PEX contractor recommmendations

Mitch_6

You are talking about Plumbers. Best thing to do is see how responsive they are. Did they call right back did they show on time. Did they talk to you about options and give suggestions based on experience. Did they send you a written estimate my mail or E mail and does it describe what they will be doing for that amount.

If you had to call several times and when they showed they just took a quick look and said I will call you back with a price that may be a sign of there work.

Since the Pex itself is relatively cheap per roll you don't really need a tape measure and should be able to judge time and run lengths by experience.

Good Luck

Mitch S.

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Patrick North

A little off topic, but...

Thanks to Dan's books (and you all) I know how to weed out knucklehead steam guys. But what about PEX specialists? We're staring down an unexpected repipe for our general plumbing (not heating) and are trying to get some quotes for PEX. The first guy showed up yesterday and took about two lines of notes- no tape measure, nothing. (To be fair, I did supply him with a pretty detailed list of the number and type of lines we'd need by room, etc.) He left and I realized that other than my gut reaction, I didn't know how to assess this contractor.
Any tips for identifying the good guys or weeding out the knuckleheads? I plan on getting references before proceeding with any contractor.
Thanks,
Patrick

Glenn Sossin_2

References

Ask for recent references - check them. Ask for recent job photos. Pex has a significant expansion rate as it is heated. Look for proper support, and how it is sleeved when passing thought wood beams and joists so it doesn't make expansion noises. A good contractor will be proud of his work and let you know it.

clammy

domestic water lines

On another note if your replacing your domestic water lines as i believe ,see if the plumber also infromes you that you will also be needing a main house pressure reducing valve and a pressure safety valve installed on your water main this is common pratice and required by plumbing inspectors and is stated in some pex installation manuals .PEX has temperture and pressure limits espically with some water systems having a higher then pex 's max pressure.Also in picking your contractor it's important they show up on time and are not looking for a check before they start and of course get it in writting if in doubt .Peace and good luck clammy

Plumdog_2

You are supplying the details?

Like the number and types of lines? You might be trying to micro-manage a simple re-pipe job and turning off the Plumbers that come to look at it. Any licensed, insured plumber ought to know how to lay out and size a potable water system. I've been finding quite a few owners willing to pay a premium for a well-done copper piping job instead of pex.

Ken_40

Pat,

I am curious. There are only a few valid reasons to do what you're doing. Are the existing pipes coroding (steel or poor quality alloy)? Is pressure (pipe diameter) low or fluctuating greatly? Are you doing renovations and need to relocate what's already there?

Well or city water? Both hot and cold water? Is what's there leaking now? Why have you chosen PEX, not PVC, copper, or poly?

How accessible is the in-wall piping? How about the basement piping? How far will this replacement go? All the way, or just the "easy to get to" pieces?

We look forward to your answers

Patrick North

Why and how.

I appreciate the responses so far- here's more information for Ken and others who asked:

*Why repipe? It's a very old house with the expected patchwork of crazy plumbing. The bulk of current piping is galvanized and in questionable shape. Some annoying low flow issues. In some cases, the plumbing was just installed poorly. We've had some leaking at different locations, but nothing dramatic- not that we want to wait for it to get that bad. We are doing some renovation, so things are a bit torn up in places, already. Finally, we will be adding another bathroom. Rather than update a bit at a time and risk some of those "dramatic" type leaks, it seems like a good time to update everything.

*We have very hard city water, so we'll be adding a softener. The two water softener guys we've had out actually recommmended we not buy a softener until we have the galvanized piping addressed (and no, neither offered to do any of the work). Evidently, softened water is pretty harsh on already corroded galvanized pipe.

* Why PEX? We haven't ruled out copper and will get estimates for it alongside PEX, but I'm guessing PEX will come in cheaper and will be easier to retrofit with lower remodeling costs. Outside of personal preferences on working with one material over another, I haven't seen anything that makes me question the use of PEX, but I'm always open to more information.

*Micromanaging? From my own experience, I find the clearer I am describing what I want from a contractor, the smoother things go. In this case, some lines will need to be softened, some softened and filtered, and some completely untreated, with a mix of repiping and new lines, so I wrote these details down, if only to keep things straight for myself. Also makes it easier to compare apples to apples whent the quotes come in. But being the kind of guy who doesn't like to be told how to do his job either, I always approach this kind of thing with a "hey, you're the expert, but this is what I _think_ I want" attitude.

Thanks again, all.

Ken_40

Outstanding answer!

I agree with all your reasons to do what you're planning, as well as how. PEX is an ideal retrofit, and tolerates hard water, whther softened or not - extremely well.

The only issue is the totality of replacement issue. If you're going to do this, ALL the iron pipe needs to be removed. Right now, tons of steel share the rusting activity, if you leave say 15% of the steel in the walls, te rate of "electro-chemical sacrifice" will be wildly accelerated!

Copper piping could be left in place if virtually impossible to remove. No ferrous material however should.

The diameter of the PEX is critical to the flow characteristics. Lots of 3/4" I.D., and very little 1/2" A decent plumber wil know about fixture unit calcs. and hook you up with an awesome hot and cold water supply system. Although PE can also be used, I'd get prices both ways; PE being ployetheylene that is NOT cross-linked. An oxygen barrier is not typically required with potable water systems.

You are definitely on the right track with the softenor and the remaining iron situation. Get one, and I urge you to soften ONLY the hot water (cold water feed to the hot water maker). Few like the taste or cook with "soft water." It also substantially reduces the brine demand and demand-based recycling if so equipped.

Good luck!

Plumdog_2

That is a good answer!

You might consider a manifold system with color coded branch runs if the Water Heater/Softener is not too far from the points of usage. One manifold for cold raw water, another for filtered cold, another for hot raw and yet another for softened hot. (Two heaters required). Most pex/pex al pex/ and pe comes in red, blue and clear or white. I agree with Ken about getting the iron out completely. Sounds like fun.