|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
Do-it-yourself plumbing made easier
By Steve Maxwell
|
|
|
Nobody calls in a plumber to connect a lawn sprinkler to a garden hose, and this same logic is starting to apply more and more often when it comes to installing new water supply lines in your home.
The technology behind this shift towards DIY-friendly water supply is a family of easy-to-use pipes and fittings that have been popular in Europe for more than 30 years. Generically saddled with the awkward short-form PEX-AL-PEX, this term describes the three-layer sandwich that forms this user-friendly composite pipe. The outer husk is a layer of super-tough, cross-linked polyethylene; the middle layer is oxygen-blocking aluminum: and the inner surface of the pipe is covered in more cross-linked poly.
The result is a flexible, three-layer composite water supply pipe that’s designed to come together with a series of solderless threaded fittings. The most popular retail version right now is a brand called Ipex Aqua, and besides ease of installation, this product offers something few other code-approved water supply systems can match. Freezing doesn’t necessarily mean your pipes will burst open.
Although you still need to drain Aqua installations in seasonal situations just like any other, the material does tolerate four or five freeze-thaw cycles without damage. That’s the kind of forgiving nature that gives do-it-yourselfers confidence when working in older homes with sometimes-cold walls that need to carry pipes. It’s also ideal for cottages.
Some version of Aqua has been installed commercially in North America for more than 15 years, but it’s only been aimed at the do-it-yourself market here in Canada for the last few. That’s why all this may be new to you.
Besides solder-free installation, Ipex Aqua offers several technical advantages for non-professionals doing their own plumbing. First of all, it has wide enough distribution to be available both in city and country. It’s not a specialty product any more. Although professionals who earn their living with PEX-AL-PEX use crimp-on connectors because they’re fast, Aqua sold to retail consumers comes with threaded brass fittings instead. Though more expensive than fittings for the ubiquitous copper pipe, you’ll need far fewer with an Aqua installation since the pipe is flexible and retains the shape you bend it to. Coils of pipe you’ll find on store shelves are small and easy to carry in any car trunk, while the fittings go on with just a wrench or two.
I’ve worked with copper pipe for years, and I like it very much and will probably use it again in some applications. That said, I can’t deny that Aqua offers a much shorter learning curve for people getting started with plumbing. It’s also fun to use, faster to install and less dangerous than copper because no open flame is involved.
Besides the pipe itself and some fittings, you’ll only need two unique tools: one to cut the pipe and the other to prepare it for joining (cost runs about $30 for the pair). Although you can sometimes cut Aqua successfully with an ordinary copper pipe cutter, the scissor-like tool made especially for the job works best. Before any fittings go onto the pipe, every cut end also needs to be reamed and deburred with a second tool, to ensure leak-free joints. Cut, ream, tighten the fitting -- that’s it. The only installation hitch I need to warn you about is sharp bends. Anything tighter than a four or five inch radius requires the use of a support spring that temporarily surrounds the pipe. Without this spring in place your pipe will kink if you bend it sharply.
Ipex Aqua is one example of a trend I see more and more. It’s an advance in building product technology that lowers the skill threshold needed to succeed. And even though this sort of change is bad news for my reputation as a handy guy to have as a neighbour, I still have to admit that it’s a good thing.
|
Do-it-yourself plumbing made easier
By Steve Maxwell
|
|
|
Nobody calls in a plumber to connect a lawn sprinkler to a garden hose, and this same logic is starting to apply more and more often when it comes to installing new water supply lines in your home.
The technology behind this shift towards DIY-friendly water supply is a family of easy-to-use pipes and fittings that have been popular in Europe for more than 30 years. Generically saddled with the awkward short-form PEX-AL-PEX, this term describes the three-layer sandwich that forms this user-friendly composite pipe. The outer husk is a layer of super-tough, cross-linked polyethylene; the middle layer is oxygen-blocking aluminum: and the inner surface of the pipe is covered in more cross-linked poly.
The result is a flexible, three-layer composite water supply pipe that’s designed to come together with a series of solderless threaded fittings. The most popular retail version right now is a brand called Ipex Aqua, and besides ease of installation, this product offers something few other code-approved water supply systems can match. Freezing doesn’t necessarily mean your pipes will burst open.
Although you still need to drain Aqua installations in seasonal situations just like any other, the material does tolerate four or five freeze-thaw cycles without damage. That’s the kind of forgiving nature that gives do-it-yourselfers confidence when working in older homes with sometimes-cold walls that need to carry pipes. It’s also ideal for cottages.
Some version of Aqua has been installed commercially in North America for more than 15 years, but it’s only been aimed at the do-it-yourself market here in Canada for the last few. That’s why all this may be new to you.
Besides solder-free installation, Ipex Aqua offers several technical advantages for non-professionals doing their own plumbing. First of all, it has wide enough distribution to be available both in city and country. It’s not a specialty product any more. Although professionals who earn their living with PEX-AL-PEX use crimp-on connectors because they’re fast, Aqua sold to retail consumers comes with threaded brass fittings instead. Though more expensive than fittings for the ubiquitous copper pipe, you’ll need far fewer with an Aqua installation since the pipe is flexible and retains the shape you bend it to. Coils of pipe you’ll find on store shelves are small and easy to carry in any car trunk, while the fittings go on with just a wrench or two.
I’ve worked with copper pipe for years, and I like it very much and will probably use it again in some applications. That said, I can’t deny that Aqua offers a much shorter learning curve for people getting started with plumbing. It’s also fun to use, faster to install and less dangerous than copper because no open flame is involved.
Besides the pipe itself and some fittings, you’ll only need two unique tools: one to cut the pipe and the other to prepare it for joining (cost runs about $30 for the pair). Although you can sometimes cut Aqua successfully with an ordinary copper pipe cutter, the scissor-like tool made especially for the job works best. Before any fittings go onto the pipe, every cut end also needs to be reamed and deburred with a second tool, to ensure leak-free joints. Cut, ream, tighten the fitting -- that’s it. The only installation hitch I need to warn you about is sharp bends. Anything tighter than a four or five inch radius requires the use of a support spring that temporarily surrounds the pipe. Without this spring in place your pipe will kink if you bend it sharply.
Ipex Aqua is one example of a trend I see more and more. It’s an advance in building product technology that lowers the skill threshold needed to succeed. And even though this sort of change is bad news for my reputation as a handy guy to have as a neighbour, I still have to admit that it’s a good thing. |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
