My plumber warned me that pex makes noise in the winter when the tubing expands and rubs against the wood. Is he just crazy or is he installing it incorrectly?
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Any type of pipe will do this if improperly installed.
He's crazy.
PEX is a soft plastic tubing that sags between supports. Any expansion and contraction will occur in the sag, not at the support.
Also, there is much more heat difference from the flow of hot water than there will ever be from changing seasons. If it was going to make noise, it would be year round.
SamT
Be a safe bet your plumber is not a PEX fan.
Guess something expensive like copper is what he recommends?
You need a new plumber.
Joe H
I think that you misunderstood him.
It is not the pex that makes the noise.
It is the plumber pulling the pex when he get does down in 1/2 day what he would have been charge you 3 days worth of the labor soldering the copper.
.
A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Guys,
The pex WILL expand and WILL make noise inside your wall. I have one out of a whole house and it drives me crazy.
I know when it warms up and cools down. It's feeding the fhwbb in the master BR. Sound comes from a chase in the LR/DR for the AC duct and water feed. Haven't really looked at it yet for a plan of attack.
Out of over 3000 feet of pipe it was bound to happen. It however is the only one in the house. I have to blame it on the heat/AC contractor as they ran that piping.
My plumber did the rest of the house in pex and not a noise anywhere to be heard.
Possible to get noise, but pex is less likely than other pipes.
I will admit I think copper is the tried & true warhorse that will be around forever, but is the worst (or best) about conveying sound.
Noises that you could hear is the pipe rubbing against the wood during expansion & contraction during temperature swings. If your installer uses plastic stud inserts it will eliminate the chances of this happening.