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Rick_B · Feb 20, 2012, 01:07 PM

Our house is about 100 years old, with galvanized internal pipes. At some point, copper was run from the street, through the meter, to the HW tank. Copper coming out of the tank is tied into the old galvanized pipes. Same for the cold water lines. Water barely flows in 2nd floor bathroom, which has the only tub/shower. I know the pipes need to be replaced. The question is where to start? At the bathroom or in the basement? Hot or cold first?

I should add that the pipes goingto the bathroom have a vertical run from the basement, then horizontal for about 12 - 13 feet to the tub. The horizontal run is accessible through the ceiling of the first floor room (kitchen) they traverse. (Kitchen ceiling is done with close-drop 2x2 tiles to hide leak damage over the year to the old style plaster board.)

Also, there are frequent blockages in the drains from vanity and tub. Those are also galvanized.

massplumber2008 · Feb 20, 2012, 04:55 PM

Hi Rick

I would start in the basement and I would repipe this using PEX or CPVC pipe... much easier to work with than copper.

I would do the hot and cold water at the same time... ;)

The drains are an entirely different issue and if you start messing with these at this time you may just want to open the walls/floors for easier access and do everything all at once. You would NOT need to replace the galvanized vents at the drains.

I am glad to discuss more if you like.

Mark

mygirlsdad77 · Feb 20, 2012, 04:58 PM

If you can gain access to all galv water pipes, I would suggest abandoning them all and run new pex lines. Best bet here, as tieing onto old galv can turn into a real headache in a hurry.

Rick_B · Feb 21, 2012, 11:36 AM

Thanks for the responses. I am hoping to do the job in stages, eventually replacing all of the galvanized. I recently replaced a gas HW Heater that rusted through the tank with a new electric model, and I became a big fan of Shark-Bite connectors. Since all of the pipes in the basement are exposed, I'm going to start there, with an expectation that I won't keep the water off for more than a day. I'm leaning towards PEX, but I want to check the cost for fittings.

If I can ask a further question, is 1/2" sufficient, or should I use 3/4" for the feeds? Some of the galvanized feeds look bigger than 1".

massplumber2008 · Feb 21, 2012, 12:20 PM

If the main coming in is 3/4" then I'd pipe this up as 3/4" for the mains, for sure.

Also, look into CPVC pipe... although not super popular around here, it is gaining polularity as the cost of copper, pex and sharkbite fittings continues increasing! In my area, in fact, CPVC is being used in all the new homes (including some of the million dollar homes).

Good luck!

mygirlsdad77 · Feb 21, 2012, 05:59 PM

Sorry Mark, your just to fast, you were posting while I was still typing.

And I don't know why, but the thought of plumbing a million dollar home in cpvc just gave me the shudders. Guess its just the way my brain is trained. Course, I had a hard time going to pex too, as well as flexible lav and closet supplies, but now I love the stuff and don't think I would ever go back. Go figure.

massplumber2008 · Feb 21, 2012, 07:22 PM

Hi Lee

That is incredibly funny! I thought the same thing about every single thing you said... especially those braided lav./kit. Supplies and PEX tubing/fittings!

Also funny, the CPVC in million dollar homes. Here, I wondered why I wasn't getting the contracts on a few jobs... turns out that within the specifications they allowed for copper, pex or cpvc... I was bidding traditional copper... the guys that got the contract, YUP, they were bidding CPVC... *UGH*

Anyway, although I don't use the stuff on remodeling work (most, if not all, of my work load) I'm afraid it has proven to be cost effective and reliable!

Finally, I have to admit... I hated PEX (fought it for years), and now, I use it for all my heat jobs (heat pex). Go figure, huh?

Thanks for your input, Lee!

mygirlsdad77 · Feb 22, 2012, 04:28 PM

Heat pex? Ill look into it. What's the temps range? And does it use standard brass fittings and crimp rings like regular pex? Can it be used on 180/190 degree systems? If so, I need to really know about this stuff. Thanks.

Or are you talking about heat pex for radiant floor, etc, lower temps like 160 and under?

massplumber2008 · Feb 22, 2012, 05:32 PM

HI Lee

Look into FOSTPEX or other O2 barrier PEX tubing... perfect for the high temp (190F) baseboard radiation we install everywhere!

Funny story here... I was always cranking about that new fangled PEX stuff and wouldn't use it. A local supplier finally got tired of my cranking and threw me a roll of fostapex and the tools/fittings and told me to use it on the next job I was on. Well, I was reluctant, but after using it on that job I was sold... cut the job time in HALF! I began to realize that I was losing jobs to guys using this stuff as they could bid way more competitively than I could. I've been using it ever since!

The real nice thing about the fostapex is that it is "form-stable" in that it doesn't curl up or look quite as sloppy as regular PEX... check it out:

Pex Tubing by Viega: ViegaPEX, ViegaPEX Ultra, FostaPEX

Mark