What went into your last project? What about the next one? What’s the cost differential in your experience?
I’m curious if the high price of copper is making any difference in the decisions of fine homebuilders.
The only downsides of PEX IMO are the fact that it doesn’t have the track record in the US and isn’t as asthetically pleasing as the old fashioned shiny stuff. But at $1.30 / lb for Cu I wonder how long that sentiment will last.
I gotta believe production builders have forsaken copper… or had they not been using it in the first place?
-Gus
Replies
pex... hard water doesn't eat it .. frost doesn't split it.. it doesn't make ungodly noises as it expands and contracts...
it gives less problems with condensation drips in the humid summers.... costs less.. you can make home runs with no intermittent joints
Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
I'm thinking about making all new runs in my basement remodel with PEX. I haven't looked all that much into it, but there's gotta be a good copper-to-PEX joints, right?
Are there special fittings to go from PEX to the shut-offs at each fixture? I'm considering PEX as well, but want to rough in at the fixtures well before I actually run the supplies. Can I just use traditional copper to stub down from fixtures and make the copper to PEX connections easily at a later time? Or do I need to commit to different fittings at this rough in?
Most of the homes I build here in Western Oregon are rural and the water supplies ( wells and springs) tend to have a relatively low ph. (Acidic). Consequently, copper systems have been known to develope pinhole leaks over time from corrosion. Not an issue with PEX.
The last 3 houses I've built have been plumbed with PEX. My plumber (3rd generation) rarely uses anything else.
As a GC I like it because it goes in fast and I don't have to worry about smoldering fires on an I-joist back in some weird corner somewhere.
The main thing I verify is that the terminations for fixtures are properly anchored. My FIL lives in a tract home where the transitions to valves were just left hanging and, when I had to replace his toilet valve recently, a 10 minute project turned into half a day.
As far as cost, for my jobs it's been, from bid comparisons, about a wash between copper and PEX. (I think my plumber is probably doing a little better, because his labor is a lot less).
Edited 2/20/2004 4:52:14 PM ET by Notchman