What people ask before a repipe

Look where the water pipe enters your basement. Galvanized steel is dull gray, threaded, and a magnet sticks to it. Copper is orange-brown, and plastic is white, red, blue or gray. Text us a photo and we'll tell you.

No. We read your gauge with nothing running and with a tap open. If the standing reading is low too, the cause may be the city's supply or a failing regulator, and we tell you so before you spend anything.

Either. If part of the house is already copper or PEX, we may only replace the steel. The plan lists exactly which lines come out.

As little as the plan allows. Most of the new pipe runs through the basement or crawl space. The walls guide shows the usual places, and your plan marks them for your house.

We close every opening with drywall, taped and sanded. Paint and wallpaper are yours or your painter's. Matching old plaster is a separate line on the plan.

For part of a day. We call the day before with the hours. Fill a few jugs, and we'll leave one tap running as soon as a floor is done, if you'd like.

When the city asks for one, yes. It's a line on your plan, and we tell you before you sign.

Houses built before 1986 may have lead solder, and some older service lines are lead. The EPA has a page on how to check yours. We can tell you what we see inside the house, but a lead question about the line from the street is one for your water utility.

Any pipe can freeze in an unheated wall. PEX gives more than steel when water freezes in it, but it can still burst, so we run new lines on the warm side of the insulation.

Your plan states the terms for the work we do. Read them before you sign. See terms on the plan, and ask us anything that isn't clear.

Cristina, Luis and Andrea. Edward doesn't. Andrea will tell you who is coming to your door.

The office is open Monday to Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to noon. We work in Des Moines and the suburbs around it. See where we work for the list.