So I am a pretty accomplished DIY and worked a bit in plumbing, welding and was in the electrical trade for 30 years and had a residential/commercial license for 16 years till I retired. I have re-piped my entire house with copper and all the DWV with ABS. But I never did PEX, just figured I wouldn't need to know how as long as I could sweat stuff together, plus I didn't care to invest in the expensive tools.
Well I am now doing a kitchen/laundry remodel and I'm thinking about doing some PEX. I did some research and learned all about Type A and Type B, and I looked at some manual tools for Type A for around $130. (I have decided to stick with Type A). I'll need to go under the house and tee into some copper and come off with PEX for a recirc pump, relocate the laundry plumbing a couple feet and relocate the kitchen sink plumbing a couple feet as well as run a line for an ice maker box in the wall. PEX would be easier to do as there are some challenges coming up from under the house and around some major structural stuff. Plus now that the tools are affordable, and copper is so high, I'd just like to add it to my skills. I also have a couple rentals that will be needing some re-piping in the future.
What do you think? Is it as easy as it looks? I am the type to research everything fully and try to do it right but are there pitfalls I may not know about?
One of my first questions is angle stops. In the kitchen I will use copper stub outs and compression stops but the recirc pump will be in the wall behind a small tub access door and no room for stub outs so I am wondering what's the best way to put angle stops directly on the PEX? Do people actually use Shark Bite angle stops or is that a bad idea?
Well I am now doing a kitchen/laundry remodel and I'm thinking about doing some PEX. I did some research and learned all about Type A and Type B, and I looked at some manual tools for Type A for around $130. (I have decided to stick with Type A). I'll need to go under the house and tee into some copper and come off with PEX for a recirc pump, relocate the laundry plumbing a couple feet and relocate the kitchen sink plumbing a couple feet as well as run a line for an ice maker box in the wall. PEX would be easier to do as there are some challenges coming up from under the house and around some major structural stuff. Plus now that the tools are affordable, and copper is so high, I'd just like to add it to my skills. I also have a couple rentals that will be needing some re-piping in the future.
What do you think? Is it as easy as it looks? I am the type to research everything fully and try to do it right but are there pitfalls I may not know about?
One of my first questions is angle stops. In the kitchen I will use copper stub outs and compression stops but the recirc pump will be in the wall behind a small tub access door and no room for stub outs so I am wondering what's the best way to put angle stops directly on the PEX? Do people actually use Shark Bite angle stops or is that a bad idea?
