Cross-Linked Polyethylene (PEX) Water Supply Piping

As part of the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH) Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), a Field Evaluation of technologies was conducted at Green Valley Ranch. According to Don Carpenter of Oakwood Homes, they started using PEX piping with a central manifold and home-run system in 2000, after hearing of reduced labor, shortened construction cycle time, and decreased long-term costs. Interestingly, cost savings isn’t the only reason the company chooses PEX pipe. “We look at it from a quality standpoint,” said Carpenter, Director of Product Development. “It’s less money to install, and it’s a superior plumbing system. For the homeowner, its control over every fixture in the house, and the ability to easily adapt the plumbing when adding fixtures, building additions to the house or finishing the basement.” Oakwood saves the buyers an average of $800 per home because of the PEX piping system chosen for the indoor plumbing system.

“The system goes in almost twice as fast as copper systems. After a new house has been framed, I walk though the house with the homebuyer to discuss fixtures and plumbing issues, including manifold plumbing systems using PEX. We offer conventional copper as an option but after I explain the system and the benefits it offers, homebuyers almost always choose it.”

“My customers also like the quietness of the system. It’s designed with both the homeowner and the plumbing contractor in mind.”

“The owner said it was a good system and he’s right, I wish I had used it in my own home!”

“My supplier mentioned that we could save a lot of time on installation with PEX plumbing system. The PEX we used was much easier to install and required very few fittings. The red and blue color coded pipe also made the installation go in quickly and easily identified hot and cold lines. It’s a great choice on large scale projects. If we’d have gone with copper we’d still be there working.”

“With our climate we’ve got here copper doesn’t work very well. We see a lot of problems with copper sweat joints leaking. With PEX systems we’ve been able to eliminate 90% of the copper sweat joints in a system and now the chance of having a leak at a sweat joint is nearly nonexistent.“

“Usually you have to pay a lot more when you upgrade to a better product but PEX manifold plumbing systems are easy to sell because it’s a better product for about the same price.”

“We’ve been installing (PEX) for years in custom homes. We utilize manifolds in most of our installations and our customers are continually impressed with how quiet the system is.”

“(PEX) tubing is clean, doesn’t corrode, and it’s not affected by corrosive water and soil. It even comes with a 25-year warranty. We wanted a system that would save us time, eliminate our copper theft problem, and ensure quality and reliability. (PEX) has proven itself to be a system that can do all this and more.”

“The (PEX) connection is the most positive connection available. My plumbers can tell just by looking at the fitting if they’ve made a good connection. With (PEX), the installation is fast and easy, and the tubing can be buried directly in concrete - something the codes won’t allow us to do with copper. My plumbers like the ease of installation provided by the (PEX) fitting and the time savings that result. Rigid systems … require more connections and more time with out the assurance of a positive connection. With (PEX), we have eliminated many of our call backs, which is also a nice benefit.”