PEX pipe

[DickWilson]

Can anyone tell me if PEX Pipe is being spec. out for residential use in hawaii? Thanx.

dick wilson

[Hotzcatz]

I haven't seen it used much but that doesn't mean it can't be. Might be harder to find fittings and pipe. Most houses are plumbed with PVC or copper that I see.

[DickWilson]

Thanx, Hotzcatz, I was curious, as PEX has some definite advantages over either of those. I know from checking the building codes that PEX is approved, but did'nt know how much it was being used or how available it is there. Dick

dick wilson

[Rob Tucker]

It is available. I have seen it in use on at least one occassion. I've never been too fond of the theory of delivering potable water through plastic pipe but obviously some folks are not concerned with that.

[DickWilson]

Everything I've read about PEX maintains that it does not leach anything either hot or cold. Given the current price of copper, it looks like a very viable alternative. We won't even discuss iron pipe for all the usual reasons. I have used cpvc before and PEX looks better. Almost all new residential here is using PEX and I've yet to hear of any health concerns being raised.

dick wilson

[Rob Tucker]

PEX might be great. In my life though I have seen repeated instances of the plastic industry touting the virtues of their products only to have the small print come out years later.

Copper costs more? There are places to shave the budget and there are places to shave the budget. I tend to doubt PEX would be cheaper but maybe it is. Potable water would not be on my list of cost savers.

[Tolleys]

We are in the process of building. None of the plumbers we contacted for bid wanted to use Pex. We talked with them about it. No good reasons from the plumbers why not to use Plex, just that they are use to their materials - either CPVC or copper.

We have found, in genral, that new materials are slow to catch on here...



Susan

[DickWilson]

Give you an idea, I can get a 100' roll of 1/2" PEX for $26. 3/4 for $30. I've used a lot of PEX commercially and have not had any problems. I remeber the previous plastic fiasco, and have tried to do my homework on this. Copper has its own problems with high mineral content water. If your TDS (total disolved soilds) is acidic, you can find yourself with very thin copper.

dick wilson

[Kapohocat]

I can tell you that my brother is removing most of his because of leaks. But he has the old style that the mfg was sued over it.

[Hotzcatz]

The same roll of PEX here would probably run at least three times the price. If they have it at all.

I generally don't trust anything new in the construction industry until it has been around for three or more decades. Twenty years from now folks may find out that one of the chemicals used in the materials is toxic or some such thing. I don't even like PVC, we redid our house in thick copper pipe but fortunately that was done before the huge price rise of copper.

A house should be built to last a minimum of 100 years so all materials and practices should err on the durable side.