Roughing in plumbing vs PEX - when did you change?

I used to sweat all my copper joints on bathroom remodels but switched to PEX about 3 years ago after a leak in a wall cost me $400 in drywall repair. Now I run PEX-A with expansion rings and it cuts my rough-in time by half. Which method do you trust more for long term durability?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_eric5d ago

Man that's rough about the leak, I feel your pain lol. I had a similar wakeup call a few years back when a pinhole in a copper line behind a shower valve ruined the tile job I just finished. Switched to PEX-A after that and honestly I'm never going back. The expansion rings are solid, I trust them more than sharkbites or crimp rings for sure. One thing I learned though is you gotta really seat the ring right or it'll weep slowly over time. Had one do that on a kitchen island and caught it early during pressure test, saved my ass.

terry_mitchell5d ago

Wait, a pinhole leak that tiny can actually ruin a whole tile job? I would've been furious, man, that's brutal.