PLUMBING

[victor carter]

how is pex tubing to use in new house construction and how many problems does it have?

[Billy Stephens]

how is pex tubing to use in new house construction and how many problems does it have?
.
Welcome Victor,

Pex has a Very Good Past Performance Record.
* Proper Design, Fittings and Installation by knowledgeable Tradesmen is the key.
.

[John Arnold]

In my experience - if there's a manibloc, it's almost never installed in accordance with manufacturer's instructions.

[Scott Patterson]

how is pex tubing to use in new house construction and how many problems does it have?

It works fine as long as the folks installing it know what they are doing and following the very specific and detailed installation guidelines. I would say that about 95% of the new homes being built in my area have PEX in them. Copper is just too expensive.

[Ian Page]

PEX or Polyethelene pipe is used widely throughout the US in both residential and commercial applications. There were some issues, primarily with the connections/fittings which have been largely resolved since around 2000.

Do not confuse PEX with PB (Polybutyl pipe) which had similar application use but with significantly more problems. Keep the PEX out of sunlight before, during and after installation. Use good quality fittings and a licensed, experienced installer. In water supply, PEX pipe is typically installed Red for hot, blue for cold. PB pipe is typically gray in color.

PEX is usually easier to install than rigid copper and costs less. Fittings cost more but fewer are used because of the pipe's flexibility.

[Tom Thompson]

PEX or Polyethelene pipe is used widely throughout the US in both residential and commercial applications. There were some issues, primarily with the connections/fittings which have been largely resolved since around 2000.

Do not confuse PEX with PB (Polybutyl pipe) which had similar application use but with significantly more problems. Keep the PEX out of sunlight before, during and after installation. Use good quality fittings and a licensed, experienced installer. In water supply, PEX pipe is typically installed Red for hot, blue for cold. PB pipe is typically gray in color.

PEX is usually easier to install than rigid copper and costs less. Fittings cost more but fewer are used because of the pipe's flexibility.

In California and I would guess other warmer locations, rodents have been commonly known to chew threw the piping wall. Never heard of this with copper.

[Ian Page]

Being that PEX was only approved for general use since 2009 in CA, and the local AHJ have final approval, I haven't seen too much of it. However, it is certainly gaining in popularity, especially with the cost of copper increasing almost daily and its ease of installation. I can't say that I have encountered any rodent issue. Never-the-less, being that PEX is obviously softer and more easily chewable than copper, rodent damage is a possibility. However, I have not read or heard of that being an issue at large and rodents are not limited to warmer climes.

I do see quite a bit of PB pipe - a similarly malleable material but even then not witnessed a significant rodent problem with it.

I was not professing my preference, PEX over copper, just responding to the OPs question. Certainly copper has advantages but not exclusionary.

[Jerry Peck]

Never heard of this with copper.

In the Tampa area, the water eats copper out from the inside out ... haven't heard of that with PEX.

[Nick Ostrowski]

In the Tampa area, the water eats copper out from the inside out ... haven't heard of that with PEX.

Jerry, what is it about the water down there that corrodes out copper pipes?

[Jerry Peck]

Jerry, what is it about the water down there that corrodes out copper pipes?

Nick,

Phosphates.

That area is a major phosphate mining area, that stuff is all over the place, and the water filters through that stuff, picking up various chemicals which eat the copper out.

http://www.scgov.net/environmentalservices/water/utilities/documents/PinHoleFAQ.pdf

Problems with Pinhole Leaks in Your Copper Water Pipes | Science Matters | US EPA (http://www.epa.gov/sciencematters/april2011/leaks.htm)

[John Muller]

Thanks Ian Page I will use PEX in my house.