Hi Fellas! Now, this may have been asked before and if it was I won’t be offended if someone links to the discussion about it…
Anyway, on a reno (for fix-up and re-sale) I’ve been scratching my head about why we fiddle with copper pipes and fittings, get the occasional burn, deal with leaks and risk a fire burning down all our hardwork. Why not do a take-off from main lines (hot and cold) and go crazy with Wirsbo tubing and fittings? You can push and pull it, fish it through walls, install fittings in a snap and be done with worrying if those woodchips in a wall cavity might be smoldering or if the “drip, drip” sound over the newly installed drywall ceiling is a water leak at a connection point. You can run a new hose bib to the outside in no time, punch new lines into the kitchen sink cabinet and plumb a shower valve and shower head in a flash. Am I missing something here? For the record, my plumbing skills suck and I never seem to have enough parts or there is always that last drop of water that turns to steam and “spurt!” there goes my joint seal. Almost every NEW house is plumbed with PEX, but I’m still seeing reno guys loading copper in their trucks. Is it the initial cost of the fittings? The learning curve? If you factor in the ease of use and storage of the pipe coils and the most important thing for me, no risk of fire, doesn’t it make sense to move to this method of plumbing a reno? By the way, on the big stuff I’ll call a plumber, but a kitchen or bath redo I can pretty much handle myself. Thanks to all for your experienced input. This forum is fantastic.
Cheers!
Ken
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“They don’t build ’em like they used to” And as my Dad always added… “Thank God!”
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One reason is in older homes, sometimes the old sparky used the cold water lines as an equipment grounding conductor.
If you start doing repairs or changes with plastic, you can get a surprise, like energized plumbing fixtures upstairs somewhere, plus no effective ground of course.
If you're talking about home runs to a new plumbing fixture, you make a lot of sense.
"Let's get crack-a-lackin" --- Adam Carolla
With any new technology there is always a bit of resistance to change, but IMHO one of the largest sources of resistance to PEX isn't because of PEX... it is because of all of the pre-PEX plastic tubings that did NOT work. People who were burned on those kinds of pipe are less inclined to want to risk another 'plastic' pipe.
And the easier it is to install, the more likely complete idiots will try and install it, thereby screwing stuff up... whereas copper has a slight learning curve that might scare away some of the bigger idiots.
Any type of PW pipe has its strengths and weaknesses, and PEX is no different. People who champion copper will be quick to point out PEX weaknesses, but in reality, copper has its own set of problems, so whichever one you choose you are accepting possible problems.
jt8
"If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base." -- Dave Barry
Been using Wisbro for more than 8 years. I am not a plumber, just a renovation guy. I use it for domestic hw and have finished 7 Rh projects. I have my son's house to do this summer and our seasoned (just turned 100) home to put Rh in this fall. Great stuff.. .if you get a good supplier it is even better. If they are using the water pipe in the wall for ground maybe someone should have checked the breaker panel first.
Just wondering; do you use a manifold and do separate runs or do you use T's, like the conventional copper runs?
Do you have any problems with supply houses not selling to licenced plumbers? We have that problem, to some degree, here in southern Ontario. I kind of understand their reasoning as they don't want the weekend warrior coming in for one or two fittings and then trying to return them later on. However, I've seen first hand, employees of plumbing firms buying PEX fittings for their own off-hours cash jobs. Not to mention fire fighters who do plumbing "on the side." So, why not sell to Joe Public, if you know what I mean. Thanks.
Ken"They don't build 'em like they used to" And as my Dad always added... "Thank God!"
I use manifolds for new const. I also use tankless waterheaters. I run 1 3/4" line to each location and then do my splits. It is true that suppliers are difficult to find, I have been lucky enough to find a supplier in Pittsburgh, Pa that is into only hydronic systems. They are great and I get a great price.
I'm set up to do copper, and for me it's not all that difficult. So, I'll probably stick with it for a while.
The one consideration on a house for sale soon is that copper has a good reputation, and PEX is not yet as well known.
-- J.S.