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MurphySM · Jul 16, 2008, 06:48 PM

Hey Guys, You all have been such a great help with my questions about our bathroom remodel. I have one final question... I hope! I am re-routing the water supply line for the toilet. The old line was galvanized steel and I am replacing it with PEX, which has been easy peasy to put together.

My two part question comes at the end of the line. I'm bringing the line straight up through the subfloor instead of up through the wall because it is an exterior wall. I have seen shut off valves that are made to connect directly to PEX, but I don't want the cheap/ugly looking PEX pipe sticking up through the floor. I'm not spending many man hours and a few thousand dollars to show off my beautiful plastic pipes. So, what do I connect to the end of the line so that it looks nice and is functional?

I bought a 3" galvanized nipple and was just going to get a PEX to Galvanized connector to connect the two... but again it's nothing that looks too nice. And what is that piece called that sticks out from the wall?

The second part of the question is once I figure out what is going to be sticking up out of the subfloor, how do I secure it there so it's moving up and down?

Thanks so much for your help with the finishing touches on this project.
Sean

hkstroud · Jul 16, 2008, 07:08 PM

The easy way is to secure a piece of copper pipe to the floor joist or a brace and connect the PEX to that. Then use regular chrome plated stop valves.

The top drawer, expensive way is to use chrome plated pipe. KISS will be along shortly to advise on this piping and valves.

ballengerb1 · Jul 16, 2008, 07:14 PM

I agree with Harold, stop in the sub floor and change over to chrome plated pipe for the last 12" . PEX is cheaper than copper and easy to snake through walls but beauty is not on their list of characteristics. Are you using a PEX crimper or Sharkbite connectors?

MurphySM · Jul 17, 2008, 05:43 AM

Originally Posted by ballengerb1

I agree with Harold, stop in the sub floor and change over to chrome plated pipe for the last 12" . PEX is cheaper than copper and easy to snake through walls but beauty is not on their list of characteristics. Are you using a PEX crimper or Sharkbite connectors?

Chrome plated pipe sounds good to me. I think I'll go with that. I'm using a PEX crimper. Easiest install of anything I've done on the house! Too bad the crimping tool costs $100.

Thanks to both of you!

MurphySM · Jul 17, 2008, 05:46 AM

Oh, one more question. Which is better for connecting galvanized steel pieces? Teflon tape or pipe thread compound? I've used teflon in the paste but saw the pipe thread compound and for reason it interested me. Does it work better than teflon?

Milo Dolezal · Jul 17, 2008, 06:26 AM

We prefer to use Pipe Dope type sealer on rough pipe. We use teflon tape on brass fittings and when connecting trim.

ballengerb1 · Jul 17, 2008, 10:19 AM

You got a good deal on your chrimper, maybe you can sell it on Ebay when you are done. Most home owners don't need that tool often enough to make it worth the initial expense. That makes Sharkbite stock go up. Use pipe dope on galvanized but why are you using galvanized when you have a supply of PEX?

MurphySM · Jul 17, 2008, 04:56 PM

Originally Posted by ballengerb1

You got a good deal on your chrimper, maybe you can sell it on Ebay when you are done. Most home owners don't need that tool often enough to make it worth the inital expense. That makes Sharkbite stock go up. Use pipe dope on galvanized but why are you using galvanized when you have a supply of PEX?

The old pipe is galvanized and replacing all of the old pipe is not in the financial or time budget, so I've connected a brass converter from the galvanized to PEX.

Originally Posted by ballengerb1

You got a good deal on your chrimper, maybe you can sell it on Ebay when you are done. Most home owners don't need that tool often enough to make it worth the inital expense. That makes Sharkbite stock go up.

Is there a difference between and crimper and a clamper tool? I wasn't to impressed with the price of the tool that I got. $100 for a tool that only crimps/clamps 1/2" rings! I thought that was pretty outrageous.

Now, I wish I had known about those Sharkbite connectors. I saw the video on their site and they look fantastic and even easier than the clamp tool. Where can you get them? I didn't see anything like it at Home Depot.

Though, looks like they make up for ease of use in the cost of each connector. One website is selling them for about $5-6 per connector. Depending on the size of the job you could easily make up the initial cost of a regular clamping tool. But definitely a great option for a small job.

Thanks again for the info guys!
Sean

Milo Dolezal · Jul 17, 2008, 07:02 PM

You can purchase SharkBite connectors in copper fitting section of Home Depot. Yes, they run about $5-6.00 for 1/2" fittings and up. But they are priceless considering how well they work...

Maybe future of plumbing??