# What a Philadelphia Rowhouse Repipe Looks Like From Start to Finish: An Illustrative Walkthrough > An illustrative walkthrough of a Philadelphia rowhouse repipe, not a real job: the meter visit, written scope, L&I permit, openings, testing and cutover. URL: https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/blog/what-a-philadelphia-rowhouse-repipe-looks-like/ An illustrative walkthrough, not a record of a real job: how a whole-house repipe of a two-story Philadelphia rowhouse with galvanized supply pipe would run, from the first visit at the meter to labeled shutoffs and closed walls. Last Updated: October 26, 2026 > An illustrative walkthrough > > This post describes what a typical job looks like from start to finish. It is not the record of a specific completed project. > Illustrative example > > This is an illustrative walkthrough, not a real job. The house, its layout and the sequence below are a composite built to show how a whole-house repipe of a Philadelphia rowhouse would typically run. It does not describe any customer, address or completed project. **A rowhouse repipe runs in a set order: map the system, write the scope, pull the permit, build the new piping while the old still works, test it, have it inspected, cut over, flush, label and close the walls.** Here is how that order would play out in an illustrative two-story rowhouse with galvanized supply pipe. [Philadelphia Freedom Repipe](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/) offers and manages repipes like this across Philadelphia, carried out by licensed and insured contractors; inside the city, a Philadelphia licensed master plumber oversees the job and pulls the L&I permit. ## The illustrative house Picture a brick rowhouse built before 1940, which is true of 39.9% of the city’s housing units by Census figures. It has a basement with open joists, a kitchen at the back of the first floor, a bathroom on the second floor above the kitchen, a washer in the basement and a hose bibb on the back wall. The supply pipe is mostly original galvanized steel, with a copper section where an earlier leak was patched. The owners notice that the upstairs shower fades when the kitchen tap opens, and the first draw after a weekend away runs brown. ## Step 1: The walk-through from the meter The visit starts where the water enters: the front foundation wall, where the service line comes in to the meter and main shutoff. The service pipe is checked first, because a lead or galvanized service line can limit flow on its own, and replacing it is separate work covered on the [lead service line replacement](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/lead-service-line-replacement/) page. The main shutoff in this house is an old valve that does not close fully, so [replacing the main shutoff](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/main-water-shutoff-replacement/) goes on the scope. From the meter, the pipe is traced along the basement to the water heater, the washer and the riser to the second floor. Static pressure is read at a hose bibb, and flow is compared at the kitchen and the upstairs shower with two taps open. Those readings support the idea that the old pipe, not the fixtures, is restricting flow, though they do not rule out the service line. The walk-through then maps routes. The basement joists can carry new mains to the back. A closet beside the stairs on the first floor lines up with a hall closet upstairs, giving a hidden route for the riser. The shower valve can be reached from that hall closet rather than through the tile. ## Step 2: The written scope The scope names the work in plain terms: - New hot and cold mains from a new main shutoff to the water heater and the back of the house - One riser through the stacked closets to the bathroom, with branches to the toilet, sink and tub and shower valve - Branches to the kitchen sink, dishwasher, washer and hose bibb, the last with its own indoor shutoff - PEX for the distribution, which [Philadelphia’s code allows](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/guide/is-pex-allowed-in-philadelphia/) in one- and two-family dwellings, meeting the water heater through at least 4 feet of copper or similar metallic pipe as the EZ permit standards require - Thermal expansion control if a pressure-reducing valve or check valve is found on the supply - A list of every opening by room, its size and who closes it, to a finished plaster surface - Old galvanized removed where exposed in the basement, cut and capped where it stays in the walls Price follows the scope. A house like this would fall within the typical Philadelphia-area range of $4,000 to $15,000+ for a whole-house repipe, and within about $4,000 to $10,000 for a PEX repipe of a typical home; the [repiping cost guide](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/guide/repiping-cost-philadelphia/) explains what moves it within those ranges. ## Step 3: The permit With seven or fewer fixtures in a one-family house, the L&I alteration fee would be $50 for the first 7 fixtures, plus a $100 filing fee applied toward the final fee and small surcharges. A building with four or fewer dwellings up to four stories can usually use the EZ permit with no plans. The [Philadelphia repipe permit guide](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/guide/philadelphia-repipe-permit/) covers the application. ## Step 4: Building the new system while the old one runs On the first work day, drop cloths go down from the front door to the basement, and plastic sheeting seals the two closets that will be opened. The new mains are hung along the basement joists. Openings are scored and cut in the closet walls at the floor plates, and the PEX riser is fished up between them. Small square openings in the bathroom’s hall-closet wall give access to the tub and shower valve and the sink and toilet connections. All the while, the old galvanized keeps the house supplied. Nothing is disconnected yet. The [living through a repipe guide](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/guide/living-through-a-repipe/) describes what that is like for the people at home. ## Step 5: Pressure test and inspection With every new line installed and the fixtures isolated, the system is pressure tested. A weak joint shows on the gauge while it can still be reached. Then L&I inspects the open work under the permit. ## Step 6: Cutover and flush The water goes off at the curb stop so the old main shutoff can be replaced, then the new system is connected and the old one capped. Water comes back on through the new piping. The lines are flushed, and aerators and fixture screens are cleaned, because scale loosened from the old pipe can travel to the first faucet. In a one-bathroom house, the bathroom group is cut over in one window, planned ahead with the household. ## Step 7: Labels and closing the walls Each shutoff, at the main and at each fixture group, gets a label. Only after the test and inspection do the openings close, to the finish the scope named. The [plaster walls guide](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/guide/repiping-plaster-walls/) explains how those patches are made. ## Step 8: The handover At the end, the owners would get the permit record, the written scope showing what was replaced and what stayed in the walls, the test result and the location of every shutoff. If the service line turned out to be lead or galvanized, that would be a separate decision, and the [free lead line replacement guide](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/guide/free-lead-line-replacement-philadelphia/) compares the routes. The [rowhouse repiping](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/rowhouse-repiping/) page covers how other rowhouse layouts change the plan. ## Questions about this post ### What is the first step of a rowhouse repipe? A walk-through that starts at the meter and main shutoff, usually in the basement behind the front wall. It identifies the service line and interior pipe materials, reads pressure and flow, maps the routes to each floor and marks likely openings. Nothing should be priced until that map exists, because the routes decide the scope. ### When does the L&I inspection happen during a repipe? After the new piping is installed and pressure tested, while the walls are still open, so the inspector can see the pipe and joints. The openings are closed only after the work passes. A licensed master plumber oversees the work and pulls the permit, and the inspection is scheduled under that permit. ### What paperwork should an owner keep after a repipe is finished? The L&I permit and its inspection record, the written scope showing what was replaced and what was left in the walls, the pressure test result, and a note of where each labeled shutoff is. Those papers answer a future buyer's inspector and save the next plumber from guessing which pipe is live. ## Keep reading - Learn [How Long Does a Repipe Take When You Are Living in the House?](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/guide/living-through-a-repipe/)The schedule depends on floors, fixtures, access and the plaster, not on a standard number of days. How the work is staged so the water is off only at cutovers, and what to get ready before the first day. - Learn [How Do You Repipe a House With Plaster Walls?](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/guide/repiping-plaster-walls/)Plaster on lath can be opened and closed cleanly if the openings are planned. Where the cuts go, how routing keeps them few, the three levels of patching, and what keeps the dust in one room. - Learn [Do You Need a Permit to Repipe a House in Philadelphia?](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/guide/philadelphia-repipe-permit/)How the L&I plumbing permit works for a repipe in Philadelphia: when one is needed, who can apply, what the EZ permit covers, the published fee lines and surcharges, and what happens at inspection. - Cost Guide [How Much Does Repiping Cost in Philadelphia?](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/guide/repiping-cost-philadelphia/)Typical ranges for a whole-house and a PEX repipe, what sits inside the price, the City's permit fees, and why two quotes for the same rowhouse can differ. - Learn [What Old Water Pipes Are in Philadelphia Homes, and When Do They Need Replacing?](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/guide/old-water-pipes-philadelphia-homes/)A plain guide to the water pipes inside an older Philadelphia rowhouse or twin: how to tell lead, galvanized steel, copper and plastic apart, how each one fails, who owns which part, what the city's code and permits require, and how to decide between a repair, a partial repipe and a whole-house repipe.