# Copper Repiping in Philadelphia

> Copper repiping in Philadelphia: where the City code requires metal pipe, Type L or K, press or soldered joints, and how PWD water chemistry affects copper.

URL: https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/copper-repiping/

Rigid copper supply lines for mixed-use buildings and other occupancies where Philadelphia requires metal, and for houses whose owners choose it, joined by press or solder with care around old framing.

Last Updated: October 26, 2026

**$189** L&I alteration permit for occupancies other than one- and two-family, first 7 fixtures; $22.50 each after

**6 to 10** Grains per gallon of hardness in PWD tap water, from the Delaware River plant to the Schuylkill plants

**0 of 106** Homes in PWD's Lead and Copper Rule sampling with copper above the 1.3 ppm action level

**344** Philadelphia plumbing permits over 36 months whose approved scope names copper

[Philadelphia Freedom Repipe](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/) repipes buildings in copper across Philadelphia and nearby Delaware, Montgomery and Bucks County suburbs. In a Philadelphia house, copper is a choice. In a corner property with a shop downstairs, an office conversion or any building outside the dwelling and apartment categories, the City code makes metal pipe a requirement. Either way, copper brings decisions that PEX does not: which tube type, press or solder at each joint, how to work with a flame inside a century-old frame, and how the local water treats the metal. Licensed and insured contractors carry out the work; inside the city, a Philadelphia licensed master plumber oversees the job and pulls the L&I permit.

Most Philadelphia house repipes are PEX, which the [PEX repiping](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/pex-repiping/) page covers. This page is about the buildings and owners for which copper is the answer, and the [PEX vs copper repipe guide](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/guide/pex-vs-copper-repipe/) sets the two side by side.

## When metal pipe is required in Philadelphia

The 2018 Philadelphia Plumbing Code, as amended effective April 1, 2024, allows plastic water pipe in one- and two-family dwellings and apartments. Section P-605.4 requires metallic piping for any water supply piping that supplies or is located within any other occupancy, and P-605.3 applies the same rule to the water distribution pipe that brings water into those buildings. L&I-approved scopes for commercial and mixed-use work spell it out: all piping for conveyance and supply for the commercial space shall be metallic.

That matters in a city where corner stores, bars and offices sit in the ground floor of rowhouse blocks. A building with an apartment upstairs and a business at street level needs metal for the commercial side, and the apartment side should be confirmed with L&I before materials are ordered. The [commercial repiping](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/commercial-repiping/) page covers scheduling around a business. P-605.4.1 adds a height rule: metallic piping where an occupied floor sits more than 75 feet above the fire-access level, which reaches larger [apartment buildings](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/multi-unit-repiping/).

A bill to adopt the 2021 International Plumbing Code as Philadelphia’s code, introduced in June 2025, keeps the same metallic-piping text; whether it has been enacted is something to confirm with L&I, which publishes the code in force. Suburban townships enforce the statewide Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code instead, and each township or borough’s own permit and contractor rules apply.

## Type K, L or M

Copper water tube comes in three common wall thicknesses, color-coded on the tube. Type K is the heaviest and is mostly used underground; Philadelphia service line permits name it, such as “3/4 inch K copper”. Type L, a medium wall, is the usual choice for interior distribution. Type M is the thinnest and least costly. A thinner wall leaves less metal between the water and a pinhole, so a quote that just says “copper” leaves out a real difference. Ask which type is priced.

## Press or solder

**Soldered joints** are the traditional method. The tube is cut square, reamed, cleaned, fluxed and heated with a torch until solder draws into the fitting. Done well, a soldered joint lasts as long as the pipe. Done poorly, with flux left inside or a burr left on the cut, it can start erosion downstream. Solder for drinking water must be lead-free; PWD notes that lead can be hidden in older plumbing work, including old solder, which is one more reason old joints are cut out rather than reused.

**Press fittings** carry a sealing O-ring inside the fitting. A battery press tool crimps the fitting onto the tube in seconds, with no flame and no need to drain every drop from the line. They cost more per fitting and need the right tool and jaws for each size. Philadelphia’s code allows press-connect joints above ground only.

Many copper repipes mix the two: press fittings inside finished walls and near framing, solder on open basement runs. The written scope should say which is used where.

## Hot work in an old house

Philadelphia rowhouses are full of dry wood. Lath behind plaster, old joists, and in older houses framing with open cavities between floors can carry heat and fire a long way from where the torch is. Any job that solders inside a finished house needs a hot-work plan: a heat shield behind every joint near wood, water and an extinguisher at hand, and a fire watch that stays after the last joint, because smoldering lath can take time to show. Where a joint must be made in a closed cavity, a press fitting removes the flame entirely. This is a real reason press fittings have become common in occupied houses.

## Philadelphia water and copper

Copper’s life depends partly on the water it carries. PWD’s [2025 drinking water quality report](https://water.phila.gov/drops/2025-drinking-water-quality-report/) puts tap hardness at about 101 ppm (6 grains per gallon) from the Baxter plant on the Delaware, 151 ppm (9 grains) from Belmont and 169 ppm (10 grains) from Queen Lane on the Schuylkill. PWD describes its water as moderately hard or hard, depending on the service area, and some addresses get a mix. Chloride runs higher in the Schuylkill plants’ range than at Baxter.

PWD adds zinc orthophosphate, which [forms a protective coating inside pipes](https://water.phila.gov/lead/). In its 2025 Lead and Copper Rule sampling of 106 homes, the copper 90th percentile was 0.210 ppm and no home was above the 1.3 ppm action level. That says the treatment keeps copper from dissolving into the water in most homes. It does not say copper pipe lasts forever, and it is no promise about any one house.

In Aqua Pennsylvania’s main system, which serves many of the inner suburbs, the water is disinfected with chloramines and the reported copper 90th percentile was 0.34 ppm. Chemistry differs by utility, and a copper decision in Upper Darby or Abington starts with that utility’s report.

## Pinholes have more than one cause

A pinhole leak in copper is a small hole worn or corroded through the wall from inside. No single cause explains them, and anyone who names one without looking is guessing. Contributors include water chemistry, high water velocity in undersized pipe or on a recirculation loop, flux residue left inside joints, burrs left on cut ends that create turbulence, and in some cases stray electrical current. Pinholes clustered just downstream of fittings point toward velocity or workmanship. Pinholes spread along straight runs point toward chemistry or the pipe itself. The [guide to copper pinhole leaks](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/guide/copper-pinhole-leaks/) explains how the pattern is read.

When an older copper system has a pinhole history, the repipe plan sizes the new lines so water moves at a reasonable speed, specifies the tube type, and makes joints so the inside stays clean.

## Testing, permit and price

The new copper is pressure tested before any wall closes, then flushed, with each shutoff labeled. Hot lines are insulated where the EZ standards require R-3, and runs near outside walls are insulated against freezing. For occupancies other than one- and two-family dwellings, L&I lists the alteration permit at $189 for the first 7 fixtures and $22.50 for each additional one; a house falls under the $50 column. The [Philadelphia repipe permit guide](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/guide/philadelphia-repipe-permit/) covers the application.

Copper repipes are priced from the scope. Fixture count, floors, occupancy, plaster or tile access, the number of joints and patching all move the number, and on the whole-house range, larger homes and copper jobs can pass $20,000. The [repiping cost guide for Philadelphia](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/guide/repiping-cost-philadelphia/) explains each driver.

## Related resources

- [Whole-house repiping](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/whole-house-repiping/), the full scope in any material
- [Is PEX allowed in Philadelphia?](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/guide/is-pex-allowed-in-philadelphia/) for the occupancy rule in detail
- [Galvanized pipe replacement](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/galvanized-pipe-replacement/), including copper-to-steel transitions

## What's included

- A check of the building's occupancy, so the material matches what L&I will require
- Copper tube of a stated type, usually Type L for interior distribution
- Press or soldered joints, chosen for each location, with lead-free solder where soldering is used
- Heat shields, a hot-work plan and a fire watch wherever a flame is used near old framing
- Hangers and isolation where copper meets steel, framing or masonry
- Insulation on hot lines where the EZ standards call for it and on runs near outside walls
- Pressure test before walls close, a full flush and labeled shutoffs
- The L&I permit in the correct occupancy column, pulled by a licensed master plumber

## Copper tube types and where they fit

|  | Type K | Type L | Type M |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Wall thickness | Thickest | Medium | Thinnest |
| Color code on the tube | Green | Blue | Red |
| Where it usually goes | Underground water service; Philadelphia service permits name it, such as 3/4 inch K copper | Interior water distribution in houses, mixed-use and apartment buildings | Interior distribution where the code and the job allow the lighter wall |
| Trade-off | Most metal, most cost, stiffest to work | Common balance of wall thickness and workability | Least metal and least margin against corrosion or wear |

## Guides for this work

- Decision Guide [PEX or Copper: Which Is Better for Repiping a Philadelphia House?](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/guide/pex-vs-copper-repipe/)How PEX and copper compare for a Philadelphia repipe: what the city code allows, how each handles Philadelphia water, cold basements and rodents, what each means for the walls, and which way each moves the price.
- Decision Guide [What Causes Pinhole Leaks in Copper Pipe, and Should You Repair or Repipe?](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/guide/copper-pinhole-leaks/)Why copper water pipe develops pinholes, what Philadelphia's water does and does not explain, how to read the pattern of leaks, and how to decide between a spot repair, a partial repipe and a whole-house repipe.
- Learn [Is PEX Allowed in Philadelphia?](https://philadelphiafreedomrepipe.com/guide/is-pex-allowed-in-philadelphia/)What the Philadelphia Plumbing Code says about PEX water pipe: where it is allowed, where metal is required, the rules at the water heater and the fittings, the pending code bill, and how the suburbs differ.
- 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 [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.

## 

1. First call You describe the house: rowhouse, twin or detached, how many floors and bathrooms, what the pipe looks like where you can see it, and what made you call. That sets up the walk-through.
2. Assessment The walk-through starts at the meter and main shutoff, traces the pipe up every floor, checks pressure and flow, and maps the routes and the openings. You get a written scope that says what is replaced and what stays.
3. The work A licensed master plumber pulls the L&I permit. New lines go in while the old ones keep the house running, then each section is cut over during a planned water-off window.
4. Completion The new piping is pressure tested and inspected, then flushed. Shutoffs are labeled, openings are closed to the finish the quote names, and you get a list of anything old that stayed in service.

## What this work looks like

New copper water lines with tees on hangers below the joists of a whitewashed brick basement

A copper water line on hangers along the basement joists with a branch rising into the floor above

Copper water lines and an insulated pipe along the front wall of a brick basement

Copper lines dropping to a laundry valve box with hoses to a washing machine in a basement

Before

After

## Copper repiping questions

### Is soldering copper safe inside an old plaster-and-lath house?

It can be, with a hot-work plan. Dry lath and old framing can smolder out of sight, so every joint near wood gets a heat shield, water and an extinguisher stay at hand, and someone watches the area after the last joint. Where a joint has to be made in a closed cavity, a press fitting avoids the flame entirely.

### What is the difference between Type K, L and M copper?

Wall thickness. Type K is the thickest and is used mostly for underground water service. Type L is the usual choice for interior supply piping. Type M is the thinnest and least costly, with less metal to spare against corrosion and wear. The quote should name the type rather than just saying copper.

### How do press fittings compare with soldered copper joints?

Both make a sound joint when done right. Press fittings seal with an O-ring crimped by a press tool, with no flame, which matters inside old plaster and lath. Soldered joints need heat, careful cleaning and flux, but cost less per fitting. Philadelphia allows press-connect joints above ground only.

### Does Philadelphia's water cause copper pinhole leaks?

Not on its own, and no single cause explains pinholes. Water chemistry plays a part, but so do water velocity, undersized pipe, flux left inside joints and how the pipe was cut and reamed. PWD adds zinc orthophosphate for corrosion control, and its sampling found no homes above the copper action level.

### What drives the cost of a copper repipe?

Material and labor both weigh more than with PEX. Rigid pipe needs a fitting at every turn, so more joints and often more openings, and each joint takes time. Fixture count, floors, occupancy, plaster or tile access and patching move the number. Copper repipes are priced from the scope; larger homes and copper jobs can pass $20,000.

## Related services

### Whole-house repiping

Every hot and cold supply line from the main shutoff to the fixtures, replaced in the material the Philadelphia code allows for the building and pressure tested before the walls close.

### PEX repiping

Flexible PEX supply lines run through a house's own walls and joists, in the occupancies where Philadelphia's code allows plastic water pipe, with metal where the code requires it.

### Commercial repiping

Water supply piping in stores, offices, restaurants and mixed-use corner buildings replaced in the metallic pipe the Philadelphia code requires, scheduled around business hours.