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jerseybred · Dec 2, 2011, 07:31 AM

Hello,
My son brought his house when he was 21. I am very proud of him for being able to take on such a responsibility at an early age. Unfortunately, he brought the house at the height of the housing market and he was also taken very badly on the house. The house has turned out be what we think is a very old modular home that was redone by the previous homeowner. The previous homeowner evidently didn't know what he was doing. The electrical system has been nothing but a worrisome ordeal. Enough to keep a mother awake all night worrying that something might happen to her son. Now it is the plumbing system that is falling apart. The linoleum in the kitchen started coming apart from the floor, as when you might have a leak, but there was no evident water. My contractor friend pulled the refrigerator out and cut a hole in the wall. What we found was a plumber's nightmare. There is PVC running every which way, with half glued fittings that are leaking. The PVC is between the walls and they even cut holes in the cabinets to run it to the kitchen sink. Everything is willy nilly. We decided the best solution was to replumb the entire house. My contractor friend wants to run PEX under the house in the crawlspace. The whole house is covered by plywood underneath, so the PEX would have to run between the crawlspace and the unheated bottom of the house. We will drill up the plywood and floor to each fixture. Does this sound OK? I worry the PEX will freeze. Thank you for any help with this

ballengerb1 · Dec 2, 2011, 07:37 AM

Where does he live? Yes PEX can freeze stopping the water flow or even worse. That contractor should know better and would likely not be able to get a permit for this work. This is no better than the previous owners work.

jerseybred · Dec 2, 2011, 08:13 AM

Hello,
We live in very rural W.V. permits are not an issue in this area. He says that it will not freeze in the crawlspace. The area is block and he says it will try to keep ground temp. like in my basement. How would you suggest the replumbing job? I could try to remove the plywood from under the house, which is a scary thing, not knowing what is up under there. I have hired plumbers in the past to look at different problems but it seems there really aren't too many knowledgeable people around here. Believe it or not, I even hired a house inspector before my son brought this house. I think all he wanted was to please the realtor. He did not alert us to any of the problems with this house, and there have been many. For those of you who need permits and specialist with license, be happy, because this is what happens when such things are not required by law.

ballengerb1 · Dec 2, 2011, 08:32 AM

WV temps can be in the tens in January so I am not sure how he can say definitively it will not freeze. I would cut slots in the plywood, notch floor joists if needed and install the PEX. Insulation will help then nail the ply back in place and caulk. You should be able to reuse the plywood strips