Main Water Line Repair and Replacement in Greater Seattle
When the pipe from your water meter to your house starts leaking, Done Right Plumbing proves where the water is going, tells you what the line is made of, and repairs it or replaces it with new PEX A. Water service work is the most common big job we do, from Seattle and the Eastside up to Lynnwood and Everett.
Is Your Water Line Leaking?
A leaking main water line can push up your water bill, drop the pressure at every tap and leave a patch of yard that never dries. Not every problem calls for a new line, though, so on every call we first prove whether the leak is on the service line at all.
Signs of a Water Line Problem
These warning signs often point to a damaged or leaking main water line:
- ✓A water bill that jumps for no reason. It is often the first sign of a leak you cannot see.
- ✓Low pressure everywhere in the house , not just at one fixture.
- ✓Wet or soggy spots in the yard , especially along the path from the street to the house.
- ✓Water pooling near the foundation or a damp patch on a garage or basement floor.
- ✓Discolored or rusty water , which can be sediment from a pipe corroding inside.
- ✓The sound of running water when nothing is on. You may hear a leak before you see it.
- ✓A meter that keeps moving with every tap off , the clearest sign there is.
Real Work: A Lynnwood Water Service Replaced in One Visit
In November 2025, Joseph T. and Jeremy replaced the water service at a house in Lynnwood, near our own shop on 204th Street SW. The old line ran about thirty feet from the meter to the house, and the same house had a second leak on the supply piping in the crawlspace.
The crew dug from the meter box to the house and laid a new one-inch PEX A line with a tracer wire alongside it, connected at the meter at one end and inside the house at the other. To reach the crawlspace leak without tearing into finished rooms, they cut an access opening in the floor of a closet, brought the new line up through it and repaired the leaking piping from there. The underground pipe carries our fifteen-year warranty, and the rest of the work our two-year warranty.
For a larger version of the same job, see the hundred-foot replacement under a garage slab in Everett this October.
Common Causes of Water Line Damage
The pipe material running out of life
Most water lines fail because of what they are made of. Galvanized steel rusts from the inside until it narrows and then leaks; our post on why galvanized water lines fail explains how. Houses built from the 1960s through the 1990s often have black poly pipe, which tends to fail at around 30 to 40 years old.
Ground movement and shallow burial
Soil that swells and shrinks with the seasons can crack a pipe or pull a joint apart, and a line buried only a few inches deep takes every load that crosses it. We bury new lines at a proper depth.
Tree roots
Roots go looking for moisture and can crush or wrap a buried line, especially around older pipe that has already started to weep.
Freezing
Hard freezes are rare here, but a line that is shallow, exposed where it enters the house or running through an unheated space can still crack.
Poor installation
Pipe that was never bedded properly or was joined with the wrong fittings fails early, sometimes decades before its material would.
When to Repair and When to Replace
A spot repair makes sense when:
- ✓the failure is in one place, such as a fitting or a pipe nicked during digging
- ✓the rest of the line is a material with years left in it
- ✓you need the water back on quickly and the line is otherwise sound
Replacement is the better investment when:
- ✓the line is black poly that has started leaking, because once a poly line leaks it has reached the end of its life and we recommend replacing it every time
- ✓the pipe is galvanized steel or polybutylene, materials that fail on a schedule
- ✓the line is old enough that a repair would only move the next leak a few feet along
We will give you an honest assessment of what we find, and if you still want a repair priced on a line we would replace, we price it beside the replacement so you can compare.
When replacement is the right call, we can often do it with our trenchless water line replacement method, boring under the yard instead of trenching across it. We install PEX A, a flexible, corrosion-resistant pipe built to last for decades, and on most jobs we pull it inside an HDPE conduit that shields it from rocks, roots and soil movement, with a tracer wire so it can always be found from the surface.
See How We Helped a Woodinville Homeowner
When Rebecca's water bill tripled, she discovered another leak in her main water line and faced a tough decision. After earlier repairs on the same line, she chose a full replacement, and our crew finished the job in under five hours.
“My water bill tripled and I found out I had another leak in the main water line. I chose to replace the line instead of put thousands out on more repairs.”
This October in Redmond, Ben and Malikai found a water service buried only about six inches deep, dug out roughly fifteen feet of it by hand and replaced it with new PEX A at about twenty-four inches, reconnecting the laundry line along the way. The homeowner wrote:
“Done Right Plumbing is exceptional !! They originally came out for a slow leak which became a large leak overnight. They came out and replaced my pipe the next day. Their work was excellent , communication was clear and transparent. I can’t recommend them enough!”
Why Homeowners Choose Done Right
- ✓We prove the leak first. A meter test tells us whether the water is leaving on the service line before anyone quotes a repair.
- ✓We tell you what your pipe is made of , and what that means for how long a repair would last.
- ✓300+ five-star Google reviews from real homeowners.
- ✓We own our equipment , including our boring rig, so there is no waiting on subcontractors.
- ✓Upfront pricing. You see your options and their costs before we start.
- ✓A fifteen-year warranty on the new underground pipe.
- ✓WA Contractor License #DONERRP852N5 , licensed, bonded and insured.
Water Line Work Across the Region
We replace water lines on both sides of the county line. For local detail on permits, water providers and the neighborhoods we work in, see our water line pages for Lynnwood, Everett, Mill Creek, Shoreline, Seattle, Kenmore, Kirkland and Bellevue.
Related services: Trenchless Water Line Replacement · Leak Detection · Water Pressure and PRVs · Emergency Plumbing
Learn more: Water Pipe Materials: Why We Install PEX A · Who Pays for a Water Service Leak · Why Galvanized Water Lines Fail
FAQs About Main Water Line Repair
How do I know the leak is on my main water line and not inside the house?
Turn off every tap and appliance, then watch the meter. If it still moves, water is leaving somewhere. Next, close the main shutoff at the house: if the meter keeps moving with the house shut off, the leak is on the service line between the meter and the house, not inside.
If the meter stops when the house is shut off, the leak is indoors, and our leak detection service is the next step.
Which part of the water line am I responsible for?
Around here, the homeowner usually owns the pipe from the meter, or the curb shutoff, to the house, and the water provider owns the meter and everything on the street side. Your utility's rules settle the exact line, and our city pages note the details for each provider we work with.
Can you repair a water line without digging up my yard?
A repair always needs one hole, at the leak, but a replacement often does not need a trench. With our boring rig, a new line runs underground between a pit at the meter and one at the house, leaving lawns, driveways and gardens in place. Where the line comes up under a slab, we open only that spot.
Do I need to be home while you replace my water line?
For most of it, no. The digging, boring and connection at the meter all happen outside. Someone needs to let us in where the line enters the house, usually a crawlspace, basement or garage, and the water is off for a few hours while the new line is connected and tested.
How much does it cost to replace a main water line?
Most full replacements from the meter to the house in our area run $6,000 to $16,000, and spot repairs $2,000 to $6,000. The length of the run, what it passes under and whether concrete has to be opened decide where a job lands. A short, straight line costs far less than a long one under a driveway.
Call About a Water Line Leak
Call Done Right Plumbing and we will find out where the water is going, explain your repair and replacement options and price them, with no pressure and no obligation.