More Info on my Re-Pipe

[MountainDon]

For those who might be interested...

First a little background info. The house is built on a slab. All the original piping was polybutylene passing from point to point under the slab.

The re-pipe was done by running the pipes up into and through the attic space. The attic procedure first involves establishing the pathway for the new PEX. The attic insulation (R 45 worth of blown in cellulose in my case) is pushed aside. The new PEX piping is routed through this space. Each PEX pipe is encased in its own foam sleeve. They're tied together.

The bundles were then top and side covered with two layers of R30 fiberglass. Then a retaining sheet was stapled over the pipes and insulation.

At three points under the insulated chase there are vents installed in the ceiling. This allows the chase space to be warmed. The insulation should make any heat loss negligible. Surveys have shown no discernible increase in home energy costs after a re-pipe.

The re-pipe required the drywall to be cut out in a total of 14 different places; under sinks and toilets, behind the laundry faucets, the wall behind the tub and shower fixtures, etc. The cut out sections were carefully saved and in most cases re-used. In a couple spots it was better to replace with new gyproc.

The plumber, a man of many talents, re-textured those walls that were textured, then primed and painted with matching color paint.

I had some extras done.

We had a pressure reducer installed. The city water utility has been running very high pressures for the past few years, 100 PSI+. We have set it at 45 PSI.

I had the plumber insulate each and every pipe, hot and cold within the walls as well, using the foam sleeves.

I had a return loop of PEX installed from the farthest bathroom sink faucets. This line is tee'd into the hot supply line un der the sink. The other end runs through the ceiling bundle to the water heater tank. It is connected to the tank bottom drain valve. There is a back flow preventer. The section of PEX from the ceiling to the tank bottom is left uninsulated. With all the other hot pipes insulated I hoped there would be a thermosiphon action. The experiment worked. There is now warm water at the far bathroom sink as well as the shower, tub and second bathroom sink that are in the same hot water supply loop.

Just in case this experiment had proved, or in the future proves, undesirable we installed a ball valve at each end so it may be isolated.

I also had the tub and shower faucet/shower set replaced with a new higher quality one. This was done from the wall behind, on the other side, without the need to mess with the tile in the tub/shower area. The valve assembly used is one of those mixer types with the temperature sensor that maintains a constant temperature even if the nearby toilets are flushed.

[glenn kangiser]

Sounds good, Don.  100 psi is too much for nearly any house system -- that should blow you off the pot if you flush.

[MountainDon]

Well, I used to wonder why anyone would pay good money for a power washer. Now I know why!   

[glenn kangiser]

Yup - normally you should need to.

Did you have pressure related problems at 100 PSI, Don? hmm

[MountainDon]

Nothing I can point a finger at. 

It would seem that stuff like washing machine electrically operated valves and so on are stoutly built.

[MountainDon]

Of course there was the leak...      I have no idea if it was exacerbated by the high pressure. With the poly it was a time bomb just waiting.

I do not even know exactly where the leak was as we didn't bother trying to find or repair it. It may have been in the ground although I don't think so. I believe it was in a wall. MTL, it leaked at a fitting, but that's just an opinion. An opinion partly formed because the water on the floor felt warm, as if it was coming from a hot water line.

The neighbors have had leaks from a variety of sources. Two homes had underground leaks from burst piping. One of those was at a point where the original installer had kinked the poly. Most other leaks were at fittings. In one case the copper crimping band had broken at one of the crimps. That's one thing that attracted me to the Wirsbo system, no crimp rings.

[glenn kangiser]

On the mobile home we have at the other place, the crimp fittings were constantly leaking - first here - then there, then somewhere else and anyplace you moved the pipe a little.

[MountainDon]

I forgot about bursting garden hoses!   

A neighbor had extremely bad luck with one. She turned the nozzle off, left the faucet on and left. The hose burst. It was coiled on the ground under an open window. The water stream just happened to be directed into the window opening. When she arrived home much later that day the entire house floor was covered with water.



FYI, I've read that reducing water pressure also saves on the water bill, folks don't run so much water when it comes slower. Some cities offer a rebate on installation of pressure reducer valves.

[glenn kangiser]

Even with our steady 30 lbs gravity we find the hoses swell greatly in a couple years --- quality could take care of some of that but none of them want 100 PSI.