Buying low......building later

[nick53]

Hey ya'll, with the current state of the economy I've been watching building material prices drop pretty substantially.  I want to build the builders cottage 14x24 with loft within the next five or so years.  Currently do not have any land, but am looking for something that will suit my needs.  My plan is to start buying stuff now, while prices are low and store them until i'm ready to build and have land. 

I'm looking at stuff like copper wire, pvc waste, copper pipe, lumber, ect.  I can get the amount of lumber needed from the materials list that's with the plans.  My question right now is how many feet of wire, pvc, and pipe would it take to plumb/wire the house?  I don't want to be buying way to much of stuff that I may never use after the building is built.  Would a 250ft roll of 14/2 wire be sufficient?  What about copper pipe?  Pvc?  If you've built the 14x24 how much did you use?

Nick

[glenn kangiser]

Lots of variables but 250 should make a good dent in it.  14ga is limited to 15 amp circuits.

Many are switching to PEX for plumbing.  PVC - you won't know until you know how far it is to the pump - I assume it will just be used from the pump to the house.

[MountainDon]

I would definitely consider using PEX. You can buy it in 100 and 300 foot rolls. #00 feet will do a 1500 sq fr house (mine). I bought 100 feet for my cabin (15.75 x 16 ft) and have left overs.

http://www.pexsupply.com/CategoryPre.asp?cID=515&brandid=

You do need a tool, but it is so much faster than copper or PVC. Some Lowe's also carry the PEX tools, fittings and tubing.

[bayview]

Definitely wire . . .

[nick53]

I'll have to look into going with pex.  My only concern with it is the possible chemical leach from the tubing into the water.  I try to be careful about that kinda stuff and am always leery about plastics.  I just don't want to go and have the house built and five years later they'll come out and say whoops, this stuff has been shown to be a health hazard.  Then go through the expense of ripping it out and replacing it all.

[glenn kangiser]

PEX has been tested in other applications probably close to 30 years now going from memory.  PVC has many more issues than PEX.

[rwanders]

Copper piping likely does more "leaching" of heavy metals into water than any potential leaching by PEX. The chemical and physical stability of PEX is why it has become so popular here--been in use outside US for many years. Rigidity of US building codes is reason for delay in our usage until recent years.

[glenn kangiser]

Much of the delay in the West is from opposition from Labor Unions and the decrease in billable man hours.

[ScottA]

I think another reason is the polybutylene fiasco a few years back. Alot of plumbers where badly burned by that stuff and so wanted to wait until pex had been in use a while before taking a risk with it.

[glenn kangiser]

We had an MH with that in it.  It was terrible with lots of leaks occurring up to ten years later. We finally replaced it all I think - or at least the fittings.  PEX is a different animal.  The Wirsbo Uponor kind of PEX does not like sunlight and must be in walls or protected.

[Windpower]

Has anyone used PEX for heating a slab

I was thinking a  heated slab in the garage would be really nice on those  cold winter days -- maybe get one of those outdoor wood furnace thingys




how much and what kind of insulation is needed under a heated slab ?

[MountainDon]

I believe one of the first uses for PEX was in radiant floor heating.

Also note it's not just the Uponor brand pof PEX that needs to be sheltered from ZUV; all brands, it's the nature of the product. Also noter it is direct sunlight UV that is the culprit. Ambient light bouncing around under the cabinet does not cause the deterioration, although the plumber who did our repipe has all the PEX hidden behind walls. He used copper els to stub out for the fixtures.

[Bishopknight]

If you're planning on going with solar panels, get 12-2 romex instead of 14-2

if you put in any 3-way lights, you'll need 14-3 or 12-3 for the switch

One thing to buy right now would be pex connections, pvc elbows, big boxes of nails (16d and 8d, thats all you need), big box of drywall screws ( 1 1/4" ), paslode cordless framing nailer ( priceless), dewalt sliding miter saw, lots of tools

[Source_to_Sea]

Wiring for sure. 4 month ago would have been better (I whifted on that). I've squirreled away a fair amount of stuff the last 10 years. Forgotten most of it, so it'll be just like Christmas!