Curious if builders are using Copper or PEX

sgip

sgip

Well-known member
We're embarking on our whole house re-pipe. The builder (KB Homes) used copper for plumbing - typical for a 1995 built home. That made me wonder:  Do new builds use copper, or PEX for plumbing. Does a buyer have a choice?

At present we're using Repipe1. Cost for a 2200 SF home (Kitchen, 2.75 BA, etc) is quoted at $7,500 however with new shower plumbing and repainting, it will come to $10k. Thankfully our slab leak was localized to our kitchen, flowing outside rather than flooding the kitchen.

 
A couple questions, if you'll indulge me.  Why are you re-piping the whole house?  Also, I'm curious as to how much drywall will need to be cut, and if the quote includes patching all the holes?  Or is that part of the repainting?

Purely a guess, I would think all builders that are allowed to use PEX are using it.  The savings in labor has to outweigh the higher cost of the parts.

Personally, I get that PEX is "proven" but I am still wary of it.  Plastic and rubber just don't seem like they'll hold up as long as metal.  I always use the thicker wall Type L copper for all my piping, which is probably a waste of money, like 3000 mile oil changes.  Still, I have no doubt it will all hold up for many decades.
 
Our neighbors have had pin hole leaks that were fixed one at a time. Most homes have had 3-7 leaks costing $1k to fix each. This is common for homes in South OC due to water quality issues. Some result in significant water damage so costs and hassles really add up quickly. We are blessed that our 1st leak wasn't a huge deal. We figured it's best to "one and done" rather than suffer a death by a thousand cuts.

Drywall is opened every 3 feet per code. They drywall and texture, but we repaint.

Company uses PEX-A, the highest grade which is comforting.

My .02c
 
All the new builds we bought in the last 3 years used PEX.

The only metal pipping I see is for gas in newer homes. Even the sprinkler system in these houses use hard plastic tubing (I think it's called CPVC).
 
With a top of the line filtering system and a wall hot water heater you can protect an all copper system, but failure is inevitable. If I were buying resale South of the Irvine Spectrum, "Did you repipe?" would be a good question to ask before committing. Some homesellers have been preemptively repiping before listing - an odd practice I thought until I found myself needing to repipe.

My. 02c
 
From the framed new homes we?ve seen prior to drywall going up I?ve seen only PEX.

When a relative of mine had a slab leak, the plumber was going to reroute using copper but because of all the bends, he went with PEX. He said copper is just as good but he may be old school.
 
Update - Kitchen, Laundry, refrigerator, downstairs 2/3 bath, upstairs 2 full baths, sinks, etc started at 9:00 AM and finished by 6:00 PM. Amazingly fast work.

City inspector came by day after with drywall and stucco patching tomorrow. Lots of drywall dust - more than expected - but all in all a professionally done job.

My .02c
 
Soylent Green Is People said:
We're embarking on our whole house re-pipe. The builder (KB Homes) used copper for plumbing - typical for a 1995 built home. That made me wonder:  Do new builds use copper, or PEX for plumbing. Does a buyer have a choice?

At present we're using Repipe1. Cost for a 2200 SF home (Kitchen, 2.75 BA, etc) is quoted at $7,500 however with new shower plumbing and repainting, it will come to $10k. Thankfully our slab leak was localized to our kitchen, flowing outside rather than flooding the kitchen.
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Cost is well spent for investment and peace of mind. A heck alot cheaper to replace if flooding, pipes burst to occur. Money well spent.
 
Probably a generation preference, ways of consuming content are evolving for sure.

I don't mind reading content but I happen to follow this guy and he makes videos (my guess is there is more $$ in it than written content.).
 
marmott said:
Probably a generation preference, ways of consuming content are evolving for sure.
Click to expand...

True.

I don't mind reading content but I happen to follow this guy and he makes videos (my guess is there is more $$ in it than written content.).
Click to expand...

Probably... you can ad-block a website (although now they block you back) but harder to ad-block YouTube.
 
Soylent Green Is People said:
Update - Kitchen, Laundry, refrigerator, downstairs 2/3 bath, upstairs 2 full baths, sinks, etc started at 9:00 AM and finished by 6:00 PM. Amazingly fast work.

City inspector came by day after with drywall and stucco patching tomorrow. Lots of drywall dust - more than expected - but all in all a professionally done job.

My .02c
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Thanks for the update Soylent and glad everything worked out ;D
 
Soylent Green Is People said:
Update - Kitchen, Laundry, refrigerator, downstairs 2/3 bath, upstairs 2 full baths, sinks, etc started at 9:00 AM and finished by 6:00 PM. Amazingly fast work.

City inspector came by day after with drywall and stucco patching tomorrow. Lots of drywall dust - more than expected - but all in all a professionally done job.

My .02c
Click to expand...

I am going through the process of reviewing quotes from multiple repiping companies- Repipe1 being one of them. we had second slab leak in 2 months so we just decided to repipe and be done with it. Would you recommend Repipe1?
 
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