I'm doing an extensive downstairs rennovation on a small Southern California Depression-era "bungalow" (OK, shack). By "extensive" I mean: joist replacement (rim and floor), external reframing on two sides, etc. The minimal fixtures involved (kitchen, shower and lavatory) were/are all located near the perimeter, so the pipes were simply run outside along the perimeter and then straight through the wall to the fixtures.
Since I'm reframing, I can now run everything inside the walls. I was talking with one of my affluent friends who has an old (but nice) house. He's done the copper repipe already and also has installed his own central A/C. I joked about "moving up" into the modern world of indoor plumbing, and he smiled. "There's a lot to be said for outdoor plumbing runs."
Considering that much of the original damage was caused by faulty plumbing, I'm adding up the pros and cons of indoor vs. outdoor plumbing. Appearance aside, if I'm doing Indoor runs, I've got to hog out (weaken) the studwalls for the pipes, I've got to worry about the joints stressing and leaking due to quakes (we've had three moderate ones), and condensation. On the Outdoor side, the main concern (aside from appearance) seems to be moisture intrusion from the multiple entries.
As an aside, if I do go "indoor," is it true that using PVC for cold water in the walls is (a) code approved, (b) more forgiving of quake stress and (C) less susceptible to condensation sweating than copper?
Since I'm reframing, I can now run everything inside the walls. I was talking with one of my affluent friends who has an old (but nice) house. He's done the copper repipe already and also has installed his own central A/C. I joked about "moving up" into the modern world of indoor plumbing, and he smiled. "There's a lot to be said for outdoor plumbing runs."
Considering that much of the original damage was caused by faulty plumbing, I'm adding up the pros and cons of indoor vs. outdoor plumbing. Appearance aside, if I'm doing Indoor runs, I've got to hog out (weaken) the studwalls for the pipes, I've got to worry about the joints stressing and leaking due to quakes (we've had three moderate ones), and condensation. On the Outdoor side, the main concern (aside from appearance) seems to be moisture intrusion from the multiple entries.
As an aside, if I do go "indoor," is it true that using PVC for cold water in the walls is (a) code approved, (b) more forgiving of quake stress and (C) less susceptible to condensation sweating than copper?
