What type of piping is used for the main run of the water line if I want to use pex throughtout the rest of the house? I now have all old galvanized piping and want to change everything over to new so I was thinking pex for my 2 flat and just not sure what the main line should be-copper or galvanized?
Replies
How big is the house? How many bathrooms? Typical # occupants? Any hot tubs, etc?
Around here the standard is 7/8" soft copper service, 3/4" inside the house.
And no one should be using galvanized for any sort of water line anymore, except for repairs to existing.
If you are talking about the main line comming from the street or well I would go with pex, copper cost is too high$$ and galv. is passe, luck.
Please check with your local building department. My city requires 3/4 min K copper for the service line. I would love to use pex, but it is not allowed. They do allow Pex after the meter.
Erk
Are there any concerns about pex or copper being in an unheated basement in a 2 flat as far as breakage goes? I know the galvanized has held up for decades but any opinions on if they will?
It depends on how cold the basement gets. I would guess that in your case the basement is indirectly heated by the building above.
If the basement is reaching the freezing point regularly, then any pipes would be suspect. Pex is probably a better solution for occasional freezing due to is expansive properties. My local building department requires copper to the meter, but then allows pex after that. I have both in my basement.
Erk
My building does not have a water meter. I am still one of the few in the city of Chicago that are flat rate users so maybe pex throughout would work??
Does Chicago allow PEX. I know that they have a number of restrictive codes..
.
A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
PEX is more tolerant of freezing than any other material I know of.BTW, Last week, I spent three days involved with finding and repairing a leak in an old house. Probably last time this was touched was about 1937. It had brass threaded 3/4" and galvanized fittings for a hot water line. The T and elbow we replaced were in one of the hardest places possible to get access to, nestled into a beam and joist between floors.A PEX system does away with a lot of that kind of problem, because you use a manifold down below and then full length runs all the way to the fixture, so the fittings are access able at both ends.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
City or well?
2 flat means what?
Most here are on well and have 1" supply main
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
I am pretty certain that pex is not allowed in Chicago. Must be copper throughout.
I am in Chicago and pex is not approved here (per my plumber). The main supply from the valve where the service enters should be copper, with copper for the branches and risers to the units above.
Don't use galvanized, it is just asking for trouble. If you have to tie the copper to any galvanized that you are not replacing don't forget a di-electric or brass union.
Copper will be fine if properly supported and not used as to much of a clothes hanger.
Since the galvanized has been used in this house for 97 years and the water is just starting to slow down why is galvanized pipe a problem? But thanks for the heads up for the pex not being able to be used in Chicago.
The existing galvanized has probably survived because of the coating of lead on the inside from the old lead water mains.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
Galvanized pipe will rust out from the inside. The constant supply of fresh, oxygenated, water will cause the inside of the pipe to oxidize, or rust. This casues two problems
1) the pipe diameter will be reduced as the rust expands, reducing flow and pressure, and causing rusty water if it is allowed to sit unused for a couple of days.
2) the pipe will eventually rust through, typuically you see this first at the joints where the the pipe wall is thinner and there is more surface for rust. Often we see in old units that the joints display signs of past, or present, leakage. Sometimes this is self correcting as the joint then rusts shut. Eventually it will leak. Often this is first noticed when the city works on the mains and raises the pressure in the house. We have worked on houses where the pressure was increased which caused numerous joints to blow out and flood the house.
97 years is pretty good. Normally we start to see this after 40 to 50 years.
I also believe that copper is quicker to work, this less costly from a labor perspective. Each piece does not need to be cut, threaded and then attached to the prior piece. Cutting and sweating he copper joints goes faster. It is also then easier to work on in the future.
Hope this helps
I redid a basement bathroom in a 50 YO house. Much of the original pipeing was GI. And when I took it out it was very clean. But at one point it had been hooked up to copper without a diaelectric.That peice was paper thing and full of muck..
.
A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.