Looking for some plumbing advice

[jgohlke]

The details:
Florida house built in 1972, concrete slab, no basement. All copper, with an electrical ground to the cold water pipe buried under the house. With the water quality and lightning combination in central Florida, the copper pipe just doesn't last much past the 30 year mark. We re-plumbed our last house at the 35 year mark. Our current house is a 3-bath house, attic is accessible (it's August!). We don't have to be very concerned about freezing.

Last night we discovered an under-the-slab leak in one of the back bathrooms. This is the 2nd under-the-slab leak for this house and based on the last repair ($1400 in 1993), I'm thinking "OUCH!" on this one. About a month ago we had a pinhole leak in the copper by the water heater in the garage which I fixed myself. I'm comfortable sweating together copper pipe (I just bought an trigger-fired MAPP gas torch!)

I replumbed the old house with PB (that gray flexible stuff you crimp together - it had all the lawsuits). The lawsuits were really about poor installation and mostly came down to a poorly adjusted crimp tool. I rented mine from a local plumbing store, it worked well, was easy to use and we didn't have any problems.

I spent a few minutes on Google this morning and it looks like the list of replacement pipe includes; PVC (cold), CPVC (hot), PEX (both) and of course copper.

I've put in lawn sprinkler systems, so working with ©PVC isn't a problem. I liked the flexibility of the PB and PEX is attractive for that same reason, but availability may be a problem (supplies, tools).

For now, we are living with the water shut off except when we use it. We have 2 shutoff valves for the house, one up by the house, buried in the flower garden and the other out by the street (water meter). I have a meter "key" so we are just walking out to the street and back when we need water (I have some 5-gal buckets by the toilets we are filling from the pool)...

Appreciate any help or advice you can give.

Cheers,
Joe

 

[tone-ny]

Joe from everything I've read and seen PEX is the way to. I'd get a few estimates on the work so that way you can figure out your cost savings based on your time and effort. The other factor should be how long you plan to stay in this house and if you just want to fix versus a complete re plumbing job. Best of luck with the project!

 

[BrewMeister]

Joe,

I'm not a SME on plumbing. However, I'd have no reservations on taking on a job like this. The difficulty will revolve around the layout of your home. My suggestion, have a couple plumbers and give you an estimate, and explain exactly how they would do the job. That should give you some idea as to the difficulty of the project, and possibly a few ideas. For me, I'd do the entire thing in CPVC. However, I'd use brass main cut-off valves. I've had lousy experiences with the larger CPVC valves. Just my 2¢.

 

[AVB]

Makes me wonder about the acidity in your water. Mine is 43 years old all copper and no leaks so far. (knock wood)

 

[jgohlke]

Hey Brew - That's exactly what I did the last time! I called a plumber (wife called "sanity check" on me after the 3rd round of jack hammering) to get a full re-plumb estimate. When he got to the house, I followed him around asking him a ton of questions. When he left, I told my wife "I can do that!".

For the record, the plumber's estimate was:

$1,800 - Finished in 1 day (replace pipes only, no wall repair, no new fixtures). He had just had a cancellation and offered to bring his crew out the next day..."You'll be taking a shower in your bathroom tomorrow night!"

DIY - $300 for parts (pipe/fittings only). It took me 9 days total from complete start to finish. My wife ended up having emergency surgery (gallbladder) in the middle and I lost a couple of days. Since the house was 40 years old, I replaced all the faucets and remodeled the master bath (new sink, toilet and vanity) while I was at it...that added another $700 to the total cost. I also did all the wall/plaster repair work myself.

When you don't have much money, you don't have many choices. I just charged ahead and got it done. After the plumber left, I drove to the plumbing store (without any plans) and told the guy behind the counter, "I need to replumb my house". ha, ha, ha...I ended up following him around the parts room holding my shirt out with both hands like a basket while he picked parts, told me what they were for and dropped them in my shirt. I still remember the look on my wife's face when I got home and dumped all those parts out on the kitchen floor.

I went a bit nuts in the master bath, ripped out everything and tossed it in the backyard. My mom came to visit in the middle of the project....she told me later that she figured the house was a total loss, I would have to declare bankdruptcy and move in with her.

I still have the scar on my shoulder where I walked into the jagged edge of the copper pipe sticking out of the hot water heater....

 

[jgohlke]

AVB - From what I've read, it's a combination of water acidity and electrical issues. Central Florida gets a lot of lightning and even close strikes cause electrical spikes. During the summer our electric clocks are "blinking" a couple times per week when we get home. Since the house is grounded to the cold water pipe any stray electricity shoots out the pipe into the ground underneath the house. Each time that happens it makes a weak spot in the pipe....add a little acidity problem and that's where you get the pinhole leaks.

 

[Gonz]

From what I've heard, PEX is the way to go. I haven't worked with it yet, however I imagine crimping joints instead of having to solder would be much easier. Also, being somewhat flexible I imagine it would easier to run through joists without having all kinds of 90 degree turns and unions, as required with copper. We just bought a brand new house and the entire house has been plumbed with PEX.

Good luck with whatever you decide Joe!

 

[SamClemmons]

Just don't forget the "plumber cleavage" while yer workin'. Push them jeans down a little and let that ass crack smile at all the supervisors.

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