl space has "soft copper" pipes, stating that it's no longer manufactured and that we should replace it with regular copper pipes, which they say would cost us around $20,000. I spent a couple of days researching, but I couldn't find anything indicating that soft copper is bad or that it's no longer available. Is this plumbing company trying to scam us, or does my piping actually need to be replaced?
3 Answers
You might want to get a second opinion on this. There are different grades of copper—soft copper is indeed used for bending, while harder copper is for straight runs. Both types have been around for ages. Unless there’s a significant issue, I’d recommend considering PEX instead of paying $20k for copper replacement.
I actually sell plumbing materials, and soft copper is still available, although it's primarily used in commercial settings, not residential. If you think the leak was a one-time thing, you might not need to replace everything. Just remember, copper will be the priciest option if you do decide to repipe.
You can still find soft copper pipe at stores like Home Depot that sell various grades, so it seems like you dodged a bullet with this supposed 'scam'. If you’re not having consistent problems, your current pipes might be just fine.
Totally agree! PEX could be a much more cost-effective and flexible option.