I have a house that's vacant that's undergoing a lot of rehab. It has CPVC that I believe is about 15 years old (installed by someone else before I bought the place). The house is slab foundation the plumbing goes up through the attic.

To my knowledge there haven't been any pipe leaks but I've heard a lot of mixed reviews about CPVC. The lifespan is supposed to be 50-70 years but then I've heard it gets brittle over time and it prone to breaks. I don't know how much of this is real and how much is scare tactics to sell replacement products.

Would you repipe this house to PEX while vacant, or leave the CPVC as is? Thanks.

Thanks Roy. This is CPVC, not PVC, though.

J,

Having any water piping (regardless of type) going through

the attic would make me nervous, especially in a rental property. When a water pipe busts in an attic, you may not find out about it until the tenant calls you at 10:00p.m. and says our living room ceiling has just collapsed and is now on the living room floor! (this actually happened at one of my rentals in 2012).

CPVC gets very brittle with age. When new, CPVC cuts like butter with a " garden shear" type tool. Try to cut old CPVC with the same tool and the pipe shatters into small pieces. I have started using Sharkbites for older CPVC and gently cutting the pipe with a fine hacksaw blade. A plumber told me the chlorine in water embrittles CPVC. I doubt this because my home is on a well and has very brittle piping.

J,

Pex for sure. Now while it’s easy. Only takes a few hours to replumb an entire house. We use home run system every time. Simpler. Faster. No joints to slow the labor or cause problems later.

We use Uponor - no clamps or rings. Buy the Milwalkee tool and it goes fast. Still cheaper than a few hours of labor.

Know that plumbers will insist on the clampmmethod because it creates more work for them.

Your cpvc is VERY brittle and will begin cracking any day now.

We put in TONS of cpvc because it was the latest and greatest...at the time. Ow it’s causing trouble.

We are replacing it house by house.

Another vote for PEX.

Get the water lines out of the attic and run them along the top of the walls.

One more vote for PEX and do it now!

My opinion:

Yes vote for PEX

Thanks...I was kind of hoping to leave it in place...but the consensus here and elsewhere is that it's bad news over the long haul. I hope problems don't crop up with PEX in the future too! It seems they turn out these plumbing systems and don't realize the problems until decades later. Even copper has issues in Florida.

DJ I don't think there's a problem with running it through the attic here. It's commonly done in Florida.

Brad, or anyone else who does this themselves...did you get a certification?

Google search finds lots of opinions. There are different grades of CPVC. Installers often choose the lowest priced. Flowgard Gold is the much better quality. I have never encountered a problem with it.

But CPVC installers must understand the effects of thermal coefficients. Long straight runs of CPVC will increase in length as temperature increases-- as with hot water lines. The pipe will make noise as it rubs against hangers and other things. Sagging means that the installer did not support it per code. (what other goofs did he make?)

As a licensed plumbing contractor with around 50% of the homes in the San Fernando Valley being built on slabs, I know the difficulty re-piping a property.

I use one of two methods.

1) Run the pipes in the attic and then down in the wall to the fixtures.

2). Run the pipes in the ground along the structure, then the pipes come out of the ground and then into the wall near to the fixtures. The pipes have to be well insulated.

CPVC would not be a concern for me. I like PEX like everyone else but if it's not broke or junk I wouldn't spend the $$$ it would cost to replace. Local here is 350 to bath sink, 350 to water closet, and 350 to tub, adds up fast.

Now, if you are doing a complete remodel, gut out, yes that would be the best time when the walls are open and easy to access.

Would you post your bid for PEX.

I got a bid for $2800 to repipe with Zurn Pex but I think I could probably get one a little bit lower. It's a one and a half bathroom house.

I'm planning to keep this place long term as a rental.