repairing or replacing Pex water lines

mist1953 · Fri Aug 03, 2007 3:52 pm

Is replacing or repairing pex water lines so hard to do?? I'm having one heck of a problem trying to get a plumber to do the job for us. I keep getting excuse after excuse, they don't seem to have time to take care of them. I'm at a rock and a hard spot as I don't know what I'm doing to try and tackle the job myself. Can any plumber do this job or some one that specializes in mobile home plumbing??

Harry · Fri Aug 03, 2007 5:28 pm

Hi

A lot of plumbers will not work on MHs. I guess they don't like bugs and critters and crawling under the home.

Around here there are mobilehome handy man types that will work on MH plumbing but very few are reliable. This is a lot of the reason why I make my own repairs whenever possible.

Working with pex is not so difficult.....if you are "handy".

Here's a link to the article on waterlines:

http://mobilehomerepair.com/article_waterlines1.html

Just exactly what is the problem you are having?

Harry

Greg · Fri Aug 03, 2007 5:41 pm

Mist, the hardest part of working with PEX is the connectors. There are a few schools of thoughts, some prefer the crimp type connectors, They require a crimp tool. Others prefer the compression type connector, they have been known to come apart if not put together just right resulting is a leak (usually in a hard to get at spot).
I am sure others will add to this as well as their thoughts. Greg

JD · Fri Aug 03, 2007 7:31 pm

Hi Mist,

I believe Busybee (Pat) just redid her plumbing. She started by asking the same exact question you did. As already mentioned, if you are a bit handy, willing to get dirty and a little buggy, and willing to take your time to make sure the connections are right, I think you could do the PEx yourself. It is not too difficult to get right. It is sometimes hard to work the tools in tight places.

Hopefully Busybee will be a long soon to give her thoughts.

JD

Yanita · Fri Aug 03, 2007 7:51 pm

HI,

Just my 2 cents worth...you can follow the existing water lines, pex also comes in colors so you do not get confused as to which one is hot or cold....

Yanita

flgmtech · Sat Aug 04, 2007 6:41 am

I have found that replacing pex with CPVC is the best alternative, yes it is a little more expensive than PVC but lasts longer and does not break down like PVC with hot water.
As far as temporary replacements of sections, if you find a break or a leak I have used a PVC cutting tool which can be found at any home improvement store, cutting out the bad section of pex line then going to Home Depot, they sell a quick disconnect connector that joins the two pieces together, it has teeth that prevent the removal of the connector so unless the release ring is depressed upward it will not come apart. This same technology is used in Automotive Fuel line connectors and works great, as I have never seen one fail, and dealing with gasoline the need to ensure that it can not come apart is paramount.
Thus the quick disconnect to join old and new sections of pex is the easiest and most effective way for you to be able to stick with pex and not have to fight small spaces with crimping tools.
I hope this helps.
Tim

JD · Sat Aug 04, 2007 10:02 am

Hi Tim,

Have you had leaks in PEx plumbing?

I'd like to note that I believe Tim is talking about SharkBite Fittings and not the plastic compression fittings.

JD

Harry · Sat Aug 04, 2007 11:12 am

Hi Tim

I have this naggy feeling you have pex confused with poly....am I wrong?

Harry

JD · Sat Aug 04, 2007 1:01 pm

Yeah, I had that feeling too, mostly because PEx and leak were used together. We have probably run a mile or more of PEx and have not had any problems so far (knock on Cross Linked Polyethylene). But I am sure that all plumbing types can leak.

Also, SharkBite fittings are approved for PEx, copper and cpvc. It may work on polybutylene (PB), I don't know. I don't use the SharkByte fittings. I do see how they could be easier for DIY and even handy for certain applications, but we never get stopped from using the crimpers. It is just a pain sometimes. Once you have the PEx tools, the fittings are much cheaper than SharkByte or compression fittings.

Guest · Tue Aug 07, 2007 1:01 am

Hello , I used a sharkbite fitting on my old poly line on my tub . It worked great . I played with a lot and it did not leak. i f I move the other side just the slightest bit it will leak a little . It is still old type. the shark bite fitting was a little expensive but they are code to use in closed aplications , I think . I am going to use them when I put my new pex in . The also come apart easy with the tool and can be reused . The same fitting fits 1/2 copper and pex and pb . They have an insert that may have to removed depending on what you are using them on

mist1953 · Tue Aug 07, 2007 2:28 pm

Thank you all for the responses. This weekend I called 5 plumbers and not a one was interested in doing the job. So I called two mobile home dealers to see if they had any service people that could work on our home and only received a call back from one. I was told they only work on what they sell. This is very disappointing to me that it is so hard to find a service person to do any work on a mobile home. With us living so far out I sure makes it worse.
The bugs and dirt don't bother me, its if I'm doing the job correctly so I don't have to redo it or cause more damage then whats already done with the leaks I now have. It seems the leaks are at the fittings at every tub, shower, sink. The worst one is in the tub area in the front bathroom. In the Master bedroom the floor feels as if it has swelled I've not cut though the carpet to look yet I want to get the pipes fixed first and I'll deal with the floor afterwards. When I looked at the back of the wall to see if it was leaking there to me it looked like there was three different type pipes were used. One was white in color and the other two are grey but different types of grey pipes. One is lighter in color then the other. It looks as if I'm in for a self taught plumbing 101. Wish me luck...lol

altasnowman · Sat Aug 18, 2007 12:19 am

Plumbing 101. Payday is friday and S##t don't run uphill. if you understand previous sentence then you have passed first test.LOL Have a great weekend.

Jim from Canada · Sat Aug 18, 2007 3:52 am

Alta...you forgot the part about not putting your fingers in your mouth...lol

Jim[/quote]

altasnowman · Sat Aug 18, 2007 6:22 pm

Sorry Jim That is in next course Plumbing 202 LOL

Busybee1952 · Sun Aug 19, 2007 3:06 am

Hi Mist, and my deepest sympathies! If you decide to tackle this project yourself, it may take a whole lot longer than you think it will take and be prepared to find a myriad of problems resulting in future projects along the way!

As JD mentioned, I just went through all this myself and did not know the first thing about plumbing when I started. I did manage to fix the problems with the help of several nice people here, plumbing books with pictures from the library, and a very helpful guy at the hardware store.

I did not replace all of my water lines with pex because my water lines only broke due to freezing and not because of any inherent problem with the polybuteline. I replaced the main lines in the pumphouse, (pvc) the main incoming line under the home, the ones that go to the hot water heater and from the hot water heater and main line to the bathroom fixtures, a 6' section under the kitchen sink, and then also a 6' section plus new faucets that go to the washing machine

One of the first things I did was to figure out and mark the existing lines with red and blue tape so I could tell which was hot and cold. It seemed to really help later on when I started to replace the fittings.

If you were figuring on paying a plumber, then maybe you wouldn't mind using the shark bite or compression fittings, which cost about $5.00 each and to me they were expensive but nothing, and I mean nothing, could be any easier! Even a child could do it!

I also rented the crimp tool and it wasn't easy to get those rings crimped on there because I have arteritis and very little strength in my hands but I did it! I had to remove almost the entire middle, and some other smaller sections of insulation and belly board since it was all ruined and actually, I think that made the plumbing work easier since I could see what I was doing. It may not have been absolutely necessary, but I also removed all the skirting so I could get some air and light under there. I've purposely not tackled putting that all back together until now because I wanted to make sure nothing leaked before putting closing it all back up. It's been about 4 months since I made the repairs and nothing I repaired has leaked. I've begun the closing in process now and hope to be finished before winter.

Did I understand that your leaks seem to be concentrated right at the fittings and not so much in the water line itself? If that is true, then, getting the old fittings off are probably going to be the most difficult part and you may not have to actually crawl around underneath very much at all. (A mechanics creeper is great for that though) You may end up needing help with getting the old fittings off no matter what you spray them with. In the case of my bathroom sink, I could never get the old fittings off so I chopped off the lines with the pruning shears and ended up replacing the sink and faucet too. That was something I didn't plan on but it sure looks great!

If you have any questions, this is the place to ask them for sure! If you do a search of my posts, I've already asked most of the dumb questions you can probably think of. Not only will you get good technical advice, but the cheering section is absolutely necessary to keep up your resolve and determination! The best of luck to you.
Pat