Pre-fab has been around for 40 years that I know of.
Quite efficient, but planning/zoning has been the problem.
I still do not like OSB, PEX scares me (I sweat copper, and that is light-years from what Daddy taught me).
I am now waiting for Google maps to resppond to a scroll request - I am back in the market for real plumbing supplies, and it seems my fav supply store has folded.
Big-Box stores are fine for cheap, large-volume stuff - if you don’t mind sloppy threads, barely-legal everything.
Try finding 1 1/4" anything in plumbing - copper or steel, or any plastic.
My sis and hubby bought a townhouse in San Diego. It used a “Brand New! Plumbing of the Future”.
It all had to be torn out and replaced with copper. Don’t know if the litigation was ever settled.
I am quite leery of PEX just because of that.
As I’ve mentioned before when this topic comes up, PEX has been around for 50 years and has about the best possible track record any building material can have.
Of course, you still have to install it correctly. But that’s just as true for copper.
This Old House did at least one series where they did a new house that was built in complete sections (custom built in a mill, as they called it) and assembled on site. It was one of the more interesting of their series to me, as being something that I could see doing myself. It seemed possible to build in a lot more quality and a lot cheaper than doing it piecemeal on-site.
I’ve often wondered if we could use this technique if, say, our house burned down and had to be re-built. I live in San Francisco on a 25’ frontage with zero lot lines (meaning the houses are right up against each other with no or negligible space between), and on a narrow street. We’d probably have to clear the street of parking all the way to the end to get the crane in, which would certainly boost our popularity!
It’s very difficult in crowded residential areas, due to the need for large equipment (cranes and such) to move the modular pieces around. It’s great for new construction, though.
PEX is flexible, which lessens the effect of water hammer. And because you can usually run a single piece like a wire from the manifold to the fixture, you don’t need fittings inside the wall where they can leak. PEX will also tolerate freezing without bursting (to an extent) much better than copper, again owing to its flexibility.
OTOH, don’t shoot a nail through it. Also, you don’t want to leave it exposed to direct sunlight. If you’re running exposed lines near a basement window, for example, you’ll want to cover them with insulation or use copper for that section.
Yes the fear of Pex is completely misplaced, it is a great product. PolyB was complete junk and I suspect there was some palms greased during its brief adoption. PolyB is flimsy, thinner and softer than pex. In the late eighties and early nineties when it was common, (up here in Alberta anyway) building practices were at a low.
ICF has its place but there is no way it is any faster than a cribbed foundation by a good crew. It is also pain in the ass for electricians unless a frost wall is framed in front of it. The same or better insulation gains can be had with foam panels applied to a cribbed foundation before backfill.
Been doing some Googling and for the most part PEX has the same failings as copper … poor installation and bad quality fittings … but for about a third the price as copper …
The one exception is rodents chewing on the PEX … for which one plumber posted “You should get a free kitten with every 100’ roll” …
Cutting is a real issue IF the piping is exposed … and even in the wall, there’s a level where PEX will fail and copper won’t … but we’re talking about extremes, I see why people think it’s a non-issue for normal circumstances … just how often do regular homeowners have knife-murderers slash their wall enough to cut PEX but not copper …
The particular installation I ripped out (with angry comments about lawsuit) was the PEX dangling in the crawl space under the floor insulation layer … easy to catch with and arm or tool belt … but that’s “poor installation” so not a specific problem with PEX …
I sweated copper in place and have lived happily ever since …
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Note all this about PEX is just modern and better materials we build our homes out of … the basics of indoor plumbing hasn’t changed over the past 50 years …
There’s some pretty awesome things being done in Japan - all timber pre-cut by robots in factories, and then delivered and assembled in a matter of days.
Our plumber says that PEX usually lasts better in places with hard water, because copper pipes tend to accumulate deposits (and ultimately wear) faster. Our neighborhood in Florida is full of houses with new-build copper pipes running through the slab, which have since been replaced by PEX run through the attic.
Seems like there’s a lot less hammering than 50 years ago, what with framing and roofing done using nail guns; and on the inside, cordless screwdrivers, Liquid Nails, and brad nailers for trim.
That was similar to my thought - in future, you could have an automated factory like that which could pre-assemble 2x4 walls (and 2x6 exterior walls) and deliver sections 8 feet high or so to the site, where they would be assembled like a jigsaw puzzle - much as truss roofs are nowadays. It eliminates the tedious cut and fit labour. A computer controlled assembly table handling wall sections 8 to 10 feet by whatever (say, up to 16 feet long) would be similar to what is done for trusses today. You could even pre-drill the studs for electrical and plumbing. As I said earlier, you could even glue down drywall on one side (or OSB for exterior walls). The trick would be to get a complete and accurate set of plans, instead of a lot of winging it onsite as the building progresses. (i.e. for electrical, plumbing runs).
However, electrical and plumbing still need to be direct one-piece runs, since every water or electrical connection is a potential point of failure.
Lately I’ve noticed a lot of commercial buildings where instead of pouring a concrete floor, they haul into place pre-cast floor sections. These are hollow down the middle like a bunch of square tubes stuck together, so obviously less weight (and cheaper, less concrete).
