Pex Piping In Attics

It is important to insulate pex pipe in an attic particularly in cold weather areas.

Pex piping in attics.

The surface of pex piping can become grimy over time so before insulating you should take just a few minutes to clean it off. Pex is available in a variety of lengths from short 10 foot pieces for small repairs to rolls over 500 feet long which are used to install a home s entire water supply system. What is pex plumbing. There s been a lot of debate over pex for the last several years because pex has a few downsides that you might not expect.

Insulation only slows the time when it will freeze after the water is not running through the pipe. Pex type is forgiving when it freezes as far as breakage but insulating an exposed water line does little to keep it from freezing. Yes rodents will chew absoultely eveything they step on. Yes the cold water is hot in the summer very hot in fact due to the heat of the attic.

It may give it an extra hour before it freezes solid. Sometimes they have been insulated makes very little difference to the temp on a july or august afternoon. Pex cpvc poly back in the day even copper in the attics etc. Cross linked polyethylene tubing better known as pex pipe has revolutionized plumbing installations in new home construction and remodeling.

A wet rag should easily wipe away any visible dirt or debris. Such as at night if the attic temp is 15 deg f. Pex tubing or piping is used for water supply lines as well as radiant floor heating. Pex plumbing is cross linked polyethylene which is a type of plastic.

Because pex piping is flexible it is often used in angles loops or other non linear shapes which makes it imperative to have equally flexible insulation material. While pex does not ordinarily burst in the cold the water in the pipes can still freeze. Foam is used most commonly and generally works well.