The signs are water pressure that has dropped throughout the house, discolored or rusty water, repeat leaks in different places, visible corrosion on exposed pipe, and galvanized steel supply piping in a home built before roughly 1970.

The Signs

  • Low pressure throughout the house. Not one fixture — everywhere. Galvanized pipe corrodes from the inside out, and decades of buildup narrow the opening until flow drops noticeably. This is the classic sign, and it develops so gradually that homeowners often do not notice until a guest mentions it.
  • Discolored water. Brown or rusty water, especially first thing in the morning or after the house sits unused, means corrosion inside the pipe.
  • Repeat leaks in different locations. One leak is a repair. Three in two years, in different spots, means the system is failing throughout — each patch is buying months.
  • Visible corrosion — flaking, green staining, or mineral crust at joints and fittings on exposed pipe.
  • Galvanized supply pipe. If your home was built before about 1970 and has never been repiped, this is likely what you have, and it is at or past end of life.
  • Polybutylene pipe (grey plastic, used roughly 1978–1995), which fails unpredictably and is worth replacing proactively.

Why Patching Stops Making Sense

Cutting into corroded galvanized routinely reveals more failing pipe adjacent to the repair. You fix one section and the next weak point fails a few months later, often in a wall you have already opened once. At that point repiping costs more upfront and less overall — and it ends the cycle of opening walls repeatedly.

Check the Pressure Too

Before concluding you need a repipe, have incoming water pressure measured. Excess pressure without a working pressure reducing valve causes repeat leaks in otherwise sound piping — a much cheaper fix.

How We Assess It

A plumbing inspection identifies pipe material, measures pressure, and evaluates condition. We quote repair against repiping with both numbers, and no technician here works on commission. Financing is available.

Contact B. Carlson in Albuquerque.