I need to repipe my home. The galvanized pipe is 30 years old and rusting badly. We have dropped soffits in the kitchen and bath rooms. I think this would make for easy access down the wall. Do I need to mount a shut off valve under each sink? I have worked as an electrcian and field engineer for 40 years, so this work seems like it would easy.

Are you asking if you can run your water OUTSIDE the wall where it can be damaged?

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Do I need to mount a shut off valve under each sink?

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If you don't you'll have to shut the entire house off the service a single fixture. Regards, Tom

Hi all:

Chumly, I'm going to guess that you are asking if you easily "FISH" PEX pipe down the inside of the wall from a soffit... right? If so, then my answer is yes, you can fish PEX pipe down inside walls but you'll need to open a pretty big hole in the cabinet to pull it through without kinking the pipe (like a 2" hole). You would add a shutoff to each PEX drop so, as Tom indicated, you don't have to shut off the entire house to service the valve or faucet... you will appreciate them in the future! Shutoffs to each fixture are also a code requirement everywhere that I know of.

Let us know what you think...

Mark

A shut-off valve is not required by plumbing codes directly at each fixture.

You do not need one under each sink.

It certainly makes it convenient to have a shut-off for each hot and cold supply to each fixture, but plumbing codes do not normally require them to be at or even near the fixtures.

It is very common, for example, when installing PEX manifold systems to have 'home-runs' of pipe directly to each hot and cold for each fixture directly from the manifold.

No 'branches' at all in this type PEX plumbing.

In this scenario, often the only shut-offs installed are those at the manifold that control water supply to each 'home-run'... and this method meets code... which only requires that the supplies to fixtures have shut-offs.

Code does not normally tell you where these shut-offs must be located. (At least under the IPC and IRC plumbing codes).

That said, it can be a lot cheaper and quicker to just install a manifold without having individual shutoffs at indvidual fixtures.

But installing shut-offs can make for a more convenient end use.