My question for the group pertains to repiping the water supply hot and cold lines within our house. Should we use manifold home run or trunk and branch pipe configuration?
Here are more details:
We have polybutylene water supply pipes in our 1997 home. Polybutylene pipes represent a risk for spontaneous leak and rupture. Should this assertion cause controversy I’d like to avoid a polybutylene discussion. We are choosing to repipe rather than wait and see. Currently I am in the middle of refinishing the basement after foundation water intrusion remediation (separate issue). Because of exposure, I am considering repiping the basement and first floor with PEX so that the plumbing inspection for the current permit will cover the minor bathroom work and the repipe. We’d repipe the second floor maybe in a year or so.
I am favoring a PEX manifold in the basement utility room, something like the Viega Manabloc https://www.viega.us/en/products/Ca...ocs/Viega-ManaBloc-distribution-manifold.html feeding individual “home-run” lines to all fixtures (1/2 or 3/8 depending on fixture). I believe that every line could be run between the manifold and fixture without any intervening fitting, owing to the space offered by truss floor design. We have need for about about 19 cold and 12 hot lines, so a 36 manabloc would suffice.
The other option would be to repipe with trunk and branch. Many more fittings, tees, etc, but less line pulling and less space in the utility room.
As an aside, copper is fine, I have done it, but I’ll be running pex.
.
Does anyone have an informed opinion about the general situation or the specific manifold/home runs vs trunk-branch choice?
thanks
Here are more details:
We have polybutylene water supply pipes in our 1997 home. Polybutylene pipes represent a risk for spontaneous leak and rupture. Should this assertion cause controversy I’d like to avoid a polybutylene discussion. We are choosing to repipe rather than wait and see. Currently I am in the middle of refinishing the basement after foundation water intrusion remediation (separate issue). Because of exposure, I am considering repiping the basement and first floor with PEX so that the plumbing inspection for the current permit will cover the minor bathroom work and the repipe. We’d repipe the second floor maybe in a year or so.
I am favoring a PEX manifold in the basement utility room, something like the Viega Manabloc https://www.viega.us/en/products/Ca...ocs/Viega-ManaBloc-distribution-manifold.html feeding individual “home-run” lines to all fixtures (1/2 or 3/8 depending on fixture). I believe that every line could be run between the manifold and fixture without any intervening fitting, owing to the space offered by truss floor design. We have need for about about 19 cold and 12 hot lines, so a 36 manabloc would suffice.
The other option would be to repipe with trunk and branch. Many more fittings, tees, etc, but less line pulling and less space in the utility room.
As an aside, copper is fine, I have done it, but I’ll be running pex.
.
Does anyone have an informed opinion about the general situation or the specific manifold/home runs vs trunk-branch choice?
thanks
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