Any idea what a plumber might charge for repairing a copper pipe?

[okala]

I know these questions are probably annoying, but I'm trying to get an idea of what to expect (hundreds vs. thousands).

I've called a few plumbing companies in the area - those large on-demand ones- and my job is too small apparently.

I've got an upstairs shower. The shower leaks, when turned on only, a little into the downstairs.

I opened up the downstairs drywall, and the copper pipes appear to be where the leak is coming from.

We've had a terrible year in house repair costs, and multiple layoffs in our family and multiple family member losses.

Location: South. Suburban.
20 year old house.

Any idea what I can expect here for a plumber to repair a copper pipe on an upstairs shower line that leaks into the downstairs?

Is the range probably $500, $1000, $5000?

I know it will vary, but I just want to get a vague idea of whether or not I have a chance at affording this and needing a plumber right now, or if we've got to just stop using the shower for a while.

 

[okala]

I just tried a home repair calculator online and got a quote estimate idea of $250. Is that even possible, or is it too good to be true? Googling "possible leak repair costs copper wire" landed me quotes from $500-1000. And up. $250 would be a lifesaver, if that's even remotely possible.

 

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[Gary Swart]

Many large companies just take on larger construction jobs so you should keep looking for someone that will take on a small job like yours. It would be pointless to even guess what it would cost, you don't know what the problem really is, and there is no way anyone on the forum can know either. Then, even if we could tell what the problem is, we have no way of knowing what the local prices are and no way to know if more problems might be found.

 

[okala]

I just cut some more ceiling drywall, and turned on the shower.

The water is squirting out of a tiny hole copper pipe into the downstairs.

I know the price estimate is impossible to know, but I'm hoping for a range of average costs people tend to incur for a leaking shower copper pipe. If it's a $5000 repair, I simply can't do it. Knowing at least a general range of "a lot of people have copper pipe leak repair repair costs in the hundreds" vs. "it's usually thousands for most people" would help. Not an estimate, just a general "here's maybe what you can expect. maybe." so I can know if I have a chance of affording it, or if calling out a plumber would be a waste of time as I'd have to tell him not to do the work anyway.

I know there's no way to know for sure- I'm just looking for a general "here's maybe what you could expect if it is indeed the copper pipe leaking." Not a quote, but a common range of "hundreds" vs "thousands" would help as I've never had to do this before.

 

[Cwhyu2]

Okay here's what I charge for a service call is $120 for the first hour and after the first hour I prorated the time . A repair like that should not take me more than an hour and half .

 

[okala]

@cwhyu2 Thanks, that's incredibly helpful! Wish you were in my city. It was good to know what plumbers service call fees could range around.

 

[Gary Swart]

If, and I repeat "IF" this is a pin hole leak and all that would be required to fix it would be to cut out the area with the leak and sweat in two couplings and a short piece of pipe, the service call would likely be more than the repair itself. You would certainly not be into the "thousands". I would be concerned however, (part of the "IF") what caused the leak? Copper is wonderful material. It doesn't wear out or rust. Something caused the leak.
For example, remodeling or making repairs that used nails or screws, it would be possible that would have caused the leak, but that is pure speculation. Keep shopping for someone that will take on small job. I'd try to avoid a handyman if possible.

 

[JRC3]

If it only leaks when the shower is on then you probably can't see the actually leak from the bottom. Water is probably running down the pipes to the area you are looking at below. Check to see if the shower arm is leaking. A cracked or leaking shower arm is a very common problem...Especially if it has a hand held shower head on it. Seen it quite a few times before.

If the shower is also a bathtub it could be the tub spout doing something similar.

 

[Reach4]

I just cut some more ceiling drywall, and turned on the shower.

The water is squirting out of a tiny hole copper pipe into the downstairs.

You can see the place in the pipe it is squirting from? You actually see the water squirt out? Cool!

Except I don't understand how turning on a shower would pressurize a pipe that you could see in the ceiling below. I see JRC3 is wondering the same thing. So if you are only inferring the squirting location, what is the wall on the other side of the showerhead? Sometimes it is a closet, and many of those closets will have an access panel. If you have a closet but no access panel, you might want to put one in.

 

[okala]

I cut the downstairs ceiling drywall off. It's an upstairs shower with water & drain pipes that are 12 inches or so from the downstairs ceiling drywall. So I sawed of the downstairs ceiling drywall.

The shower head upstairs appears ok within the shower. The back of the shower where the showerhead/shower line goes into the attic is further back and the leak is about 6-7 feet on the other side. I will go back and check again shortly and give it a closer look after I google a bit to see more what kind or problem/symptom I should look for here with the showerhead.

It's a stall shower with tile upstairs, not a shower/tub combo. The upstairs shower is about 20 years old. Has copper water pipes and PVC drain pipes. Hot water heater is upstairs in the attic and was replaced 2 years ago. I went up to the hot water heater and the hot water heater pan is ok, and no visible water right by the hot water heater tank.

It does appear to be squirting from the actual copper pipe, and that part of the pipe is visibly darker than the rest of the pipe. It does appear to actually squirt out that copper pipe -- in the middle of a copper pipe straight line and not a pipe joint or curve -- I'll get on a ladder later and try to inspect or touch it to see if I can temporarily stop a leak with my fingers. Good to know that could just be what appears and the leak could be from somewhere else, or that multiple issues could be happening at once.

Thanks for the tips.

 

[Cacher_Chick]

If you have removed all the drywall around the back side of the piping so that it can be easily accessed and replaced, it would be travel time and an hour of labor for a simple cut and splice job. Obviously if you want the walls restored, the job is then completely different.

 

[okala]

Very helpful! I might actually be able to sleep tonight not panicking so much about potential repair costs here.

I don't need the walls back. Drywall I can do thankfully.