Man, I knew 2026 was gonna be an interesting-in-the-Chinese-way kind of year but I didn’t have ‘black bag a foreign dictator’ on my bingo card at all. And the year is only three days old. Interestingt imes, indeed.
I’ve decided that Uponor Pex is going to be the way to go. There are other options, to be sure, but from talking to professionals in the trade, as well as my own research, it appears to me that for the ease of install, repair, maintenance, modification, resilience, and freeze resistance, the pex is the way to go. To that end, I picked up this little jewel:
See, the fittings for the pex are of the expansion type. You stick this tool in there, like a speculum, and open up the end of the pipe. Push it over the connector and the pipe shrinks back down to its original size, making a tight connection. There are hand tools to do this process, and I’ll probably pick one up ‘just in case’, but for the initial construction there’s probably going to be a lot of call for the powered tool rather than the hand tool. But, suspenders and a belt…..get both. In addition to this, I need to pick up a buncha 1/2″ and 3/4″ pex (which is about $1/foot), connectors, fittings, etc. It really is a very affordable system.
This isnt the only tool hoarding that is going on. I’ve been steadily acquiring tools and putting them up at the storage unit in anticipation of spring/summer. Table saw, table saw workbench, transfer pump, hand tools, work lights, etc, etc. Still gotta pick up a trailer for the side-by-side.
As I said, the property will be cheapest part of this project. However, given the way the world seems to be spinning, having a well-stocked little hideyhole may not be the worst idea in the world these days.
My whole house is done in that type of pex.and I have had no problems with it whatsoever… Like I said awhile back I have a dump trailer, excavator, chainsaws, block and tackle if you need some help site clearing or road building…
I’ll remember that, thanks!
I would use the brass fittings versus the plastic.
We had a rodent chew through a pvc pipe under the bathroom floor. By the time I found it, soaked and rotten wood under the flooring, had to replace the floor. Pull everything out of the bath, what a pain to fix it. We also had a rodent chew through the shower supply line above the shower valve. Went to take a shower and water sprayed inside the wall. Easier to fix. Moved to SW WA, added on to the house. Replaced all of the well house piping with galv iron, and all the house supply with copper. A lot of work for peace of mind. Not as much risk of freezing here as there. Best to you through your projects.
after moving to the woods here. (western PA. ) there where about 4 stray cats we saw kind of around, told the wife to put some cat food out for them to get them to “hang around like”. well, it worked out.
other than having kittens which we had to get fixed. they have kept
the house and shed rodent free. as well as killing all of the smaller birds they can catch. ground squirrels and sometimes a tree squirrel
as well. the wife hates mice like mad. and drives me crazy if she see one or signs of one. so, 2 bags of cat food per month is a small price to pay for quiet.
hell, even my neighbors like the fact that the cats get bored and hunt rodents near their homes. I sold off or given away a lot of the rodent traps that I had. main problem is racoons anymore. and I have a live bait trap for them. then I take them somewhere to shoot them. as you can not drop them off in the state park for some reason ? or even in the state game lands ?
Probably to avoid the spread of rabies. Penn is the worst state for rabies cases.
I need to redo the water system at an old farm house at a fallback location. I want to use Pex, but I worry about it being chewed through by mice as well. Freezing is also a worry.
This may be a dumb question and already covered but how big is beta site going to be? It almost seems that it’s going to be a small ranch style house with basement.
Fair question. What I’d like (as opposed to what I’ll get) is something with a footprint of about 20×20 (although I was told 20×24 makes more sense since sheet lumber is 4×8) and two stories. https://www.commanderzero.com/?p=11628 and https://www.commanderzero.com/?p=11485 give some examples of what I’m after. It doesn’t have to be big, it just has to fulfill its purpose..which is as, basically, a lifeboat for when things go off the rails. The size of the property itself is more than ten acres, less than forty. Gotta be a bit vague about that for PerSec.
You could make an off-grid cabin with no running water. Our ancestors did it and were just fine.
Quite true. And it’ll probably be just like that for a little while. But the long-term goal is flush toilets.
Good on ya’! That ‘Waukee tool is the cat’s meow. You won’t believe how fast and secure your pluming tasks will go.
I’ve never used the manual version… haven’t seen one either. There are other manufacturers of the powered variety, but they don’t measure up to big red’s version from what I’ve read.
I have used the manual Pex expanding tool. It works, and has the added advantage of being a hand exercise tool. Use that for a house, and you will have forearms like Popeye!
However, if you want to get the plumbing done sometime this year, the power tool is the way to go.
When we built our polebarn house 3 years ago we went with Pex for all the reasons you stated. Also we went with spray foam insulation and a quality wood stove plus a heat pump with propane backup and are extremely pleased.