Polybutylene In a million dollar house

[Aloha Mark]

Lol. Just the whole Florida vibe. Million dollar house with cheap pipe. I've been to Florida a few times and my grandparents retired there for a while. Its a great and strange place.

Not just Florida. The sun bakes us in Hawaii, and the salt air rusts steel and corrodes aluminum. Even worse, it melts some forms of rubber. I had a pair of Vic Firth drum brushes, and the rubber inners turned to goo. It would have oozed all over the stick holder had I not kept the brushes in a plastic bag. Rubber footing on ottomans or speaker stands also melts and stains floors.
The median price on homes nearly crossed a million bucks in Honolulu, and our houses are as poorly built as those in Florida. The pex craze had my insurance broker so worried that he had all of it replaced with copper tubing. When he told me it was the flex variety, I cringed. I would have ripped the greenboard away and used schedule K or L tubing. He was probably thinking about the cost of working on the bathrooms where the retrofitting expense would be as outrageous as a complete remodel. I estimate this would amount to $20K per bathroom plus new fixtures & tile. Our rats are gigantic, and the cockroaches are 300% bigger than those in AL or FL. The rat problem is the number one argument against pex.

 

[Mitchell-DIY-Guy]

From my experience here in North Carolina, which is the most recent, the difference between a $300,000 house, a $750,000 house, and a $2 million house, comes down to a few things. The first is location, the second is size of the home, and lastly, the visible finishes. You can have a $100 sink in the bathroom or you can spend $1000 on the sink. You can spend $60,000 on a basic kitchen, or you can spend $500,000 on fancy appliances, fancy tiles and flooring, and custom cabinets. You can have no crown molding in the family room or you can have layered crown molding that will cost tens of thousands of dollars.

But look behind the walls in those three homes at the plumbing, the electrical, and the HVAC, and unless it is what they call a “custom home” in which the owner has specified a specific kind of plumbing or heating system for example, behind the walls of all those homes will look dead-nuts identical. I just watched a $2 million home being completed nearby and it has the identical plumbing electrical and heating system to what I have…and believe me when I tell you I do not have a $2 million home.

My home is just built like one!

 

[cliffyk]

What does Florida have to do with it ?

It's jealousy raising it's ugly head--"Florida Derangement Syndrome" one might call it.

I got out of Massachusetts ("Taxachusetts") over 30 years ago, and have grown accustomed to the various--sometimes bizarre, sometimes subtle--ways FDS manifests itself. This election had it sprouting up all over.

 

[arctic bill]

just so you know there is a huge law suit
https://urbanpiping.com/poly-b-lawsuits/

 

[Twowaxhack]

just so you know there is a huge law suit
https://urbanpiping.com/poly-b-lawsuits/

You mean polybutylene had a law suit ?

 

[Mitchell-DIY-Guy]

Yet another “case” as it were, of builders trying to save a few pennies, and in the long run, screwing millions of people.

Look up LP siding, vinyl siding, Tamko shingles etc. lawsuits. Kind of mind boggling.

I think I have just been very lucky in navigating this minefield of crappy building products offered on the cheap.

 

[breplum]

2Wax, out of pure curiosity (we never had indoor polyb used in N. California) how do you attach to that polyb?

 

[Twowaxhack]

2Wax, out of pure curiosity (we never had indoor polyb used in N. California) how do you attach to that polyb?

Pex barb x polybutylene crimp adapter. It’s a transition fitting

Brass

https://www.lowes.com/pd/SharkBite-...VEdOGCh1WDwE1EAQYASABEgJlAPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[clarke_1]

The main problem with plastic is the UV degradation which isn't a thing once it's buried. Ductile is still pretty common in my area, but yes c900 isn't uncommon.

Is more like we have some of a bad thing why add more?

That's what I thought... until my water test showed coliform (not e-coli) in the water. Ok, no problem - I'll just add a UV sterilizer to my filter setup until I can "shock" the water supply.

Get a nice one from Amazon, stainless steel shell and 3/4 threaded fittings. Add threaded to Pex-A fittings and finish up. All is good, no leaks, start to leave and shut the light out. Whoops! The first foot or so of the Pex-A is glowing purple.

I went to my local plumbing outfit and had him make up two copper Rube Goldberg setups with 3/4 unions, four 3/4 street Ls and two 3/4 male fittings. All is well now, the Pex can't see the UV coming out of the filter ports anymore. I'm glad that it was dark out when I finished installing the filter the first time.

 

[mbhoag]

That's what I thought... until my water test showed coliform (not e-coli) in the water. Ok, no problem - I'll just add a UV sterilizer to my filter setup until I can "shock" the water supply.

Get a nice one from Amazon, stainless steel shell and 3/4 threaded fittings. Add threaded to Pex-A fittings and finish up. All is good, no leaks, start to leave and shut the light out. Whoops! The first foot or so of the Pex-A is glowing purple.

I went to my local plumbing outfit and had him make up two copper Rube Goldberg setups with 3/4 unions, four 3/4 street Ls and two 3/4 male fittings. All is well now, the Pex can't see the UV coming out of the filter ports anymore. I'm glad that it was dark out when I finished installing the filter the first time.

I would be interested in a photo or diagram of your "Rube Goldberg" setups... Having problem picturing how it might look.

 

[Twowaxhack]

Start another thread

 

[Ludington]

Going back to pb pipe. I understand the problem is with chlorinated water or the type of fittings you used. If you have well water and used the compression type fittings , you are ok. Personally, I piped my house with pb in 84, and used the compression fittings (no crimps) no leaks so far. I've taken it apart in a few places, and the pipe looks just like it did on install. (I did check into that lawsuit and it only covered if you used the crimp fittings or had a leak) I like the compression fittings, easy to use.

 

[Pipe Dreams]

The home has 6 full baths and a half bath in the garage.

1” water service, PVC.

2- 50 gal water heaters.
1- tankless

Not a piece of 1” inside the foundation walls, all 1/2” and 3/4” poly.,

water pressure is 60# and the home is 75’ from the water meter.

The owners had it built in the 80’s and this is the first leak they’ve had on the poly.

For kicks I shot them an estimated cost to repipe of $9800.00.
Actual cost would be time and material.

Everything is very accessible. Does not include drywall repair.

good price, i do the same thing with T&M vs estimate.

 

[Twowaxhack]

good price, i do the same thing with T&M vs estimate.

That was over 2 years ago. Add a few thousand to it now.

 

[Pipe Dreams]

That was over 2 years ago. Add a few thousand to it now.

oh well still good?

 

[Twowaxhack]

oh well still good?

The owners sold it last year.

 

[Pipe Dreams]

The owners sold it last year.

like everyone else these days