Anyone have any comments on PEX manifolds and piping in a house for the water supply? Good, bad, in-between? How well they work, how well they last.
Thanks,
Linda
Personally I have not seen nor heard of any failure related to the products.
I have remodeled bathrooms with PEX supply lines, the manifold is helpful when isolation is necessary to move fixture locations when the water is off for extended periods of time.
Here is some information regarding Vanguard, which is widely used in Arizona.
i talked to my plumber in depth about them and he LOVES them. he gets more $$ to install, less issues, no soldering, and they look neat as hell. i’ve only seen one total “manibloc” (i think i spelt it rong) system, and was quite impressed. only thing i saw was that the kit. sink didn’t have shut offs under the cabinet 'cuz it was only a few feet away from the manifold. i was told that repair is easier too, and with anti-burst valves installed you vertualy eliminate the possibility of flooding out your house.
Thanks, Dale. 
I had found some other PEX info on the net, also. Was wondering what their reputation was in the industry. Inspected a newly built house today and it was plumbed with this type system.
Linda,
Some people say rodents chew the pipe, but I haven’t seen this happen, even in attic areas where mice have been, or are. But I’m sure it has happened somewhere.
Good.
Work very well when installed properly.
In fact, I think they work so well that I am looking forward to having my house replumbed with PEX rather than copper. Still a couple of years down the road though. Have to remove all the gutters and downspouts and put of rain handlers first.
An issue is when the Manibloc panel is installed in an attached garage.
It breaches the drywall firewall requirements.
Went around with builders and now see them installed in utility room walls instead!
Mike Keady
the maniblock sysytems are very easy and cost effective to install. You may want to check that all the valves are labeled properly. The only thing that is noticable is you will tend to use more hot water with the home run system since you are pulling hot water from the main block each time you run a different fixture. Cost wise, much cheaper now for material than copper. The pex industry is very competative with each other. Also less restriction with less fittings.
I have yet to see aproblem with PEX, but…
See this topic for some info … http://www.nachi.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3845 … and search the board (and archives) for some good discussions and links.
Also here are a few slides on PEX basics from a Plumbing Inspection course I teach …
Make sure the plumbing contractors don’t lay the pipes in the attic across the exposed edges of the gusset plates. They will slice the pipe open over time!