I don’t know why I like this episode so much. I think it’s because of how well the homeowner is at explaining the problem, and Richard explaining the differences between the 2 types of pipes. Good job.
I'm so glad to see him install EXPANSION fittings onto that PEX as those have a much larger internal diameter than crimped/clamped PEX fittings. Expansion fittings together with PEX-A, are the future of plumbing these days.
Zurn makes a similar system using PEX-B. But you have to use their PEX-B as regular PEX-B won't expand. PEX-B is apparently a bit more durable than PEX-A.
Finally, a plumber that doesn't cut wavy holes in the drywall. Most plumbers just cut away, not thinking about the dude that patches it. I charge more for those patches and it should come out of the plumbers bill.
FYI, "the plumber" did not build these structures. If you are going to put plumbing in that will be covered by drywall, you better use the right materials - installed per code. Older structures that have CI, Galvanized, copper, or even CPVC (yes I have seen this), there is no choice but to remove drywall material to facilitate the replacement.
Good stuff. I had polybutylene lines in my old house and they totally went to crap. I bought a Pex crimper for $50 and probably saved $1500 in labor (easily - prolly more than that)
I bought a house (built in '65) in southwest Michigan a few years ago. When I installing a water filter, I found PB in the basement. A handyman who grew up in the area came over to help me replaced the PB that had been added in the '80s (we used copper). He said there was a good chance the line from the street was PB because he knew that's when many of the houses around us went from wells to city water. I am saving my pennies for that impending expense. I mention this to remind everyone PB is not limited to the northwest and mid-Atlantic.
The opening of this episode reminds me of TV “antique roadshow” where it always starts with an old lady presenting her beloved treasure and a story about how her father got it during his trip to Europe .
What is nice about PEX-a is, it is very less likely for the pipe itself to fail. If it leaks, it will be at the joint and even that usually will be the installation error. Also, if the pipe freezes, PEX will expend and contract when thawed without cracking. If the fitting freezes, it may still crack since fittings are made with hard plastic or brass.
this stuff was also used in Southern California in the late 80's - early 90's. We had a pipe burst in our downstairs bathroom several years ago and the split piece that was pulled out looked just like what Richard showed this lady. Connections and all. We had our house re-piped about 2 weeks later with all copper.
I used polybutylene pipe when I built my house in 1988 and have never had any problems. One thing I did differently was *no* fittings inside walls, every pipe is a single piece from basement to fixture (the shower mixer valve is inside a wall, but that’s the only hidden connection).
Usually poly pipes fail when on city water. City water has chlorine which deteriorates it. I have poly in my home coming out of the foundation and pipes are fine but on a well system. The plastic fittings are what’s giving me problems. It’s due to the hard water that my well is giving me.
Hey Richard could you please do a pro's and cons between pex a and pex b? I'm about to replace all my first floor plumbing and I'm about to start getting all my supplies.
Here in the uk most common fittings on plastic pipe are push fit.... JG SPEEDFIT or Hep2o etc....... or buteline system which clamps/compress the connector fittings to the pipe. Also in the information on the specification of the copper pipe says 1 year guarantee, whereas the plastic pipe says 25 years or more, you could use ten different plumbers and they would not agree on which is the best. While some would get either the cheapest or what is in stock at the nearest dealership
The fittings shown in this video are proprietary to a company called Uponor. They can only be used for PEX-A pipes. Their advantage over regular PEX fittings is they are the same inner diameter as the pipe so you don't get any resistance. Zurn makes a similar system but you have to use their own version of PEX-B that is expandable. Regular PEX-B won't expand.
Two previous homes had PB plumbing. The first oneI l lived in it a couple of years and the latter on, built in 1991 I lived in it 11 years. Unlike a few of my neighbors, I had no failure incidences. As I understand it, it was the reaction between chlorine in the water supply and the chemical that causes the pipes to degrade. Shell Oil Company lost big time in a class action lawsuit because the minimum chlorine concentration in a typical wayer supply exceeds a concentration level that would degrade the material. My present house has PEX plumbing and I have not heard of any problems wit it. What I like about it is to make bumbling changes. Inlike in the video, I have used stainless steel rings to secure the fittings in place using an inexpensive clamping tool. Ryobi even makes a cordless power tool that secure the stainless steel ring.
If chlorine was there problem then I wonder why after less than 10 years I had PB failure in a wall when I was on well water with no chlorine at all. Hmmmm.
@@russellsmith3825 I've had two failures in two different mobile homes. Birth were on the cold water side the best my memory serves me. One was the tubing alone and the other was a split fitting as well as a split in the tubing.
They used PEX-A cold expansion pipe and unions, not clamps. That's for PEX-B which isn't as flexible and can break if installed in a colder climate where the water could freeze.
I have a 1984 mobile home that had always been hooked up to a well, thus no chlorine at all had ever been run through there plumbing. By 1995 it had 2 PB pipe failures (splits) and 1 during failure, also a split. JS
I have 1991 house with Polybutylene Piping. I’m on a private well, no Chlorine in the water, but about every Four Months I “Shock” the Well, to kill the Iron Bacteria. The only Failures I’ve had are the various Brass Valves, and the short copper pipes at the Water Heater. The second time I replaced the Copper at the Water Heater I used “K” Copper, rather than “L” Copper.
We added a bath room to our cabin. Used a form of PEX and brass ts and elbows. With in 5 years the brass fittings were leaking we replaced it with a form of pex called uponal or something like that spelling. I believe that is what you showed here, an expansion tool is needed also we used plastic fittings as our water here, near Richmond by the way, attacts copper brass. The original copper piping lasted 40 or more years but the PEX metal fittings are not near as long lived.
I bought a house in 1999 that had PB piping. Knew nothing about it and home inspector never mentioned it. Replaced all the piping with CPVC about 2 years later when the PB began to leak. Fortunately it was a single story on full basement that was finished with a drop ceiling.
Yeah, it would be much better to choose a project they wouldn't be able to successfully film in the time allotted. I don't think you understand their business model.
Everyone swears by PEX. But they're already doing replacements on it in the Northwest where it was used early on. And in 20 years of work in the Midwest, I've seen PEX failures almost as often as copper even with copper being far more widespread.
One advantage of metal piping, whether it's copper water and heat pipes, or old school cast iron waste pipes as opposed to PVC, is that in the event of a fire they don't burn and give of noxious fumes like plastics.
If your house is on fire, do you really care about the environment or how good the burn is? Haha I know you will say something like it increases potential occupants chances to escape to not fall victim to gas and smoke inhalation, but I guess it might be just luck at that point.
You have very simple pex tubes in the US. The PEX in my home here in Germany is reinforced with multiple layers, esp. with a layer of aluminium and an outer coating - super tough!
@@siskens470 From my perspective as costumer only: To be as strong as the other kind of tubes? Copper, stainless steel - to use just "plastic" instead of heavy metal it needs to offer some strenght too ;-) You know, we germans have no problem to spend a good amount of money on our homes..
Yes I thought that too, I am also from Germany (an Architect btw) and these pipes are the least expensive kind of PEX overhere. I would only use multiple layered PEX with an aluminum layer in my house. The price is not that much higher anyway , especially if you compare it to the costs of replacing it prematurely. That being said, the regular PEX is still much better than the old plastic tubing. I still have the most faith in copper and steel tubing though. PEX has to show that it is better, lets see how it performs in 50 years.
@@DW7887 Ok. Watch some Matt Risinger videos where he freezes copper and different basic pex. The pex fair way better. It is pretty interesting. So I guess my point is basic pex is stronger than metal already. The multilayer pex must able to take a nuclear blast haha. Nothing wrong with over kill. I always do. It is kind of a sickness lol.
We just finished a poly b replacement. It took 4.5 days for two journeyman plumbers. 400 feet of 1/2" PEX pipe 140' of 3/4 PEX pipe several dozen fittings hundreds of crimp rings. Not an easy job. Holes every where in the person's walls and ceiling.
Thank you for this episode Richard. I have a single story house on a craw space down in LA (Lower Alabama) that I want to re-plumb with PEX. I'm pretty sure it's a bit more in depth (repair wise) if new PEX is run all the way up to shower valves/head. Love y'all show... Thanks!!!
Saying it has been used in heating is not the same as used in plumbing. Heating is a closed loop system. Chlorine and other elements are minimized in a closed loop system. You can even add additives to enhance plastics and metals in a closed loop system.
I got those pipes in my manufactured home. I don't care what anyone says copper is the best pipe. Cost doesn't matter. The same thing with the Ford Excursion best V10 gas engine I ever had. Safety is more important than saving money in gas.
yep i have PB in my mobile home and it is one of my worries, but as i have no money for replacing i just fix what i can when it breaks, luckily i havent had any leaks with the PB until i actually try unhooking/installing fixtures, then it usually leaks at the connectors, luckily the compression connectors seem to work for now
Another thing to avoid: aluminum electrical wiring. When I was house hunting my father looked at the circuit breaker box and saw aluminum wiring and said it was a fire hazard. Realtor either didn't know this or said nothing. Next house!
Matt Foley not sure if you are agreeing or disagreeing with Bosphorous32... he did say *properly terminated* AL wiring, and that article is all about properly termination.
I sold electrical supplys for 11 years and some manufatures of load centers used cast aluminum buss bars (what the breaker makes connection with) and some had copper buss bars. I prefer copper because aluminum corroded easier and that corrosion forms an insulation which builds up heat and could lead to a fire.
Those connections are the absolute best way to make a PEX joint, second are the copper bands. Do not use those little stainless clamps, they have been proven to fail.
@@justarandum7959 Isn't that what they said about Polybutylene back in the day too? Not saying Pex is going to fail but we still don't know what the longterm results will be, at least compared to copper. 25 years is really not that long.
How much cost to do 2 bathroom all the way an shower an withtub jacuzzi one bathroom has doble sink other bathroom Is normal bathroom with kitchen sink 3 water valve outside laundry water heater installed in texas thanks for ur time.
Richard should have gone into the different kinds of Pex (A, B, and C) just a little so someone doesn't go out and buy the wrong fittings for the wrong pipe. Pex is almost the best thing since sliced bread... Just my 2 cents.
@@91cobra50 some homeowners I would definitely agree. Although, a lot of others will do their homework and get most of the correct stuff. Besides, I don't mind getting paid to fix their stuff. 😉
I bought all of the old polybutylene fittings from the store 12 years ago when they discontinued it and now I charged astronomical amounts to fix poly butyl or give them the option of ripping it all out and they always go with the expensive fix Same thing with the roof panels you can't buy them anymore so now I take them from old mobile homes and charged astronomical fees to fix the roof when the roofer puts his foot through the old panels
Unfortunately some houses here in New Zealand had this junk installed up to the 80s too. Insurance companies would refuse to give full house insurance and banks were not touch these properties without a full building inspection.
What is the difference with the grey pipe plumbers currently use in NZ? My house was replumbed recently and all the pipes look like the stuff hes removing.
@@greydog1104 The junk I'm referring is called Dux Quest piping here in New Zealand and the piping is coloured black. If you had it plumbed recently it shouldn't be a problem as this type of piping was banned in the 80s.
CPVC is just another disaster waiting to happen. They become brittle over time, especially when used with very hot water. I have seen many of those develop pin hole leaks or crack.
Apart from cost why run it so you have to have connections inside ceilings and walls? Seems to me consistent single runs to each fixture would be optimum. You aren't limited like you were with copper this stuff bends so you can pull 5 feeds from one location.
@Eric Knowles thank you for your response. If finance were not an issue I would still want to have no fittings inside of walls. Just a manifold at my building entry point. Of course we would cheap out and have a "T" for two fixtures that are back to back. Kind of like North American way of running electricity, verses UK way of doing it.
Yea I get that but I'm speaking on a house that's not opened up in the rough in process. In this case I believe there is absolutely nothing wrong with putting Ts in the ceiling. I install Ts on new houses. Nothing wrong with it at all in my opinion. :)
@Eric Knowles, 👌 😃 Nothing wrong with it, I don't dispute it. I was mainly wondering why keep the concept of running pipe the way was done with lead or copper, when we now have the technology to make a single runs and don't have to do branch runs.
Yea I guess just for the last ten years I'm so used to running fittings and not thinking anything of it. I do try to use bends as much as I can. I honestly just do it with fittings so it looks better and neat personally!
I have the polybutylene plumbing in a 1970 Mobile home on southeren Vancouver Island and touch wood , no problems yet. The weather is not extreme. Mild summers and mild winters.Perhaps that has something to do with it?
On my mom's early 80s modular it was built with the early Qest pipes with aluminum crimp bands, they failed in the early 90s from thermal fatigue, the cold water is still good, but all the CPVC we replaced it with is shattered from freeze damage so we are replumbing the entire structure now.
God do I need advice from a plumber. I live in a manufacturer home that's 23 years old, in southern AZ and as cpvc. The pipe is becoming brittle and failing. What can do? I can't afford to remove and replace it all. Or do I have no option?
My question is. If the guy claimed he was a plumber then why didn’t he want to touch it? Shouldn’t he be qualified to deal with any plumbing situation if he’s a professional plumber?
Wonder why all these connections in my resturant are failing? I had literally holes in the pipe inches away from each other. The water is hotter than you would have at home but PEX seems to fail like all the copper pipes. And I have a feeling I know why that happened. Too much flux makes holes in copper pipes after years of use flux eventually eats through the pipe.
I don’t know why I like this episode so much. I think it’s because of how well the homeowner is at explaining the problem, and Richard explaining the differences between the 2 types of pipes. Good job.
I'm so glad to see him install EXPANSION fittings onto that PEX as those have a much larger internal diameter than crimped/clamped PEX fittings. Expansion fittings together with PEX-A, are the future of plumbing these days.
Zurn makes a similar system using PEX-B. But you have to use their PEX-B as regular PEX-B won't expand. PEX-B is apparently a bit more durable than PEX-A.
Finally, a plumber that doesn't cut wavy holes in the drywall. Most plumbers just cut away, not thinking about the dude that patches it. I charge more for those patches and it should come out of the plumbers bill.
David FP we like to get comfortable
I've had a plumber use a hammer to open holes in drywall when he was looking for a pipe...those were a pain to fix.
@@zivan56 Haha! I can picture him doing it
zivan56 sometimes a hammer is better it's just the wall it could be your electrical with a saw
FYI, "the plumber" did not build these structures. If you are going to put plumbing in that will be covered by drywall, you better use the right materials - installed per code. Older structures that have CI, Galvanized, copper, or even CPVC (yes I have seen this), there is no choice but to remove drywall material to facilitate the replacement.
Sounds like he said "are you dead?" "I am!"
Blaine Bugaski 🤣🤣
This is exactly what I heard so I was glad to see that lady coming out in good shape.
Zombies don't want that nasty PolyB either.
I honestly thought he said “are you deaf?” I hear that way too much
That’s what I heard as well!😂😂😂
Richard is the Carl Sagan of plumbing. What I'd give to learn a trade or two from a guy like this. Amazing.
Good stuff. I had polybutylene lines in my old house and they totally went to crap.
I bought a Pex crimper for $50 and probably saved $1500 in labor (easily - prolly more than that)
The pipes you have and the crimps are not the same pipes as the expandable pex
@@billybob042665 what does the tool do? Heat it? Stretch it?
@@franksquires8151 stretch it, it’s called cold expansion
I have been plumbing since 1991, coincidentally enough, and I actually learned something from this video after using PEX the majority of the time.
Richard Trethewey rocks!
I bought a house (built in '65) in southwest Michigan a few years ago. When I installing a water filter, I found PB in the basement. A handyman who grew up in the area came over to help me replaced the PB that had been added in the '80s (we used copper). He said there was a good chance the line from the street was PB because he knew that's when many of the houses around us went from wells to city water. I am saving my pennies for that impending expense.
I mention this to remind everyone PB is not limited to the northwest and mid-Atlantic.
The opening of this episode reminds me of TV “antique roadshow” where it always starts with an old lady presenting her beloved treasure and a story about how her father got it during his trip to Europe .
What is nice about PEX-a is, it is very less likely for the pipe itself to fail. If it leaks, it will be at the joint and even that usually will be the installation error. Also, if the pipe freezes, PEX will expend and contract when thawed without cracking. If the fitting freezes, it may still crack since fittings are made with hard plastic or brass.
this stuff was also used in Southern California in the late 80's - early 90's.
We had a pipe burst in our downstairs bathroom several years ago and the split piece that was pulled out looked just like what Richard showed this lady. Connections and all.
We had our house re-piped about 2 weeks later with all copper.
The plumbing contractor every time said “ yes sir”
I just did this in a house. This video would have been helpful about a week ago. Thanks for sharing!
I’m a moron! Haha I’m working on videos now for somethings.
I used polybutylene pipe when I built my house in 1988 and have never had any problems. One thing I did differently was *no* fittings inside walls, every pipe is a single piece from basement to fixture (the shower mixer valve is inside a wall, but that’s the only hidden connection).
Still no problems?
@@DomnSan nope, no leaks or other problems.
Usually poly pipes fail when on city water. City water has chlorine which deteriorates it. I have poly in my home coming out of the foundation and pipes are fine but on a well system. The plastic fittings are what’s giving me problems. It’s due to the hard water that my well is giving me.
3:15 he just closed ole boy in the crawl space
I knew nothing about this until I seen these videos and I am amazed
Hey Richard could you please do a pro's and cons between pex a and pex b? I'm about to replace all my first floor plumbing and I'm about to start getting all my supplies.
First line I heard was "Are you dead?" And of course she answers with "I am!". Threw me off 🤣
Neat test with the heat gun. Now try it with copper pipe.
I'm glad Richard knows how to pronounce potable the right way.
"potable", that's when it can be easily transported from one place to another, right?
l337pwnage it’s water you can drink and shower in
Smoothest re-piping job
3:14 did he just close the door on the plumbing contractor Travis? lmao
Here in the uk most common fittings on plastic pipe are push fit.... JG SPEEDFIT or Hep2o etc....... or buteline system which clamps/compress the connector fittings to the pipe. Also in the information on the specification of the copper pipe says 1 year guarantee, whereas the plastic pipe says 25 years or more, you could use ten different plumbers and they would not agree on which is the best. While some would get either the cheapest or what is in stock at the nearest dealership
The fittings shown in this video are proprietary to a company called Uponor. They can only be used for PEX-A pipes. Their advantage over regular PEX fittings is they are the same inner diameter as the pipe so you don't get any resistance.
Zurn makes a similar system but you have to use their own version of PEX-B that is expandable. Regular PEX-B won't expand.
Two previous homes had PB plumbing. The first oneI l lived in it a couple of years and the latter on, built in 1991 I lived in it 11 years. Unlike a few of my neighbors, I had no failure incidences. As I understand it, it was the reaction between chlorine in the water supply and the chemical that causes the pipes to degrade. Shell Oil Company lost big time in a class action lawsuit because the minimum chlorine concentration in a typical wayer supply exceeds a concentration level that would degrade the material.
My present house has PEX plumbing and I have not heard of any problems wit it. What I like about it is to make bumbling changes. Inlike in the video, I have used stainless steel rings to secure the fittings in place using an inexpensive clamping tool. Ryobi even makes a cordless power tool that secure the stainless steel ring.
If chlorine was there problem then I wonder why after less than 10 years I had PB failure in a wall when I was on well water with no chlorine at all. Hmmmm.
@@jimjordan5630 was your failure on the hot water side?
Which crimp bands did you have, aluminum or copper?
@@russellsmith3825 I've had two failures in two different mobile homes. Birth were on the cold water side the best my memory serves me. One was the tubing alone and the other was a split fitting as well as a split in the tubing.
They used PEX-A cold expansion pipe and unions, not clamps. That's for PEX-B which isn't as flexible and can break if installed in a colder climate where the water could freeze.
I have a 1984 mobile home that had always been hooked up to a well, thus no chlorine at all had ever been run through there plumbing. By 1995 it had 2 PB pipe failures (splits) and 1 during failure, also a split. JS
I have 1991 house with Polybutylene Piping. I’m on a private well, no Chlorine in the water, but about every Four Months I “Shock” the Well, to kill the Iron Bacteria. The only Failures I’ve had are the various Brass Valves, and the short copper pipes at the Water Heater. The second time I replaced the Copper at the Water Heater I used “K” Copper, rather than “L” Copper.
We added a bath room to our cabin. Used a form of PEX and brass ts and elbows. With in 5 years the brass fittings were leaking we replaced it with a form of pex called uponal or something like that spelling. I believe that is what you showed here, an expansion tool is needed also we used plastic fittings as our water here, near Richmond by the way, attacts copper brass. The original copper piping lasted 40 or more years but the PEX metal fittings are not near as long lived.
Sounds like your pH is low and the acidic water ate away at the metal fittings
I bought a house in 1999 that had PB piping. Knew nothing about it and home inspector never mentioned it. Replaced all the piping with CPVC about 2 years later when the PB began to leak. Fortunately it was a single story on full basement that was finished with a drop ceiling.
How much did it cost you in total roughly
Fyi..Expansion fittings are intended for use with PEX-A tubing only, using expansion connection method, not pex B
You can use expansion on zurn pex b. It's not the a vs b is the manufacturer vs other manufacturer
PB piping... Yeah, I remember Bob f-ing Vila right here on TOH championing it.... Thanks a lot guys as I'm replacing my own pb pipes......
The future of PEX as well the way all these houses are using them
Her acting skills are on point 👌🏽
Love this guys videos. I could watch all day. Please keep them coming !
They always choose the easiest scenarios for these shows.
Def not true
Re-piping an entire home is not an easy endeavor. Uponor pro does make it go faster and smother than Pex b.
Def true
@Tekagi yeah, and they did it with cpvc... Junk.
Yeah, it would be much better to choose a project they wouldn't be able to successfully film in the time allotted.
I don't think you understand their business model.
Everyone swears by PEX. But they're already doing replacements on it in the Northwest where it was used early on. And in 20 years of work in the Midwest, I've seen PEX failures almost as often as copper even with copper being far more widespread.
Tube failure or fitting failure or both?
One advantage of metal piping, whether it's copper water and heat pipes, or old school cast iron waste pipes as opposed to PVC, is that in the event of a fire they don't burn and give of noxious fumes like plastics.
If your house is on fire, do you really care about the environment or how good the burn is? Haha I know you will say something like it increases potential occupants chances to escape to not fall victim to gas and smoke inhalation, but I guess it might be just luck at that point.
Man I love this show
You have very simple pex tubes in the US. The PEX in my home here in Germany is reinforced with multiple layers, esp. with a layer of aluminium and an outer coating - super tough!
And super expensive to plumb a whole house with the layered Pex. Basic Pex when frozen take a lot of punishment. Why all the layers in Germany?
The PEX tubings you are referring to is called PEX-AL-PEX here in Canada. (AL for aluminium reinforcement)
@@siskens470 From my perspective as costumer only: To be as strong as the other kind of tubes? Copper, stainless steel - to use just "plastic" instead of heavy metal it needs to offer some strenght too ;-) You know, we germans have no problem to spend a good amount of money on our homes..
Yes I thought that too, I am also from Germany (an Architect btw) and these pipes are the least expensive kind of PEX overhere. I would only use multiple layered PEX with an aluminum layer in my house. The price is not that much higher anyway , especially if you compare it to the costs of replacing it prematurely. That being said, the regular PEX is still much better than the old plastic tubing. I still have the most faith in copper and steel tubing though. PEX has to show that it is better, lets see how it performs in 50 years.
@@DW7887 Ok. Watch some Matt Risinger videos where he freezes copper and different basic pex. The pex fair way better. It is pretty interesting. So I guess my point is basic pex is stronger than metal already. The multilayer pex must able to take a nuclear blast haha. Nothing wrong with over kill. I always do. It is kind of a sickness lol.
Outstanding. Great work
We just finished a poly b replacement. It took 4.5 days for two journeyman plumbers. 400 feet of 1/2" PEX pipe 140' of 3/4 PEX pipe several dozen fittings hundreds of crimp rings. Not an easy job. Holes every where in the person's walls and ceiling.
I was going to use a heat gun on my Pb pipes because I thought it would be a fun thing to do. But after watching this episode, I'm so glad I didn't.
AWWWWW YIS REPRESENTING THE 804!
(Richmond native lol)
This is so amazing and educational.
Thank you for this episode Richard. I have a single story house on a craw space down in LA (Lower Alabama) that I want to re-plumb with PEX. I'm pretty sure it's a bit more in depth (repair wise) if new PEX is run all the way up to shower valves/head. Love y'all show... Thanks!!!
Saying it has been used in heating is not the same as used in plumbing. Heating is a closed loop system. Chlorine and other elements are minimized in a closed loop system. You can even add additives to enhance plastics and metals in a closed loop system.
I got those pipes in my manufactured home. I don't care what anyone says copper is the best pipe. Cost doesn't matter. The same thing with the Ford Excursion best V10 gas engine I ever had. Safety is more important than saving money in gas.
yep i have PB in my mobile home and it is one of my worries, but as i have no money for replacing i just fix what i can when it breaks, luckily i havent had any leaks with the PB until i actually try unhooking/installing fixtures, then it usually leaks at the connectors, luckily the compression connectors seem to work for now
Love the episode. Very educational...
Aquapex is a very good system
Nice, i wish people said “Yes Sir” more often
Hey Richard redo the incoming water service pipe fitting, should not use clamps , use a pak joint fitting and do it Right!!!!
In the UK we use polybutylene in our homes with no problems.
What if he was like, "lol No Deb, you cannot take care of the drywall repair in your ceiling."
Another thing to avoid: aluminum electrical wiring. When I was house hunting my father looked at the circuit breaker box and saw aluminum wiring and said it was a fire hazard. Realtor either didn't know this or said nothing. Next house!
@Bosphorus32 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminum_building_wiring#Problems_with_aluminum_wiring
Matt Foley not sure if you are agreeing or disagreeing with Bosphorous32... he did say *properly terminated* AL wiring, and that article is all about properly termination.
@@jpe1 Knowledge is power.
You ultimately decided to live in a VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER!
I sold electrical supplys for 11 years and some manufatures of load centers used cast aluminum buss bars (what the breaker makes connection with) and some had copper buss bars. I prefer copper because aluminum corroded easier and that corrosion forms an insulation which builds up heat and could lead to a fire.
Got my poly changed to pex today so thankful but that was a big bill😣
Any leaks yet?
@@flat-earther no it’s just fine
How much did it cost you?
Man, I don't know how much I trust those Pex fittings, especially inside a ceiling.
They're manufacturer guaranteed for 50 years in the UK. Seems pretty sound to me
Those connections are the absolute best way to make a PEX joint, second are the copper bands. Do not use those little stainless clamps, they have been proven to fail.
@@augustreil Re: Stainless steel clamps, proven to fail: .... where? Who? Links? Documentation?
I'd use Shark Bites
@@justarandum7959 Isn't that what they said about Polybutylene back in the day too? Not saying Pex is going to fail but we still don't know what the longterm results will be, at least compared to copper. 25 years is really not that long.
How much cost to do 2 bathroom all the way an shower an withtub jacuzzi one bathroom has doble sink other bathroom Is normal bathroom with kitchen sink 3 water valve outside laundry water heater installed in texas thanks for ur time.
Come on down a few hours south to the Raleigh area, I could use some help. Got polybutylene pipes down here too.
Why didn’t they show how the pex was replaced ?
Richard should have gone into the different kinds of Pex (A, B, and C) just a little so someone doesn't go out and buy the wrong fittings for the wrong pipe. Pex is almost the best thing since sliced bread... Just my 2 cents.
A homeowner should not take on that job definitely a job for a journeyman plumber.
@@91cobra50 some homeowners I would definitely agree. Although, a lot of others will do their homework and get most of the correct stuff. Besides, I don't mind getting paid to fix their stuff. 😉
@@91cobra50 Bah! Why not? The hard way is the most effective way to learn.
Somewhere at this very moment, the guy is still saying yes sir.
The manufactured home industry used Polybutylene almost exclusively here in the NW in the ‘70-‘80’s.
I bought all of the old polybutylene fittings from the store 12 years ago when they discontinued it and now I charged astronomical amounts to fix poly butyl or give them the option of ripping it all out and they always go with the expensive fix
Same thing with the roof panels you can't buy them anymore so now I take them from old mobile homes and charged astronomical fees to fix the roof when the roofer puts his foot through the old panels
I have never had a problem with my pb..over 25 years..
What if I use sharkbite push connector on a pex-a will it reduce the pressure
Richmond crew yeah
Unfortunately some houses here in New Zealand had this junk installed up to the 80s too. Insurance companies would refuse to give full house insurance and banks were not touch these properties without a full building inspection.
What is the difference with the grey pipe plumbers currently use in NZ? My house was replumbed recently and all the pipes look like the stuff hes removing.
@@greydog1104 The junk I'm referring is called Dux Quest piping here in New Zealand and the piping is coloured black. If you had it plumbed recently it shouldn't be a problem as this type of piping was banned in the 80s.
@@jgroenveld1268 I think a lot of countries inc nz still install what America has effectively banned.
They always call a local plumber from the area since the local guy is licensed there already
RED TAPE for slaves
Great looking house.
At one time there was Class Action Law suit on that pipe I file a claim and they did my whole house to CPVC for zip. Around 2001
CPVC is just another disaster waiting to happen. They become brittle over time, especially when used with very hot water. I have seen many of those develop pin hole leaks or crack.
Cpvc is mainly for drainage
@@thecloneguyz You might be confusing PVC with CPVC
You replaced one time bomb for another. Not good. 🙁
@@YuriyRusko They stopped using cpvc in 2004 for supply lines - especially hot water...
Now its mostly used for cold water/ drain
Apart from cost why run it so you have to have connections inside ceilings and walls?
Seems to me consistent single runs to each fixture would be optimum. You aren't limited like you were with copper this stuff bends so you can pull 5 feeds from one location.
Nothing wrong with it and also where theres a Ts you have no choice but to use fittings.
@Eric Knowles thank you for your response.
If finance were not an issue I would still want to have no fittings inside of walls. Just a manifold at my building entry point. Of course we would cheap out and have a "T" for two fixtures that are back to back.
Kind of like North American way of running electricity, verses UK way of doing it.
Yea I get that but I'm speaking on a house that's not opened up in the rough in process. In this case I believe there is absolutely nothing wrong with putting Ts in the ceiling. I install Ts on new houses. Nothing wrong with it at all in my opinion. :)
@Eric Knowles, 👌 😃
Nothing wrong with it, I don't dispute it.
I was mainly wondering why keep the concept of running pipe the way was done with lead or copper, when we now have the technology to make a single runs and don't have to do branch runs.
Yea I guess just for the last ten years I'm so used to running fittings and not thinking anything of it. I do try to use bends as much as I can. I honestly just do it with fittings so it looks better and neat personally!
Thank god, uponor pex a. Better than the pex b from homedepot and that cpvc garbage
xXAnchormonXx,
What makes pex A so much better than pex B? I’ve never seen pex A used in my state. I’ve never seen a pex B failure.
Heat copper pipe and try to pull it apart. We can wait.
Yes sir. Copper is the way to go!
Yes Sir!
Pex is so much more convenient and easy to work with. However, my state says it’s not code.
What state is that?
Richard can you use expanding pex fittings on pert pipe
drywallers will hate that drywall cut
Very thorough
I have the polybutylene plumbing in a 1970 Mobile home on southeren Vancouver Island and touch wood , no problems yet. The weather is not extreme. Mild summers and mild winters.Perhaps that has something to do with it?
Get it out now it's a ticking time bomb pex is best for mobile homes.
It's mainly chlorine that causes the poly to break down. If you're on a well and don't run chlorine through it's much less likely to have a problem.
On my mom's early 80s modular it was built with the early Qest pipes with aluminum crimp bands, they failed in the early 90s from thermal fatigue, the cold water is still good, but all the CPVC we replaced it with is shattered from freeze damage so we are replumbing the entire structure now.
Nice job boys
In China and Europe they still use those, just thicker pipe walls and fusing them together with heating tool
确实如此，在中国我们的水管都是upvc和ppr的，我们没有用压接方法，而是热熔连接，到目前很少出现在漏水问题，我们大部分住宅都是6层及以上的建筑，压接的方法连接管路多年之后问题会非常大，无法避免不漏水。我想说漏水实际上不是poly b的问题，而是连接方法的问题。
Very nice.
Do you have Mepla in the States?
Is this the same as crestline gray pex looking stuff?
Pex no mess no stress
Does PEX last longer than copper? Is it cheaper per meter?
God do I need advice from a plumber. I live in a manufacturer home that's 23 years old, in southern AZ and as cpvc. The pipe is becoming brittle and failing. What can do? I can't afford to remove and replace it all. Or do I have no option?
keep patching it or replace it all, those are really the only two options.
another nice day
My question is. If the guy claimed he was a plumber then why didn’t he want to touch it? Shouldn’t he be qualified to deal with any plumbing situation if he’s a professional plumber?
Oo I gotta buy me that m12 expansion tool. Can't imagine using the clunky m18
It would be so messed up if we found out PEX wasnt as good as we thought.
It will fail. Why gamble when copper has been proven for over 100 years. Comes down to it being cheaper and easier to install.
Whats the difference between PEX and PPR?
Thumbnail looks like Richard is trying to decide which Pex to smoke with.
Oh how lovely qest pipe was. I can’t count how many leaks I’ve fixed on that stuff from split pipe or failed plastic fittings
Those PEX fittings are new to me, why not the crimp anymore? Is it due to cost (plastic being cheaper than copper)?
the crimp rings can let go over time, the PEX sleeves always squeeze down tight onto the fitting.
They also use copper crimp bands and stainless clamp bands on PEX
Did Richard just close that plumber in the crawl space?
Haha I noticed the same thing!
Now try and pull apart a copper 1/2" pipe
Richard in the thumbnail tho. Lol
I thought Richard asked her if she was dead 🤣🤣🤣
Wonder why all these connections in my resturant are failing? I had literally holes in the pipe inches away from each other. The water is hotter than you would have at home but PEX seems to fail like all the copper pipes. And I have a feeling I know why that happened. Too much flux makes holes in copper pipes after years of use flux eventually eats through the pipe.
So why did the PEX seem to fail. You explain the copper but not the PEX Plumbing.
Doesn't water remove the flux?
@@flat-earther NO. Alcohol. It's like a grease.
@@cynthiaayers7696 I actually don't have a clue why.
“Shudders” poly... the devils plumbing
My motorhome had it; was a royal pain in the rear to remove.