plastic piping?

[Scott Schultz]

Just did an inspection in which the homeowner said the house had plastic piping (Pex or Poly he did not know) No plastic piping was visible in the attic, the main electrical panel did not have a "non-metallic plumbing" sticker and the ends where joined to the fixture were copper. I never heard of copper ends joined to plastic piping. He did show me a picture though that he took while the house was being built that showed the washing maching connection had copper ends with red and blue plastic pipe running along the studs. Can someone please enlighten me as to what might be happening here? thanks.

[cbrands]

Originally Posted by Scott Schultz

Just did an inspection in which the homeowner said the house had plastic piping (Pex or Poly he did not know) No plastic piping was visible in the attic, the main electrical panel did not have a "non-metallic plumbing" sticker and the ends where joined to the fixture were copper. I never heard of copper ends joined to plastic piping. He did show me a picture though that he took while the house was being built that showed the washing maching connection had copper ends with red and blue plastic pipe running along the studs. Can someone please enlighten me as to what might be happening here? thanks.

sounds like PEX is very possible

red and blue are common PEX colors, although they come in a variety of others.

yes, plastic with copper fittings.

google images for PEX.

[Michael Larson]

Often copper top outs are used at fixture locations and connected to PEX below floor level. very common in recent years in my area.

[William E. Siegel]

So far, there are no major problems with Pex from what I know. Just disclose it and move on.

[hmiller]

That is how my home is plumbed. Pex with copper stub outs. It actually appears that the house is totally plumbed with copper unless it has an accessible sub floor space where it is visible. My house is slab on grade, so as an inspector you would not be able to tell it was PEX behind walls and other enclosed spaces.
PEX is a reliable plumbing material, that has been used extensively in radiant heat systems for years, and has become more common as household plumbing.
....And red and blue are PEX colors, like Chris stated above. It is also available in an opaque white color..this is what I have.
Radiant floors often use black with a red stripe as I recall. Higher temperature rating for radiant systems.

[Randy L. Thomas]

Yes, PEX fittings can be copper and PEX is becoming the mainstay for new residential construction. Most people are familiar with the name Wirsbo, although the company is now under the name Uponor. They have a ton of info on their website (uponor.com) if you can be patient enough to enter some registration info.

Be advised that all PEX is not created equally. There are at least 3 different methods of cross-linking PEX, which all yield slighly different physical characteristics. As I understand it, Type "A" (of A, B, or C) PEX is the best at maintaining its original size after being subject to freezing.

Look for some of these PEX mfr's to get more agressive in marketing residential fire sprinkler systems in the near future. It is a growing market.