This Winter wasn't as bad as last year. Though, the laundry room pipe and the metal shut-off valve in the well-house both burst!
Luckily, most of our plumbing is CPVC. And now, the kitchen sink and laundry room pipes are PEX piping. PEX is a more flexible and stronger pipe. It is also easier to cut, like butter, and cheaper over all to install vs PVC or CPVC.
So, first, you go to the local hardware store to pick out your supplies. Remember, you will be coming back at least twice! If not, maybe you didn't do it right...lol.
These things you will need. Crimp rings, Crimp tool, a PVC cutter, PEX piping, that's it! No primer, no glue! Yay, no more fumes!
Then you shut off your water and open the tub on the lowest level. Let it all drain, then get a shallow pan and a towel, since some water will always come out of the pipes!
Cut the pipe and leave ample room in case you have a leak and need to redo it.
Now measure out and attach your fittings. If you are going from PVC or CPVC, you will need a little glue and the right couplings. But once those are on, no more glue!
Carefully measure the TEX pipe to fit. Usually, the fitting takes up a half inch to one inch of space.
This is what broke in the laundry room. We decided to have the new PEX pipe for both hot and cold, come through the wall to the heated kitchen. We also added new shut-off valves, as those twist valves just love to stop moving freely!
Whoops! Hot is now cold and cold is now hot! My bad!
Don't forget to insulate!! It didn't help us this time, but it does stop most breaks.
Add some new paint and done!
We don't paint the CPVC, because if we did and ever needed to reglue, it wouldn't hold up!
Lastly, the We--House shut-off valve split in the center!
This is fairly easy to install, actually, it's unsettlingly easy! You just push the pipe in and done! Works for metals and plastics, no glue!
