What Monument’s Conditions Do to Pipes

Monument pipes face a combination of challenges that homeowners in milder, softer-water communities simply do not deal with. The hard water that flows through Monument homes attacks copper pipe from the inside through a process called pitting corrosion – the dissolved minerals create an electrochemical reaction that causes small pits in the copper interior that eventually become pinhole leaks. The freeze-thaw cycles that come with living at 7,000 feet on the Palmer Divide stress pipes in crawl spaces, exterior walls, and unheated spaces – even pipes that have survived many Monument winters can fail after an unusually severe cold snap. And Monument homes built before the 1980s may have original galvanized steel supply pipes that are corroding from the outside and accumulating scale from the inside simultaneously.

Galvanized Pipe in Older Monument Homes

Galvanized steel supply pipes were installed in Monument homes built through the 1970s. These pipes have a zinc coating that was designed to protect the steel from corrosion, but in Monument’s hard water conditions that zinc coating dissolves over time and leaves exposed steel that corrodes from the outside while mineral scale accumulates on the inside. The result is a narrowed pipe with reduced flow, compromised structural integrity, and a home with low water pressure that gets progressively worse as the scale buildup increases. Low water pressure throughout a Monument home where the water pressure at the street is fine is often the first clear sign that galvanized pipes have reached end of life.

PEX – The Right Choice for Monument Repipes

When repiping a Monument home, WireNut consistently recommends PEX as the supply pipe material for properties that are replacing galvanized steel or corroded copper. PEX is not subject to the hard water pitting corrosion that eventually defeats copper in Monument’s water conditions. It is also flexible, which makes it significantly more resistant to freeze damage from Monument’s cold winters than rigid pipe. And it is easier to run through finished walls with less invasive access than rigid copper. For Monument homeowners who have reached the end of their existing pipe system, PEX is the more practical long-term solution.

• Section pipe repair. Repairing or replacing isolated sections of failed or leaking pipe in Monument homes, from a copper pinhole to a burst section after a freeze event.
• Whole-home repipe. Replacing all supply piping in older Monument homes with galvanized steel pipes that have reached end of life. WireNut repipes are fully permitted and inspected.
• Frozen pipe repair. Repairing pipes that have frozen and burst during Monument winter cold snaps, including assessing the full extent of the freeze damage and addressing other vulnerable sections at the same time.
• Pipe rerouting. Rerouting existing pipes in Monument homes to accommodate remodels, additions, or to move plumbing away from freeze-vulnerable locations.
• New pipe installation. Running new supply or drain pipes for additions, finished basements, new fixtures, and remodels throughout Monument homes.
• Slab pipe repair. Repairing or rerouting pipes that run beneath the concrete foundation of Monument homes. WireNut assesses whether direct access repair or pipe rerouting through the walls is the better approach for each specific situation.

Here is a look at the pipe repair and installation work our licensed plumbers handle most often for Monument homeowners.

When Repair Makes Sense vs When Repipe Is the Right Answer in Monument

A single failed section in an otherwise sound pipe system in a Monument home can usually be repaired without repiping the whole home. But when multiple sections are failing, when the pipe material throughout the home has reached end of life, or when a plumbing inspection reveals widespread corrosion or scale that makes future failures likely in the near term, a whole-home repipe is the more cost-effective long-term solution than chasing individual failures. WireNut’s plumbers assess the overall condition of your Monument home’s pipe system before recommending either approach, so you have complete information before deciding.