Copper repipe has become an outdated process for fixing broken or leaky pipes for a variety of reasons. Today copper repiping work can be an expensive task and for some reason has slowly become an outdated process.

A more efficient and affordable alternative to copper repiping is PEX, cross linked polyethylene. Almost all PEX is made from high density polyethylene and has high performance against all weather types and chemicals.

PEX was invented in the early 1930's after a lot of scientific testing but was not considered an affordable alternative to copper repipe until around 1978. After more tweaking and the addition of cross linking and vinyl-silane PEX was then transformed into a new repipe option. You can still repipe with copper but it may end up costing you more depending on the area you leave.

One of the main reasons PEX became an alternative for repipe was not only because of its affordability but also because of the flexibility. You can bend it into a wide radius space for more coverage or by adding PVC elbows to create even more flexibility. You will generally see red colored PEX for hot water lines and blue colored PEX for cold water lines.

The PEX-AL-PEX option is where a piece of aluminum tubing is inserted between two layers of standard PEX. This option lets the aluminum service as an oxygen barrier to help stop the pipe from corroding. The PEX-AL-PEX tubing is also much more flexible because the aluminum offsets the shape memory naturally installed in PEX. PEX prices depend on the size you need and the place you buy them at. You can generally find your piping need for $20 to $50 for a single pipe.