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I live in South Florida near Jupiter. I bought a house that was built in 1997. All original plumbing is cpvc. I have heard horror stories of both slow and catastrophic leaks in the neighborhood. I have city water with a significant concentration of manganese.

Long story short, my girlfriend unknowingly dislodged the p-trap under the kitchen sink. I discovered it today and identified a significant black mold infiltration. While removing the particle board and wall board, I tapped the hot water line and it exploded.

I’d rather get ahead of the issue and start mapping out a plan to replace the lines. All water lines are cemented in the foundation. My house is one story and I do have a full attic. I was considering running pex throughput the house in the attic and just capping the Cpvc lines.

Would love to use copper but I’d have to sell a kidney and part of my liver to afford it.

I’d really appreciate some feedback and experience on what the best way is to replace these awful, brittle, cpvc pipes

Daniel Morrison
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    I'd choose PEX over copper for a DIY job without hesitation. Small investment in tooling and, unlike copper (sometimes), really difficult to mess up a connection. – brhans Aug 30 '23 at 03:20
  • When you say best without a qualifier, it makes it opinion-based, which is off topic. You could just ask "How do I fix it" – Rohit Gupta Aug 30 '23 at 04:20
  • Thank you for your input, Rohit. By ‘best,’ I meant most suitable based on factors like durability, cost, and ease of installation. I thought those elements were assumed; my apologies for not being more specific. Problem: brittle cpvc pipes. One shattered today and neighbors have similar issues; not an outlier. Question regarding remediation: What is the most suitable material given my south Florida environment? Copper, Pex, cpvc. Is it best to run the pipes in the foundation or can I run new pipes in the attic? I have porcelain tiles throughout the house. Would rather not remove them – Daniel Morrison Aug 30 '23 at 06:06

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To answer the question in your subject: yes, you can run PEX in the attic and abandon the CPVC that is in the slab. If you're going to DIY it, splurge on the good tools for whichever system you use. PEX-A has some advantages (better flow through joints, more flexibility) but the tooling is more expensive. PEX-B is the more commonly used one and is likely what you will run in to if you buy it at your local big box.

KMJ
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