Water Service Line Replacement
Your water service line is the pipe that runs underground from the water meter to your house. When it leaks, loses pressure or is old galvanized or polybutylene pipe, we replace it with new copper or poly (polyethylene) pipe, trenched or trenchless. We do it all: the permit, the inspection and the coordination.
Book a free estimate
No obligation. We come to you and look at the route from your meter to your house.
- Written quote before work starts
- Permit, inspection and coordination handled
- New copper or poly (polyethylene) service line
- Licensed Bay Area crew
Free estimate. We never spam.
Warning Signs
Signs Your Water Service Line Needs Replacing
The service line is buried, so you usually notice the symptoms before you see the pipe. Any of these is a reason to have the line looked at.
Low water pressure everywhere
If every faucet and shower in the house is weak, not just one, the problem is often upstream of the house: a narrowed or leaking service line between the meter and the home.
A wet or soggy patch in the yard
A spot that stays wet, greener grass in a strip, or puddles between the meter and the house in dry weather can mean water is escaping from the buried line.
Higher water bills with no change in use
A jump in usage you can't explain may be water leaking out underground before it ever reaches your fixtures.
Leaks at the meter box or where the pipe enters the house
Water standing in the meter box on your side of the meter, or dampness where the line comes up at the house, points to a failing pipe or connection.
Old galvanized steel pipe
Galvanized steel rusts from the inside. Over the years the opening narrows (low pressure, rusty water) and the pipe wall thins until it leaks.
Polybutylene pipe
Grey polybutylene plastic was used for water lines for years and is known for failing. If your service line is polybutylene, replacing it before it fails is the safer plan.
Meter to House
What the Service Line Is, and Who Owns Which Part
The water service line is the buried pipe that runs from your water meter to your house. The meter belongs to your water company. The pipe from the meter to the house is the line we replace.
Which company owns your meter depends on where you live. Santa Clara County has several: San Jose Water, Great Oaks Water and San José Municipal Water all serve parts of San Jose; Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Milpitas, Gilroy and Morgan Hill run their own city water utilities; Cal Water serves Los Altos and parts of nearby cities; and Purissima Hills Water District serves part of Los Altos Hills. Your water bill shows which one serves your address, and each city page below explains the setup in that city.
At the house end, the service line usually comes up out of the ground next to the wall, often with a shutoff valve and a hose bib. The photos show one of those connections on a Sunnyvale job before and after our crew replaced the piping there.
How We Replace It
Trenched or Trenchless: We Do Both
There is no single right method for every yard. We look at the route from your meter to your house on the free estimate and recommend the one that fits.
Trenched replacement
We dig a trench along the route from the meter to the house, lay the new copper or poly line, connect it at both ends and backfill the trench.
A trench is often the straightforward choice when the route runs under lawn or planting beds and nothing hard sits on top of it.
Trenchless replacement
The old line comes out and a new line is pulled through the same path from two access points: one near the meter and one at the house. The yard is not opened the whole way.
Trenchless is worth considering when a driveway, walkway, patio, mature trees or landscaping you want to keep sit over the line.
The Pipe
New Copper or Poly Pipe
We replace water service lines with copper or poly (polyethylene) pipe, and we install both. Poly is a flexible plastic water pipe that follows the route with fewer fittings underground. Copper is the long-standing metal choice. Neither one rusts the way the galvanized steel lines in many older homes do. On the free estimate we talk through which suits your property.
If your home's plumbing inside the walls is also old galvanized or polybutylene, a new service line will not fix that part. Ask about whole house repiping on the same visit.
Permits & Inspection
We Handle the Paperwork
We do it all. We pull the permit with your city's building department, schedule the inspection, and coordinate the job, so you deal with one company from the estimate to the final inspection.
Each city page names the building department that issues permits in that city.
The Day of the Job
What a Water Service Line Replacement Looks Like
From the first visit to the final inspection, here is how a replacement runs.
Free estimate
We look at the meter, the route to the house and what sits on top of it, recommend trenched or trenchless and give you a written quote.
Permit
We pull the permit with your city and plan the job.
Replacement
We open the trench or the two access points, put in the new copper or poly line and connect it from the meter to the house.
Inspection & backfill
The work is inspected, and the trench or access points are backfilled.
Santa Clara County
Water Service Line Replacement by City
Each city page covers who owns the meter there, where the water comes from, how hard it is, which office issues the permit and how old the homes typically are.
Cost
What Will It Cost?
It depends on your line: how long it is, how deep, what is on top of it and whether trenched or trenchless fits. We give you a written quote after the free estimate. For a rough idea before we visit, use the Water Service Cost Calculator. Ask us about financing options too.
What Homeowners Say
Real Reviews From Bay Area Homeowners
Common Questions
Water Service Line Replacement FAQs
What is a water service line?
Which part do you replace, and which part belongs to the water company?
Trenched or trenchless: which method will you use?
What pipe do you use for the new service line?
Do I need a permit to replace my water service line?
How much does water service line replacement cost?
Is the estimate free?
Related
Related Services & Tools
Low Pressure or a Wet Yard?
Get a free estimate on replacing your water service line, from the meter to the house.
Our Crew in Action
Licensed repipe specialists serving the Bay Area
