Plumbing: Re-piping in Tampa

If you’re faced with re-piping your home because of a water leak, you’ll be presented with several piping options in Tampa. Two popular piping options: copper or PEX. Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons for each type. Remember, you can always call us at Red Cap Plumbing to discuss any questions you have.

Copper Piping

Copper tubing has been the longtime standard for plumbing and requires a certain skillset for soldering pipes and fittings together. This is a job you can do yourself, but it does require patience and is best practiced on a vise and workbench before performing under a sink.

Copper has natural attributes that make it ideal for plumbing. It creates a biostatic atmosphere which makes it difficult for bacteria to grow inside of it. It also resists corrosion and is unaffected by ultraviolet rays, which allows you to use it outdoors. Copper is also light and durable.

Copper does have a few disadvantages, though. Copper has become expensive, whereas PEX is typically about a third of the cost. It can still corrode based on the pH levels of water and for those that live in a cold climate the pipes can freeze and burst

PEX Piping

PEX (cross linked polyethylene) was introduced in the US around 1980 and is often seen in radiant heat flooring (heated floors) applications, but has now become commonplace for re-piping and plumbing repairs. PEX can be used to carry both hot and cold water. It is often used for interior water pipes in residential plumbing.

PEX popularity can be attributed to cost, flexibility, resistance to scale and chlorine, and fast installation with fewer connections and fittings. PEX is also more efficient as it doesn’t lose heat like a copper pipe will. Although PEX is not suitable for use outside, it is much more resistant to freezing temperatures and bursting.

PEX is also color coded based on water temperature (red is hot, blue is cold, white is any) which is a handy feature for DIYers. Most DIYers will probably opt for PEX for its easy usage but don’t let that determine what you use. Call us and let us give you other options and take care of your re-piping needs for you.