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DOC Asked About 'Home Tips : House Water Pipes and Pipe Fittings'

My builder is putting PEX pipes for drinking water ...

My builder is putting PEX pipes for drinking water etc. I thought copper pipes are safer. Is there a safety issue with PEX pipes or plastic for water drinking.

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3 Answers

Order by: Oldest to Newest; Newest to Oldest; Votes

chris Answered:

never heard of pex, but if you are concerned, go to a plumbing supplier and ask as if you were renovating a bathroom on your own what are the advantages and disadvantages of this pex over copper. also, your builder would have to pass a building permit by a city inspector so you can always call the city and ask about it

Posted 4 years ago

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Patti Answered:

PEX piping is better than copper because there is no lead used in the connections.

Posted 4 years ago

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intitionx2 Answered:

New installs of copper should not use lead. They should be using lead free solder.

Copper is vulnerable to acidic water Pex is not. Pex is flexible so you can install it faster cutting labor cost. Pex is cross-linked polyethylene pipe. Pex is much cheaper pipe too. Pex releases toxic gas if burned Copper will not. Copper can be recycled Pex can not.

PEX Prices

      3/8" - $0.38
      1/2" - $0.40
      5/8" - $0.62
      3/4" - $0.76
      1"    - $1.26

Copper Prices

      3/8" - $4.87
      1/2" - $5.67
      5/8" - $7.31
      3/4" - $10.21
      1"    - $13.38

"Many codes now require lead-free or nearly lead-free solder to be used for water supply lines. Check with your local code to be sure. Never use acid core solder for sweating copper pipes. Use either lead-free or 95/5 solid-core solder."

Read more: http://www.doityourself.com/stry/h2handlecopper#ixzz0dSjPzaeU

Copper vs Pex: http://www.plumbingnetworks.com/info/pex-copper/

This was on old posting, but still shows up in search results. I felt it should have a better answer.

Posted 2 years ago

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