I am getting ready to purchase a manifold, but having never installed an entire plumbing system, I am unsure how important it is to have the type of manifolds that have individual shut-offs per line right on the manifold? I understand that this would eliminate the need to have the shutoffs at the other end of each line.
Thoughts?
mt
I'd install the shutoffs. In most areas they are required by code. Besides do you really want to shut off and drain the entire house if you need to service something? What if something goes wrong at night or on a weekend when you can't get parts right away?
I ask because I see some manifold with the built in shut offs and others without. If I had the type with the shut-offs, would I still need to install an additional shut-off at the WC or the lav, for instance?
No you just need one shut off either at the manifold or at the fixture.
My belated vote/opinion is to use a manifold with individual shutoffs. One of the best examples of why, is to note how easy that makes it to service something like a shower. They don't usually have any way of shutting off their water other than using the main shutoff. Ditto the laundry machine hookup, the hose bibs...