House repipe: Copper or plastic?

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I live in California with hard water and tract homes with galvanized pipe.After 18 yrs and several leaks, its time to repipe. While getting prices on copper pipe, I was told I should go with CPVC. Then someone else said that was a bad idea, stick with tried and true copper, type L.Can anyone tell me why either is better or give me advice? The majority choice seems to be copper…Would living in earthquake country make a difference either way? I know even a little rattle shakes build-up loose and I have to clear all faucets…I plan on doing this within the end of the year with some friends in the biz. Also, can do it in portions at a time? Please help….. thanks a lot!

[Henry ChaunceyParticipant]

: I live in California with hard water and tract homes with galvanized pipe.After 18 yrs and several leaks, its time to repipe. While getting prices on copper pipe, I was told I should go with CPVC. Then someone else said that was a bad idea, stick with tried and true copper, type L.: Can anyone tell me why either is better or give me advice? The majority choice seems to be copper…: Would living in earthquake country make a difference either way? I know even a little rattle shakes build-up loose and I have to clear all faucets…: I plan on doing this within the end of the year with some friends in the biz. Also, can do it in portions at a time? Please help….. thanks a lot! you will probably get many conflicting answers to this question, but everyonr has their favorite way of doing things. not one of them is going to be perfect for everyone! i will tell you that i have been using copper for over ten years, and have had great success. i have recently within the past two years started using pex line to re-pipe whole houses. the initial cost is not going to be much different than copper in terms of set-up, because the tool used for pex is about 100.00. it is called a crimper. if you arent sure what pex is, its a flexible plastic pipe in the same range if sizes as copper, and connects with special fittings that when crimped with a little copper ring are very water tight, and flexible. i thinkk you would be really satisfied with this approach especially in earthquake country, since pex is not effected by vibrations. it is also very compatible with other types of piping since there are many different types of connectors for the different joints. ie: pex to copper, pex to galvanised, pex to pvc or cpvc. you are also able to do your work in stages since all you have to do with pex, is slice it with a razor knife to make a new connection. i would recomend it strongly, although others would dissagree. i think we can all agree that cpvc is NOT the way to go, since it gets brittle with time and is known to fail! pex is also very inexpensive per foot, about 50.00 per 100 foot coil! good luck!

[Henry ChaunceyParticipant]

: : I live in California with hard water and tract homes with galvanized pipe.After 18 yrs and several leaks, its time to repipe. While getting prices on copper pipe, I was told I should go with CPVC. Then someone else said that was a bad idea, stick with tried and true copper, type L.: : Can anyone tell me why either is better or give me advice? The majority choice seems to be copper…: : Would living in earthquake country make a difference either way? I know even a little rattle shakes build-up loose and I have to clear all faucets…: : I plan on doing this within the end of the year with some friends in the biz. Also, can do it in portions at a time? Please help….. thanks a lot! : : you will probably get many conflicting answers to this question, but everyonr has their favorite way of doing things. not one of them is going to be perfect for everyone! i will tell you that i have been using copper for over ten years, and have had great success. i have recently within the past two years started using pex line to re-pipe whole houses. the initial cost is not going to be much different than copper in terms of set-up, because the tool used for pex is about 100.00. it is called a crimper. if you arent sure what pex is, its a flexible plastic pipe in the same range if sizes as copper, and connects with special fittings that when crimped with a little copper ring are very water tight, and flexible. i thinkk you would be really satisfied with this approach especially in earthquake country, since pex is not effected by vibrations. it is also very compatible with other types of piping since there are many different types of connectors : for the different joints. ie: pex to copper, pex to galvanised, pex to pvc or cpvc. you are also able to do your work in stages since all you have to do with pex, is slice it with a razor knife to make a new connection. i would recomend it strongly, although others would dissagree. i think we can all agree that cpvc is NOT the way to go, since it gets brittle with time and is known to fail! pex is also very inexpensive per foot, about 50.00 per 100 foot coil! good luck!I have to agree with T Williams on using Pex for this job at the moment this is the best pipe on the market forlong and throuble free service. I live in Ireland and have been using it for the past four years and I find it much more relibable then copper even more so when it it buried in floors or walls. Copper still loos better anywhere pipe is exposed but it is easy to use a mixture as it it is the same size as copper.

[Henry ChaunceyParticipant]

Henry:–Copper is really got a much better batting average than anything that comes in as second best. If you opt to go with copper, check out the site below. It can enable the copper piping to deliver its full potential and last possibly 100 years. The biggest problems with copper are leaching and pin hole leaks and are easily dealt with…..Bud

[Henry ChaunceyParticipant]

: : : I live in California with hard water and tract homes with galvanized pipe.After 18 yrs and several leaks, its time to repipe. While getting prices on copper pipe, I was told I should go with CPVC. Then someone else said that was a bad idea, stick with tried and true copper, type L.: : : Can anyone tell me why either is better or give me advice? The majority choice seems to be copper…: : : Would living in earthquake country make a difference either way? I know even a little rattle shakes build-up loose and I have to clear all faucets…: : : I plan on doing this within the end of the year with some friends in the biz. Also, can do it in portions at a time? Please help….. thanks a lot! : : : : you will probably get many conflicting answers to this question, but everyonr has their favorite way of doing things. not one of them is going to be perfect for everyone! i will tell you that i have been using copper for over ten years, and have had great success. i have recently within the past two years started using pex line to re-pipe whole houses. the initial cost is not going to be much different than copper in terms of set-up, because the tool used for pex is about 100.00. it is called a crimper. if you arent sure what pex is, its a flexible plastic pipe in the same range if sizes as copper, and connects with special fittings that when crimped with a little copper ring are very water tight, and flexible. i thinkk you would be really satisfied with this approach especially in earthquake country, since pex is not effected by vibrations. it is also very compatible with other types of piping since there are many different types of connectors : : for the different joints. ie: pex to copper, pex to galvanised, pex to pvc or cpvc. you are also able to do your work in stages since all you have to do with pex, is slice it with a razor knife to make a new connection. i would recomend it strongly, although others would dissagree. i think we can all agree that cpvc is NOT the way to go, since it gets brittle with time and is known to fail! pex is also very inexpensive per foot, about 50.00 per 100 foot coil! good luck!: I have to agree with T Williams on using Pex for this job at the moment this is the best pipe on the market forlong and throuble free service. I live in Ireland and have been using it for the past four years and I find it much more relibable then copper even more so when it it buried in floors or walls. Copper still loos better anywhere pipe is exposed but it is easy to use a mixture as it it is the same size as copper.

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