Calling all plumbers

[Hijack73]

So with the slab leak I just had, the plumber tried like heck to sell me on a whole house re-pipe. He quoted me what I could buy a decent used car for, so I declined. Talking to my neighbor today, he told me he did his himself running pex though the attic. I did a little youtubing and it doesn't look hard at all - and since I'm a single level 3/2 with a laundry room it really doesn't look that bad. Neighbor said he'd walk me though it until I was comfortable on my own, so I at least have that lol.

I probably won't have time to do it before it gets South Carolina hot, but it's on my list for next fall/winter.

I see a couple of ways to do attachments, most using crimp rings. Is that the way to go? Plastic T's and elbows or brass? A lot of what I've seen says plastic connections are just fine but there are a few that act like I'm spitting on the Mother Mary if I go plastic....

I may actually go get some pex this weekend since the kitchen wall is partially out and do a drop so it's there next fall. I just don't have any days off (I've had one one in the last 6 weeks) or I'd do all it this weekend or in the next few, but the time just isn't there right now and I'm going to be on 7 days a week for the foreseeable future.

 

[mike243]

Well I would never put plumbing in a attic but not sure the temps where you live, lived in Florida when I was a kid and had below freezing for 3 days, not sure how well it works in the cold. Had a big fish stun/kill , we were snagging some fish and folks on some house boats would buy them lol

 

[JLinza]

Pex is pretty darn easy. Just get the right parts. Try to avoid using sharkbites, I know some people swear by them but they have a lifespan & I've repaired plenty of sharkbite fails at work.

Go get ya one of these and some rings and you'll be set.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Wirsbo Pex is what everyone here uses. The brass fittings with the expansion ring is most popular but above ground the shark bite fittings are good as well(push to connect)

Under the slab I would replace the whole line coming in to the main shutoff with Pex then if you redo the rest of the water continue with Pex it’s bullet proof stuff.

 

[02ebz06]

One of the beauties of Pex is it expands.
Had it freeze one day when in Texas, and didn't have hot water for a day.
Warmed up and worked fine again.
I did re-pipe it just to prevent future freeing..
It was going from water heater into back wall of garage and then up into attic.
I ran it straight up into the ceiling and did add insulation around it in the attic.
Also put two shutoff valves on the lines of the water heater to make replacement of it easier.
No need to shut off main water.

 

[Hijack73]

Well I would never put plumbing in a attic but not sure the temps where you live, lived in Florida when I was a kid and had below freezing for 3 days, not sure how well it works in the cold. Had a big fish stun/kill , we were snagging some fish and folks on some house boats would buy them lol

Cold spells here are pretty mild and generally short. I think it got down to 25 maybe 3 nights this winter. It's rare that temps don't get into the mid 40's during the day even during those snaps. I leave cabinet doors open on really cold nights.

Winter of 22/23 was the worst cold snap here in something like 100 years. Week before Christmas it got into single digits at night and teens during the day for I think 4 days. Me and my girl ran off for a quick getaway those days and my daughter forgot to leave the faucets running the last night before I got back. The day I got back it was about 25. I turned my shower on and it started gurgling, then a little water came out, then full flow a few seconds later. I felt pretty lucky.

 

[Hijack73]

Wirsbo Pex is what everyone here uses. The brass fittings with the expansion ring is most popular but above ground the shark bite fittings are good as well(push to connect)

Under the slab I would replace the whole line coming in to the main shutoff with Pex then if you redo the rest of the water continue with Pex it’s bullet proof stuff.

My manifold actually has an access panel due to a previous repair. I didn't think about where it came into that from and was thinking to just go from the manifold out. It's in the garage catty corner to my meter so I guess the main from the meter has to travel under the garage probably on a diagonal. Why in the ever loving blue blazes homes are built like this I'll never understand. If I ever have one built, the only things in my slab will be sewage pipes. Made of titanium.

 

[SmokinEdge]

My manifold actually has an access panel due to a previous repair. I didn't think about where it came into that from and was thinking to just go from the manifold out. It's in the garage catty corner to my meter so I guess the main from the meter has to travel under the garage probably on a diagonal. Why in the ever loving blue blazes homes are built like this I'll never understand. If I ever have one built, the only things in my slab will be sewage pipes. Made of titanium.

What type pipe is the current water main under the slab?

 

[kevinwi]

I have a very small home and I re-piped my ole rusty galvanized supply lines with pex.
I did it in one day....it was pucker time when I turned on the valve, but nary a drip and that was about 9 years ago...still working! Whatever you think you'll need for fittings, double it...you can always bring back what you don't use. It's pretty easy if you take your time and make sure each crimp is right. I didn't have any help.....the most labor was cutting out the old pipe.

 

[Hijack73]

What type pipe is the current water main under the slab?

I don't know. I'll look at what's coming up next time I run by the house. What is going bad is that bad pex like stuff, maybe it was a kind of pex, that was being used circa 2000 (or this is what the plumber said)

heres the floor plan basically

 

[Hijack73]

I have a very small home and I re-piped my ole rusty galvanized supply lines with pex.
I did it in one day....it was pucker time when I turned on the valve, but nary a drip and that was about 9 years ago...still working! Whatever you think you'll need for fittings, double it...you can always bring back what you don't use. It's pretty easy if you take your time and make sure each crimp is right. I didn't have any help.....the most labor was cutting out the old pipe.

Mine's not large either. 1225 not counting the garage. It's kind of long and narrow.

This isn't me, but it's the same floor plan (almost the same, I thought all single stories in my neighborhood were identical)

EDIT - this one has my layout

1174 Willet Dr, Rock Hill, SC 29732 | Zillow

1174 Willet Dr, Rock Hill SC, is a Single Family home that contains 1232 sq ft and was built in 2000.It contains 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.This home last sold for $191,300 in November 2020. The Zestimate for this Single Family is $292,100, which has increased by $5,500 in the last 30 days.The...

www.zillow.com

 

[Twilightwe]

One thing I’d definitely recommend is insulating the pipes if they’re going in the attic. Even if it doesn’t freeze much where you are, it’s worth doing. I skipped insulation once, and a freak cold snap froze my pipes—luckily, nothing burst, but I learned my lesson.
If time’s tight and you can’t get it all done in one go, starting with the kitchen drop sounds like a good plan. That way, you’ve got a head start for when you can get to the rest. And hey, if something goes sideways, a reliable 247 plumber Essex is always a good fallback.

 

[Newglide]

I've put pex in attics before and had no issues. Pex is great stuff. It expands extremely well. You can buy it in a roll so there are minimum joints in the attic. I'm not sold on shark bites but have used them. I typically use the crimp fittings, you need to be careful with those also because if you don't get them straight it will cause problems.
The drawback to the attic is in SC it gets hot and hunid, so you won't get a cold glass of water out of the tap unless you let it run forever. You will also want to insulate because once the cold water finally gets to the pipe you will get condensation. You will want to take the cold into consideration because it can also freeze,yes it does expand up to 3 times it's normal size and if it doesn't burst you won't have water till it thaws