I have a very old house with a mix of iron and copper supply pipes. I have a laundry sink I want to connect to the supplies with PEX. I've looked for supplies and tools and know where they are, but, what exactly do I need?

Hey Don-

I just used PEX to connect to copper pipes in my 1940's house to connect a new washer & dryer. There are plenty of copper to pex connectors on the market -- and numerous ways to connect PEX. The most common seems to be with fittings that the PEX fits over and clamps into using crimping rings -- but to accomplish this you need to purchase a crimping tool which runs ~$100.

If you are only doing a few fittings, I was directed to the new Shark Bite fittings which simply use serrated teeth to hold both the copper and pex together. They have worked great, and needed no other special tools to fit. I simply sweated in a T fitting to my existing copper pipes, added a shutoff valve, and snapped the shark bite fitting onto the end. I have heard some people express concerns about these fitting being prone to leaks, but like I said I have had no problems at all. There are tons of shark bite fitting options to allow you to fit them right into shutoff vales or faucets.

For a small project, I think the average DIY is better off sticking to PVC/CPVC. I looked at PEX for a small project recently. Comparing prices at Lowe's, the PVC was going to be much cheaper, and I have plenty of successful experience with it. Just follow the directions on the can of cement.

I'm going to buy a compression tool and a pipe cutter, so tools aren't the question. It's about the fittings. I don't know what I need to go from 1/2" pipe to PEX and from PEX to the compression fittings on the plastic supply pipes on the faucet set.