If you’ve been reading Facebook groups or neighbourhood chats, you’ve probably seen numbers like “$80,000” or “$100,000” for an Iplex repipe. Those numbers are outdated and they’re stopping people from getting quotes they can actually afford.
Let’s break it down honestly.
The short answer: $20,000 to $42,000
That’s the range for a typical Perth four-bedroom home: full house, every Iplex Pro-Fit pipe replaced, from the meter to every tap, toilet and appliance.
Where you land in that range depends on three things:
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- House size. A three-bed, two-bath home sits at the lower end. A five-bed with three bathrooms, with an outdoor kitchen and a granny flat sits at the top.
- Access. Single-storey homes with ceiling cavity access are faster and cheaper. Double-storey homes or slab-on-ground homes with limited ceiling space take longer and cost more.
- Finishes. We chase new lines through ceiling cavities and wall spaces. That means 4 – 6 access points that need cutting, patching and finishing. Standard plaster-and-paint patch is included. If you want a tiler to re-lay a specific area, that’s extra, but most homeowners don’t need it.
Where does the $100K number come from?
It’s real, but it’s not the repipe. It’s the total insurance claim after a catastrophic burst. When an Iplex joint fails inside a wall, water runs for hours before anyone notices. By then you’re replacing:
- Flooring (tiles, carpet, timber)
- Plasterboard and paint
- Kitchen cabinetry
- Bathroom vanities
- Sometimes electrical
- Temporary accommodation
- Plus the repipe itself
Add all that up and yes, you can reach $80K–$100K. But the repipe component is $20K–$42K. The rest is damage you didn’t need to have.
The insurance trap
Here’s the part nobody likes hearing: home insurance covers the flood damage, but it does not cover the preventative replacement of defective pipes.
That means:
- If your pipes burst, insurance covers the tiles, the plaster, the cabinets — but not the pipe replacement.
- If you replace the pipes before a burst, insurance doesn’t cover it either.
The maths: spend $25K now on a controlled repipe, or spend $25K later on a repipe plus $40K–$60K in damage repairs, disruption and temporary housing — some of which insurance covers, some of which it doesn’t.
We will tell you this on the quote. We’re not trying to hide it. It’s how the policies work.
What about the Joint Industry Response (JIR)?
The WA Government and Iplex (via Fletcher Building) have set up a Joint Industry Response (JIR) to help affected homeowners. It covers up to 80% Iplex / 20% WA Government, capped at $30 million government contribution.
However: some big builders are not participating in the JIR. If your home was built by one of them, you can lodge a complaint with the Building Commissioner, but the process is slow and the outcomes are uncertain.
Most of our customers decide to act on their own timeline rather than wait.
What’s included in our quote
When we quote your home, you get:
- Fixed price, in writing. Not an estimate. Not “from $X.” A number you can take to the bank.
- Access point map. We mark exactly where we’ll open up walls and ceilings, and exactly how we’ll patch them.
- Day-by-day schedule. Most homes: 2 to 3 weeks. You’ll know which rooms we’re in on which days.
- Damage limits. We tell you what’s getting opened. Your kitchen tiles, cabinets, ensuite vanity – they stay.
- 10-year workmanship warranty on all replacement pipework.
Can you stage it?
Yes. Some homeowners start with the highest-risk zones (kitchen, ensuite, laundry) and do the rest six months later. It costs a little more overall, two mobilisations instead of one, but it solves the cashflow question.
What about the WA Government’s 15-year window?
In 2024, the WA Government extended the statutory complaint window from 6 years to 15 years after the date of practical completion. That gives 2017-built homes until 2032 to lodge a complaint. This is good news, it means you have time to make a considered decision. But it doesn’t change the burst risk between now and then.
Next step
If you’re in a Perth home built 2017-2022 by a builder using the Iplex supply chain, we’ll come out and confirm your pipes for free. Five minutes at your meter box. No commitment, no pressure.
If you want to proceed, we send a written fixed-price quote within 48 hours.
