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Old Pipe Replacement in Ontario (2026): Galvanized, Poly-B, Kitec, Lead Service and Cast Iron, How to Tell, What Insurers Ask, and Repipe Costs by House Size
Plumbing & Water
Old Pipe: Some of It Is Fine, Some of It Is a Leak Waiting for a Long Weekend
An older Ontario house can have four different kinds of pipe in it, put in by four different owners who each had an opinion. Some old pipe will outlast you. Some of it is why your insurer is asking questions. This page shows how to tell what you have, which kinds are worth replacing now, what a repipe costs by house size, and what it does to the walls.
What You Have: A Five-Minute Basement Tour
Start where the water comes into the house, usually at the front wall of the basement by the meter, and follow the pipes as far as you can see them. Bring a fridge magnet and a coin.
- Galvanized steel. Dull grey metal with threaded joints. A magnet sticks. It rusts from the inside, so the pressure drops year by year until the shower is a drizzle.
- Lead. Dull grey, soft, with no threads; a magnet does not stick, and a coin scratched on it shows shiny silver. In Toronto, houses built before the mid-1950s may have a lead water service.
- Poly-B. Grey flexible plastic, common in Ontario houses from the 1980s and 1990s.
- Kitec. Blue and orange pipe with brass fittings, mostly mid-1990s to the 2000s.
- Cast iron drains. The big black pipe going down to the floor. Old cast iron can scale and crack, and the line under the slab is the part you cannot see.
Copper and PEX are what most repipes go back in with; the PEX vs copper page covers the choice. If your trouble is weak pressure rather than leaks, read the water pressure page first, because galvanized is only one of the usual suspects.
What Insurers Ask
The pipe in your walls is a line on your home insurance application whether you knew it or not. With Poly-B and Kitec, some insurers refuse the house or add a surcharge. With galvanized, insurers often ask. Rules differ from company to company and change, so do not trust what a neighbour heard; get your broker’s answer in writing before you buy or renew.
If you were hoping the Kitec class action would pay for yours: the claim deadline was January 9, 2020, and it is closed.
Lead is a health question, not an insurance one. Health Canada’s guideline for lead in drinking water is 0.005 mg/L. If you suspect a lead service, call your city first; it is the one that confirms it and, in Toronto, starts the replacement program.
What a Repipe Costs
$4,500 to $15,000whole-house repipe, a GTA plumber
$3,000 to $8,000lead service, private side
+$500 to $2,000drywall access and repair, often more for plaster
| Job | Installed range | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Whole-house repipe | $4,500 to $15,000 | a GTA plumber |
| Poly-B, whole house | $3,500 to $8,000 | another GTA plumber |
| Galvanized, whole house | $4,000 to $10,000 | same plumber |
| Galvanized, 1 to 2 bedrooms | $2,000 to $6,000 | |
| Galvanized, 3 bedrooms | $4,500 to $9,000 | |
| Galvanized, 4 or more bedrooms | $8,000 to $15,000 | |
| Partial repipe | $1,000 to $4,500 | |
| One section of galvanized | $400 to $1,200 | |
| Drywall access and repair, finished areas | $500 to $2,000 | often more for plaster |
| Main water service replacement | $4,500 to $14,000 | |
| Lead service, private side | $3,000 to $8,000 | a national marketplace average about $3,000 |
| Pipe, supply only, per foot | PEX $1.50 to $4.00; copper $4.00 to $12.00 | material only |
October 2026, before HST. No Ontario source we found published an installed whole-house price difference between PEX and copper, so we do not show one. Cast iron drain replacement is quoted per job: how much is under the slab, how much is behind finished walls, and whether the lateral outside goes too (that part is on the sewer line page).
Why Ontario prices are all over the map: the contractors and price guides we checked for this page quoted very different prices for a repipe. One GTA plumber said $4,500 to $15,000 for a whole house. Another said $3,500 to $8,000 for Poly-B and $4,000 to $10,000 for galvanized, and one of those pages printed $2,000 to $8,000 in its summary and a different range in its own table. House size, finished walls and plaster make most of the gap, and some quotes include the patching while others leave it to you. For a typical three-bedroom, budget about $8,000 with the patching (our estimate), and get two or three quotes on the same written scope.
One House, Added Up
A three-bedroom 1950s house in Toronto with galvanized supply pipes, finished drywall on the main floor, and a lead service confirmed by the city.
| Line | Basis | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Galvanized repipe, 3 bedrooms | range above | $4,500 | $9,000 |
| Drywall access and repair | range above | $500 | $2,000 |
| Lead service, private side | range above | $3,000 | $8,000 |
| Total | $8,000 | $19,000 |
Before HST, before permits, and before paint. Plaster walls push the patching line higher.
On the lead line, the City of Toronto replaces its side of the service as a priority once you commit to replacing the private side, and mails a faucet filter once it confirms lead. In Hamilton, if you qualify, the city offers a lead service loan of up to $3,000, at 4 percent in 2026 for up to 120 months. Borrowing the full $3,000 over 120 months at 4 percent works out to about $30 a month. Check the terms with the city before you book.
What a Repipe Tears Open
The new pipe is the easy part. The work is getting to the old pipe: holes in ceilings and walls along every run, then patching, mudding and painting. A good plumber plans the routes to come up through closets and cabinets and down through the basement ceiling, so the holes land where you care least. Ask to see the route before the first cut.
- Get the patching in writing. Whether the plumber patches, rough patches, or leaves holes for your painter is the biggest difference between two repipe quotes.
- Ask for the sequence. A good plumber can usually work in sections so the house has water at night. Ask how many days you will be without it, and get the answer in writing.
- Do the main service at the same time. A new copper or PEX system fed by an old galvanized or lead service is a new house on an old foundation.
- Pull the permit. Replacing piping is altering plumbing; it needs a permit, and nothing gets covered before inspection.
- Check the licence. Plumber is a compulsory trade in Ontario. Whoever does it must hold a Certificate of Qualification, a provisional certificate, or be a registered apprentice working under one. The hiring page shows how to look them up.
If you are already opening walls for a kitchen or a bathroom, that is the cheapest time to replace the pipe in them. The wall is open, the drywaller is coming anyway, and the plumber is standing right there.
Questions people ask
How much does it cost to repipe a house in Ontario?
About $4,500 to $15,000 for a whole house before HST, depending on size and access. Galvanized in a three-bedroom house runs $4,500 to $9,000, and drywall access and repair adds $500 to $2,000, often more for plaster.
Do I have to replace Poly-B pipe?
No law says you must, but some insurers refuse or surcharge a house with Poly-B. Ask your broker and get the answer in writing. A whole-house Poly-B replacement is about $3,500 to $8,000.
Can I still claim for Kitec?
No. The Kitec class action claim deadline was January 9, 2020, and it is closed.
How do I know if I have a lead water service?
Look at the pipe where it enters the house. Lead is dull grey and soft, a magnet will not stick, and a scratch shows shiny silver. In Toronto, houses built before the mid-1950s may have one. Your city can confirm it.
Who pays to replace a lead service?
The owner pays for the private side, from the property line into the house, about $3,000 to $8,000. In Toronto the City replaces its side as a priority once you commit to yours.
Price the repipe, then check the quote
The plumbing cost estimator lays the plumbing out on one sheet. If you have repipe quotes, the $99 review reads up to three of them and tells you which left out the patching, the service or the permit; the quote comparison page has the grid if you would rather do it yourself. More in drains, sewers and flood protection.
Sources and further reading
- Toronto: lead in drinking water: which houses may have a lead service, who owns which part of the pipe, and the replacement program.
- Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality: summary table: Health Canada limits for arsenic, lead, nitrate, uranium, manganese, iron, sodium and the rest, updated December 2025.
- Skilled Trades Ontario public register: where you check that the plumber on your quote can legally work in the trade, by name or ID number.
