A novice here! Is there a difference between these three, or is it preference? Can they all be used for hot & cold? Which is the best to use in remodeling 60 yr old cottage? Thanks!

There is a difference.. but it still all comes down to preference. Let me see if I can help. YOU cannot use PVC pipe for hot or cold water piping anywhere that I know of... ). Copper pipe is always the best in my opinion... but it has gotten ridiculously expensive the last 6-7 years. It is also extremely labor intensive. I just know that I have used it reliably for 26 years... period.

However, CPVC (not real popular in my area yet... but catching on... ) seems to be catching on and is a very quick and many are saying reliable way to pipe your house today... hot and cold pipes ( I would still use copper pipe and fitting up to 18 inches off anything like a water heater, a boiler feed, a hose bib, etc. and then transition over to CPVC) You MUST use the cement AND PRIMER with CPVC... and do not overglue... can crack fitting... and ream the ends of cut pipes... *whew*

PEX pipe... well there are several kinds of PEX pipe systems... ALL that I know of require special tools to work with (but then again... so does copper pipe... huh? ). Pex pipe is significantly cheaper than copper pipe... somewhere around cost of CPVC pipe... BUT fittings can get expensive as you get into 3/4" pipe size... so... somewhere in middle as far as cost comparison... LABOR is a the big savings here (or money maker if you bid against some guy that is bidding whole job copper.. *wink*)... super flexible stuff so holes, joist work much faster work... can be unsightly as can get to looking a bit like spaghetti unless hung well...

For a cottage with 1 bathroom.. I will always go the copper route myself.. hangs well.. few issues over 50 years. If more baths then one... well I would probably go over to the PEX pipe... but then again... I have the right tools.

Anyway, there you go... hope this helped. IF my answer was helpful, please RATE THIS ANSWER by clicking on button below. Thank you.

I have used all 3 and without a doubt PEX is best. Less fittings, easy crimp connections, no gluing, and can bend and twist anyway you need to route it. I recommend getting a PEX manifold that all your cold and hot water zones can be isolated. PEX Tubing - Wirsbo Radiant Heat - Taco Pumps - Radiant Floor Heat - PEX Plumbing Supplies is a good place to shop, and your local home warehouse has all the fittings and pipe you need as well. All the copper I removed from my house had a scrap value that paid for my PEX supplies. The crimp tool is the biggest expense of about $140 well worth it for further modifications that you may want to make to your plumbing PEX Crimp Tool - Crimp Tool for PEX Tubing - Watts PEX Crimp Tool. Another benefit to PEX is all shut-off valves are ball type and won't leak or fail to close fully after years of use. Not sure where your cottage is located or climate but PEX is also the most forgiving to freezing.

Research it a little and you will see it's a no brainier decision.

Good answer thanks!!

GREAT LINKS and helpful answer!!

CPVC is the worst way to go IMO. Builders love it because it's cheap! That's the only reason anyone would ever use it. Where does all the glue residue go after it's installed? A certain amount, (be it even a tiny little trace, scientifically measured amount) goes right into you glass. Any amount is too much toxic glue for my families or clients. Not to mention, if you ever want to add on anything, like tap into the plumbing system for a new water line for a ice maker. You have to shut down the entire house for 24 hours to let the piping's glue set. Lastly the stuff is fragile, for example someone accidentally grabbed, kicked, or hung some clothes to dry on the pipes, it could just plain snap and flood your house because the pipe is just glued into the joints/fittings, I have heard of cpvc pipe popping right out of joint simple because someone didn't use enough glue. CPVC has no "easy" visual indication that it has been installed properly, where as you can see an visual indication for both copper and pex the job was done correctly. Clearly you can see I don't like the stuff, but when installed properly it will transport, which is it's only requirement.

Copper is great, but extremely expensive, and labor intensive to install properly. Also naturally occurring minerals in well water, and even town provided water. Aka "city water" can and will break down the copper at it's weakest points over time. The pex water system prevents accelerated corrosion and deterioration between pipes made from dissimilar metals, (meaning, well systems should use pex- no question) Copper is OK with well systems as long as dielectric unions are installed throughout the well system, but that's costly and takes a lot of time to install properly.

PEX, is currently the best system IMO. It's getting more expensive now that it has gotten so popular in the industry, but still much less expensive than copper. It's very reliable when installed properly, and much more durable than cpvc because the joints on Pex fittings allows it to flex, where the cpvc doesn't, Pex is also much better against premature break down that is associated with well water. Faster, Easier, More Reliable = why the plumbing industry has gone bonkers over the pex system.

Note: be careful when buying PEX, many cheap imports from China have come in, and are being sold every where (online for very low prices) and I expect to see some problems associated with these products in the future. Much like the problems with China producing cheap PVC DWV (drain-waste-vent) piping in the 80's, before we temporally outlawed it at our ports, and created a new standardized system that stamped out all the shorty PVC from even entering America after that point. You should ONLY buy pex in plumbing supply stores IMO. Check out my site if you want to learn more about plumbing, but more specifically water heating & water heaters. WaterHeatingInfo.com

Since almost 10 years past PEX become more affordable https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/plumbi...ex-818082.html