# Commercial and Multi-Unit Repiping in Columbus

> Repiping Columbus apartment buildings of four or more units and small commercial spaces: risers, unit shutoffs, plan review and the $550 or $700 permit.

URL: https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/commercial-repiping/

Water supply replacement in buildings of four or more units and small commercial spaces, with risers, unit shutoffs, plan review and the schedule for the people inside planned together.

Last Updated: October 29, 2026

Water supply replacement in buildings of four or more units and small commercial spaces, with risers, unit shutoffs, plan review and the schedule for the people inside planned together.

Last Updated: October 29, 2026

**32.0%** Columbus housing units in buildings of five or more units, by Census Bureau count

**$550 / $700** City of Columbus multi-family and commercial plumbing permit with one or two inspections

**$225** Charge for each additional City inspection trip, which phased jobs should plan around

When an apartment building’s pipe fails, it fails for everyone who lives on that riser at once. [Slate Repiping Columbus](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/) offers repiping for apartment buildings of four or more units and small commercial spaces in Columbus and nearby Franklin County communities, carried out by licensed and insured plumbing contractors under the multi-family or commercial permit. Two and three unit houses are handled on the [double and duplex repiping](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/double-repiping/) page, because the code, the permit and the planning are different.

Columbus has a lot of this building stock. Census figures put 32.0% of the city’s housing units in buildings of five or more units, and close to half in the 43201 ZIP covering Victorian Village, Italian Village, the Short North and the University District. Older walk-ups in those neighborhoods were plumbed in [galvanized steel](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/galvanized-pipe-replacement/) or early copper, and many have had decades of unit-by-unit repairs that left a patchwork behind the walls.

## What the building survey covers

A building repipe starts with a survey, not a quote. It begins where the service enters, usually a mechanical room or basement, and records the meter, main shutoff, backflow device if there is one, water heaters or boiler and any booster or recirculation pump. From there it follows each main to the risers, the vertical lines that carry water up through the floors, and records where each riser runs, which units it serves and whether it has a shutoff.

Inside a sample of units, the survey looks at the branch lines from the riser to the fixtures, whether each unit can be isolated, and how the walls and ceilings are finished. It also gathers anything on paper: old drawings, repair records and any notes from a past inspection. Pressure and flow are measured at the top floor with fixtures running, since that is where a restricted riser shows first, though weak flow there can also start at the service or a pressure-reducing valve, as the [low water pressure](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/low-water-pressure/) page explains. The result is a drawing of the existing system that becomes the base for the new one.

## Risers and stacked units

Risers are usually the core of a building repipe. In a three or four story walk-up, a pair of hot and cold risers may serve a stack of kitchens or bathrooms one above another. Replacing a riser affects every unit on it, so the work is organized stack by stack: the new riser is run beside the old one, each floor’s branch is connected, and the old riser is cut out or abandoned in place.

Access decides the order. Where risers run in a chase opened from the corridor or a closet, units are disturbed little. Where they run inside a kitchen or bathroom wall, each unit on the stack has an opening, and the scope lists which units, which wall and who closes it. Each riser gets its own isolation valve at the bottom so a future repair to one stack does not shut down the building.

## Unit branches and shutoffs

Ohio’s amendments to the plumbing code call for a shutoff valve for each unit in multi-unit buildings other than 1, 2 and 3 family homes. Many older Columbus buildings were built without them, so one leaking toilet supply means shutting a riser or the whole building. A repipe adds a shutoff at each unit where the branch leaves the riser, and fixture stops inside the unit. The branches themselves can be laid out trunk-and-branch or from a small manifold, as the [manifold vs trunk-and-branch guide](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/manifold-vs-trunk-and-branch/) explains.

## Working around the people inside

An occupied building is repiped in phases. New risers and branches are run while the old ones still carry water. Each stack is then cut over on a set day, with the water off for part of that day, and units on other stacks keep their water. Every household gets written notice before each shutdown, with the date, the expected window and which rooms will have open walls. Notices are posted in common areas as well as delivered to each door.

The people living in the building also need a contact for questions and a clear sequence for access to their units. Work areas are kept to the rooms named in the notice, protected with drop cloths and dust containment, and cleaned at the end of each day. The [guide to how long a repipe takes](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/how-long-does-repiping-take/) covers typical phasing for a house; a building multiplies those days by its stacks.

## Small commercial spaces

The same approach applies to a storefront with apartments above, a small office building or a mixed-use block. A business usually needs its shutdowns outside opening hours, and a restaurant or salon may have water heating and fixtures sized well beyond a household’s. Where a commercial space and apartments share a main, each gets its own shutoff, and the shutdown plan accounts for both.

## Material choice in a larger building

The Ohio Plumbing Code lists copper, PEX and CPVC for water distribution in larger buildings too. Copper is common for mains and risers, especially where pipe passes through fire-rated floors with established firestop details, and where exposed runs in a mechanical room need to stay rigid. PEX is common for unit branches, where fishing tubing through finished walls saves openings. Many building repipes combine the two, and [PEX repiping](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/pex-repiping/) covers the tubing and fitting choices. The [PEX vs copper guide](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/pex-vs-copper/) and the [copper repiping](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/copper-repiping/) page cover the tradeoffs.

Wherever new pipe passes through a fire-rated floor or wall, the opening is sealed with a listed firestop system matched to the pipe material and size.

## Permit, plan review and inspections

Inside the City of Columbus, a building of four or more units or a commercial space takes the multi-family and commercial plumbing permit: $550 with one inspection or $700 with two. Each additional inspection trip is $225, which matters on a phased job where risers are inspected as they are finished. The City’s published guidance adds independent plan review when an existing water supply system is replaced in a commercial or multi-family building, so drawings come before the permit.

In suburbs that contract with Franklin County Public Health, the city issues the permit and the County reviews the plan, and since February 2026 the plan review’s fixture count has to match the permit application. The County’s plan review fee is $135 plus $80 an hour, with a half-hour minimum. The [Columbus repiping permit guide](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/repiping-permit-columbus/) lists which office covers which city. Each riser is pressure tested before its chase closes, the system is flushed, valves are labeled by unit and riser, and the drawing is marked up to show what was built. There is no published Columbus price range for building repipes; unit count, risers, access and phasing set the price, as the [repiping guide](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/repiping-guide/) explains in its section on buildings with more than one household.

## What's included

- A survey of the building's service entry, mains, risers, unit branches and water heating
- Drawings of the existing and new system for plan review
- New mains, risers and unit branches in the material and layout agreed
- A shutoff for each unit, plus isolation valves on each riser
- Firestopping at each floor and rated wall penetration
- A shutdown schedule and written notices for the people in the building
- Pressure tests riser by riser, flushing, labeled valves and a marked-up drawing at handover
- The multi-family or commercial permit, plan review and inspections

## How a 1, 2 or 3 family repipe and a building of four or more units differ

|  | 1, 2 or 3 family | 4 or more units, or commercial |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Code path | Residential Code of Ohio points to the Ohio Plumbing Code | Ohio Building Code and Ohio Plumbing Code |
| City of Columbus permit | $275 with two inspections | $550 with one inspection, $700 with two |
| Plan review in Columbus | Not part of the residential permit | Independent plan review for a replaced water supply system |
| Unit shutoffs | Fixture shutoffs, not a code item per unit | A shutoff for each unit under Ohio's amendment |
| Scheduling | One or two households | Many households or a business, phased by riser or floor |

## Related resources

- Learn [Do you need a permit to repipe a house in Columbus?](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/repiping-permit-columbus/)Which office issues the permit for your address, who is allowed to pull it, what it costs, what changed with county plan review in February 2026, and what happens when a repipe is done without one.
- Decision Guide [PEX vs copper repiping: which fits your house?](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/pex-vs-copper/)Both are allowed by the Ohio Plumbing Code. The choice turns on the house: its access, its exposure to cold and sunlight, the budget, and how long the owner plans to stay.
- Decision Guide [Should a PEX repipe use a manifold or trunk-and-branch layout?](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/manifold-vs-trunk-and-branch/)How a home-run manifold and a trunk-and-branch layout each carry water to the fixtures, how they differ on flow, hot water wait, shutoffs and openings, and the house details that tip the choice.
- Learn [How long does it take to repipe a house?](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/how-long-does-repiping-take/)A repipe is measured in days, not weeks, but the number depends on the house. Here is what stretches or shortens the schedule, how the water stays on in stages, and where the inspection and the patching fit.
- Learn [How does repiping a house work?](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/repiping-guide/)The whole picture in one place: what the water supply system is, why galvanized and older copper give out, how a repipe is scoped, permitted, installed and tested in Columbus, and what to ask before agreeing to one.

## How a repipe runs

1. First call Describe the houseIts age, the pipe you can see in the basement, the leaks so far and which floors lose pressure.
2. Walk through Map and scopeMains, branches, shutoffs and fixtures traced from the meter; material, openings and permit agreed in writing.
3. Pipe day Replace and reconnectWater shut off in stages, new lines run, fixtures and the water heater reconnected.
4. Sign off Test, inspect, patchPressure test and flush, permit inspections, then the openings are closed.

## What this work looks like

Copper water main with three ball valves feeding risers in the basement mechanical room of a small apartment building, in a Columbus house

Copper riser rising through a concrete floor slab with red fire-stop sealant and a steel collar around it, in a Columbus house

Gloved hand opening a small access panel to reveal red and blue handled shutoff valves on copper lines, in a Columbus house

New copper water pipe running along a white basement wall on copper clips and turning up into the joists, in a central Ohio home

## Commercial and multi-unit repiping questions

### Does repiping an apartment building in Columbus need plan review?

Yes. Under the City's published guidance, replacing an existing water supply system in a commercial or multi-family building takes independent plan review in addition to the plumbing permit, which is $550 with one inspection or $700 with two. In suburbs that contract with Franklin County Public Health, the County reviews the plan before the city issues the permit.

### Can residents stay in their apartments while the building is repiped?

Usually, yes. The work is phased by riser or floor so most units have water at the end of each day, and shutdowns are announced in writing ahead of time. Units where walls are opened will have work areas for a few days, and the schedule should say which ones and when.

### Is PEX or copper used for repiping a ten-unit building?

Either can be. The plumbing code lists both. Copper is common for larger mains and risers and where pipe passes through rated assemblies with established firestop details; PEX suits unit branches where fishing through finished walls saves openings. Many buildings use copper risers and PEX inside units. The choice belongs in the drawings for plan review.

### Does each apartment need its own water shutoff after a repipe?

In Ohio, yes for buildings beyond three units. The Ohio Plumbing Code's amendments call for a shutoff for each unit in multi-unit buildings other than 1, 2 and 3 family homes. A repipe is the natural time to add them, so one unit's leak or fixture swap does not shut down a whole riser.

## Related services

### Double and duplex repiping

Repipes for Columbus doubles, duplexes and two and three unit houses, with each household's lines traced, the shared main sorted out and the water kept on for both sides.

### Copper repiping

A repipe in rigid copper tube, with the tube type and joining method set out in the scope and the routes planned for straight runs.

### PEX repiping

A repipe in crosslinked polyethylene tubing, with the tubing type, fitting system and layout chosen for the house and written into the scope.