Plumbing house repipe, copper or PEX?

[wallyuwl]

I'm finding opinions are all over the place. I know people on here have a lot of different skills and experiences, so looking for thoughts from non-JoeSchmo homeowner.

I have a 21 year old ranch house with CPVC water lines and open basement. I'm thinking of doing a whole house repipe before having a problem, since at this age it is probably a ticking bomb. I am on a well with hardness of 35 grains (so very hard).

My concerns with PEX: plastic taste in water, chemicals from plastic in water.

Concerns with copper: ProPress leaking. Issues with the copper due to the hard water.

Also - Right now I have a recirc line but no pump. Does a recirc line without a pump even doing anything? I am happy with the hot water availability right now on the far end (kitchen) of the house.

Install would be by a general contractor with 35 years experience who is also doing our bathroom remodel and framing in a bedroom in the basement. He just did my parent's bathroom remodel and did a great job. He has all the specialty tools needed.

Cost not a major issue, but the ProPress copper is $4300. I haven't gotten a quote for PEX yet, but assuming about half or 60%. He won't do solder due to the hassle. I have a quote from a plumber for soldered joints with copper for $5300.

Thoughts on if my concerns are actually worth worrying about? Looking for more than "do <this or that> just because."

 

[mr_boring]

I'm not the person you are looking for because I'm Joe-Schmoe homeowner. I can tell you that almost all plumbers use pex now. I've used pex to make repairs, and used pex in my old house (I used it to fix leaky copper) to replace from the meter to the house. It might taste odd until you run a few gallons though it, but that's about it. It's been in use for decades and the air you breathe driving down the highway has more carcinogens and chemicals in it than what you'll get from using pex by millions of percents.

If cost isn't an issue, use whatever you want. Every liquid you drink that you buy in a bottle or can has been run through pex, whether it's Coke, Jesus Tears All Natural Unicorn Water, beer, Jack Daniels, or Gatorade.

 

[rekit]

I know this is off track but my "time bomb" cpvc is 43 y.o. No problems yet, and I did it myself. Do they install it still there?

 

[PWMDMD]

My only experience with pex is with my MIL's house that was renovated about 20 years ago and all of the new plumbing was pex. Their contractor was known for using the best materials and subs and the quality of all of the work still looks top notch 20 years later, except for the pex. Now I have no idea if his reputation for doing top notch work is really deserved but she has had a few major issues at the junctions between the pex pipes which are still metal in her house and they are rusting and failing. Her plumber mentioned something about not using these metal junctions anymore because they are a known fail points but I'm not sure what they do now. I'd ask before saying yes to pex. Hopefully this issue has even resolved in the past 20 years.

The picture above is from one of these failed junctions coming out of the water heater and by the time she noticed there was probably 50 gallons of hot steaming water sitting (thankfully) in an unfinished part of the basement. These junctions are all over the place in the finished part and the plumber wants to take down the dry wall to inspect and replace these because every one he can see in the unfinished basement is corroding.

 

[Elkins45]

My friend the builder says he prefers pex. Our house is around 25yo and is cpvc. I know it was sure convenient to work with when I had to replace our water heater. I’m planning on adding another hose bib this summer and I’m going to use cpvc to make the connections.

 

[skyactiv]

Plumbers wanna do what is fast and easy like any other tradesmen, not what is necessarily best.

I've had two custom homes built to my spec with my current home built in 2022. I have copper plumbing L piping and my well water PH is 7.2 and the plumbing should far outlast me. I'm not assuming copper is better, but I was put off of PEX because of potential rodent damage despite it being a rare occurrence.

 

[Rand]

Pex is water lines from Legos.
I have not had any issues since I fixed the hilljack renovators hack job crimping the fittings. 10+ years.
They have corrosion resistant fittings "lead free poly metal something."
Pex will outlive you.
Copper can have issues with well water after 30-40 years too.

 

[walterjay]

Retired plumber here. I would use pex. Also copper may still be ok there. Usually hard water is not an issue but acidic water will lay waste to copper. You many want to cut open a water line in a most used area and inspect the condition of it.

 

[PWMDMD]

Pex is water lines from Legos.
I have not had any issues since I fixed the hilljack renovators hack job crimping the fittings. 10+ years.
They have corrosion resistant fittings "lead free poly metal something."
Pex will outlive you.
Copper can have issues with well water after 30-40 years too.

I should add in my above post that the plumber doesn't want to replace the Pex piping, just the older fittings that are corroding.

 

[wwillson]

We just had some remodeling done in our house. I had the opportunity to talk to both plumbers that worked on the job. They both said without any hesitation that PEX-A (expansion) is far superior to copper. The material cost is less, the labor is less, it doesn't corrode, and the tubing won't crack if it freezes. They rarely ever use copper anymore in residential construction.

They did sweat in the plumbing to the new water heater and it's one of the most beautiful copper plumbing jobs I've ever seen. They really knew what they were doing.

 

[walterjay]

I installed my first pex job 32 years ago. Still like new.

 

[daves87rs]

When someone ripped the copper out of my basement, we went with pex.

Still doing well after 10+ years…….

 

[GON]

We just had some remodeling done in our house. I had the opportunity to talk to both plumbers that worked on the job. They both said without any hesitation that PEX-A (expansion) is far superior to copper. The material cost is less, the labor is less, it doesn't corrode, and the tubing won't crack if it freezes. They rarely ever use copper anymore in residential construction.

They did sweat in the plumbing to the new water heater and it's one of the most beautiful copper plumbing jobs I've ever seen. They really knew what they were doing.

Huge fan of Pex A.

 

[SC Maintenance]

I have a 10 year old house that is builder grade and I am certain the subs were all the cheapest available. Zero issues with the Pex.

The joints I can see are plastic - with the compression type ring. I need to figure out how to repair these before i need to. Anyone know a a good tutorial?

 

[walterjay]

We just had some remodeling done in our house. I had the opportunity to talk to both plumbers that worked on the job. They both said without any hesitation that PEX-A (expansion) is far superior to copper. The material cost is less, the labor is less, it doesn't corrode, and the tubing won't crack if it freezes. They rarely ever use copper anymore in residential construction.

They did sweat in the plumbing to the new water heater and it's one of the most beautiful copper plumbing jobs I've ever seen. They really knew what they were doing.

Glad to hear you were dealing with a pro who cares about his work. Too many scab plumbers out there.

 

[walterjay]

I have a 10 year old house that is builder grade and I am certain the subs were all the cheapest available. Zero issues with the Pex.

The joints I can see are plastic - with the compression type ring. I need to figure out how to repair these before i need to. Anyone know a a good tutorial?

Use Sharkbite fittings. They have a full line of Sharkbite valves and fittings. Don't use a knockoff brand.

 

[wallyuwl]

Thanks for all the thoughts.

Pex A vs B? I have seen where the plastic taste is worse with A.

 

[eljefino]

My off grid cabin runs off Pex-B. Water tastes great. It tastes amazing in fact! I have a wonderful well there. Pex-B is the stuff you clamp yourself with "CV Boot" clamps (Oetiker clamps.)

 

[wwillson]

Pex A vs B?

PEX A has no restriction from fittings and PEX B has restrictions. Friends to let friends use PEX B.

 

[GON]

Thanks for all the thoughts.

Pex A vs B? I have seen where the plastic taste is worse with A.

Not that it matters, but PEX A is the standard in much of Western Europe. Regulations are monster big in Western Europe, so I suspect material leaching into the water with PEX A is an "urban legend" and not accurate.

The only issue I am aware of with PEX A is if PEX A is exposed to certain lighting for decades, there is a concern that PEX a tubing may start to degrade. An example of this would be an Airbus factory in France, where PEX A is exposed in the celling, and very bright lighting 24x7.

The reason PEX A is not as common in the US is simply the expansion tool. The PEX A expansion tool costs about $500 USD. I have two of them, both Milwaukee brand, when 12V and one 18V. Of note, a seven-year-old can connect PEX A pipe flawlessly- it is super easy to work with, and I have never ever seen a PEX A connection even think about leaking.