@@christophergruenwald5054 I’ve been doing various upgrades and renovations to my 1976 constructed home over the last 8 years. I’ve encountered two basement sinks that were friction fit ABS! On top of that, at one point there was PVC coming up out of the floor transitioned to ABS with yellow ABS cement. It came apart in my hands. How I didn’t find substantial leaks is beyond me
I’ve been around plumbing my entire life but have been running my own little business for around 5 years now. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve ran into 3”-4” fittings without any glue or primer at all. It’s insane. I think shit like that has to happen with bigger companies with guys working for 15/Hr. There’s just absolutely no way in hell anybody doing plumbing for themselves could ever do something like that. Plumbing mistakes are VERY expensive and even more embarrassing. The guys who do shit like that just can’t be worried about having to pay for damages or ruining their reputation. There’s just no way. Please don’t call big companies to have plumbing done. Find a good self employed guy and not only will he give you a better deal he will care about that plumbing just as much if not more than you will.
@@jasonkraus2831"Green side up", needs no explanation and can be related to any field someone thinks they are an expert in. Whatever you do should make sense.
I have to admire anyone who chooses plumbing as a way to make their living. Good plumbers are worth every penny they charge. I really enjoyed this video. Thank you.
It’s a very fun way to make a living. Start your own business & choose what type of plumbing you want to do. If you enjoy remodels more then do remodels. If you enjoy new construction then do that. You don’t even have to touch poop if you don’t want to as a self employed plumber. It can be tough but it’s definitely better than being a cowboy for $7/hr or working at a jail I can tell you that much for sure! LOL
Man i needed Phil on my current custom home build, our pex install is so nasty.. Did you notice Phil hammering the nails down on the backside of the clamp on the BCI.. Thats an install guy i'd pay top dollar for.. loved, loved this series.
I pulled a similar prank on my fave supplier one time. I walked into the manager's office with an electrical switch in my hand proclaiming it was defective. It says "NO and FFO"!
Pipe in pipe systems is standard here in Norway for new builds. So if the PEX pipe gets a leak, the leak will go into a connectionbox through the outer pipe and then to the drain. Another good thing about pipe in pipe system is that you can change a leaking pipe without opening walls/floors.
I’m not often surprised by comments but this one has me interested. Do you mean a pipe in a pipe is standard for interior and residential piping? I do engineering of commercial systems in USA and we mostly use a carrier pipe for protection underground. Can’t think of an instance inside the building other than some very special life safety instances for refrigeration.
He has one they just show him using the hand one to give the viewers an idea of a more budget friendly tool if you are doing a DIY project. They talk about it in one of the earlier episodes.
Nice example of deadening the nail on the clamp. The term: dead as a door nail. Nail point comes through the door and is bent over or deadened. Love this entire series. BRING BACK SHOP CLASS TO THE MIDDLE SCHOOLS AND HIGH SCHOOLS.
Yes!!! Starting at 16:00, always keep in mind future maintenance when installing any type of service, ie: plumbing, HVAC, electrical, etc. Future homeowners and service people will thank you.
uponor pex a is great stuff. plenty of videos online about how to save a fitting if needed - don't really have to cut through the ring and pipe but rather just score ring, heat it and pipe up to remove fitting. Ironically, Phil talks about how his labor at $100/hr isn't worth saving a $3 fitting but then goes and manually expands all the piping. If you use a manual tool to expand the pipe ends, you have to rotate the expander between hand pumps (just like the electric Milwaukee and Dewalt tools do) or else you get ridges form on the inside of the pipes where the manual expander grips and you get leaks. Hope you don't end up with leaks - there was a lot of unrotated manual expansion being done in this video. also didn't see it being used but uponor's multi-port tees are a great solution to run pipe to an area and branch off from there.
I like that Phil mentioned about costing more money to run around for parts versus improvising on site to save money for the homeowner. Also, this video pointed out plumbing installation details that a non-plumber wouldn't think of which are super important once things are buttoned up. After watching this, I'd never attempt to do the job myself. ~~~~~ Thanks....
This comment stood out to me as well, but for a different reason. The reason why he had to improvise was because made a mistake. If he had to run around town to get a new part, why would the home owner have to pay for his mistake? Making mistakes and improvising is totally fine if the solution doesn't affect the end result. But charging the home owner for your mistakes seems unethical to me. He seems like a good guy, and I'm sure this wasn't his intent. Just thought it was an interesting comment.
@@mikecoles8030 To think that a tradesman will never make a mistake, and if they do, the only ethical thing is to, ‘stop the clock’, retrieve the new necessary parts on their own time and expense and resume the clock when they get back in the same position they were when the mistake was made is hilariously unrealistic. Virtually no trade or industry or accountant or computer programmer or politician or anyone does this, bar none. The only way around it, is to demand a flat rate, zero-contingency contract. The price you get from that party will invariably be the highest price you can possibly pay for a project.
"How ya gonna work on this later on?" Another good reason for mechanical piping drawings, even if you have an installer like Phil that doesn't need them. As second owner of a very well built home, when I had a sudden failure in the plumbing of one of the toilets recently, boy was I happy to have prints marked with the as-plumbed piping diagram, which showed me exactly which basement ceiling panel to remove to find the supply shut-off valve that isolated that bathroom so I could keep water to the rest of the house until the repair could be made.
I really like the application of a re-circulation line. The water fixtures in out house take a long time to get hot, long enough that I often do not have the patience to wait on it. Not to mention the water that is running down the drain.
@@thaitichi The suggestion was to use blue/red pipe so you don't need to keep track of which side of pipe is your hot/cold (the assumption is you plumb the cold lines with blue PEX and the hot side with red PEX). I guess he's joking that it makes it too easy if you do that, but also because he's spent decades having to keep track of it, it's innate at this point, and he just orders the cheapest color.
16:00 THIS! Exactly THIS is what makes a master craftsman. And this is not some romantic or esotheric "love your neigbour" kind of deal. It's simply that this is part of your job, if you want to do it really good. Your customers INVEST in you and your craft. Make your product so it returns, not only at the time of investment, but over the years. It is THIS, what builds a legacy.
No water hammer with this system too. Pex and sharkbite fittings (I only use them in spaces were they aren't buried in a wall) are game changers. No draining down an entire water system to sweat a joint - cut, push, expand or crimp and you're done.
@@dalesworld1308 Sounds like a plan. ;) Like I said, they're not bad in a pinch, but it's best to use the fittings designed for the system where possible
When i found this channel I loved it. I'm an apprentice plumber. So when I saw the first 2 episodes with Phil I was very excited. If I lived anywhere near him i would bug the shit out of him to come let me work my ass off for him. Solid guy.
Nice the have a plumber that thinks ahead and cares about possible future problems, at the end of the day It feels good to know the job was done right and professionally
Phil is the man, copper pipe went away around in my area many years ago in Western Canada, pex saves money, plastic piping started here with that polybutylene pipe. My parents place has it, knock on wood it hasn't had any major issues, it was the "revolutionary" way of plumbing back in the early 80s. Thank god for shark bite fittings for repairs as there isn't those compression fittings originally available.
Phil has a good soul and heart. Would love to work with him for a year to learn about plumbing and more about life. Also, I love the Rinnai. IMO, none better.
Hey great job Phil ! Hi EC, Thanks again for all the content you put on RUclips land, Plumber from France here, and I must say, once again I'm amazed at how different our methods are. I've seen a lot of american plumbing here on youtube, barely ever seen a bend on a copper pipe ! Fittings only, no wonder you love pex so much ! I guess you work with hard copper only. We still make heating manifold out of steel pipe, oxy welded or tig welded for the most part, trying to avoid using fittings as much as possible once again. Well, I have to say not everybody works like that even here... Anyways, never used pex myself for anything else than underfloor heating, but I quite often use multilayer pipes, such as Geberit Mepla to name one. It's like an aluminium pipe sandwiched in two pex pipes. The aluminium makes it completely impermeable to oxygene, and allows it to keep its shape after we bent the pipe. I'm not saying it's a better system, but thought you might like to know and give it a shot maybe. Thanks again for everything you do, and keep up the good work ! ;)
Phil is the very best at his work. He really, really sets a great example of integrity and proper usage of material. I could watch several videos back to back. Pex is a great thing. I love it. Jim Tree
In Poland we have PEX pipes and fittings that you heat the ends with designated heating iron until they melt a little and then you connect them, its designed in a way that they fit in each other nicely and inside of your plumbing is nice and smooth this way, its better for the flow and for the noise inside the walls, we also use foam pipes to cover them so cold ones doesnt condensate moisture and hot ones doesnt lose so much heat on the way to the sink or shower.
I do my own plumbing in the renovations I do, I'm not even in the same game as Phil, but I certainly do appreciate his skills. The PEX we use here in Tokyo is white but they come with a blue or pink sheath of insulation. They specify that we do NOT tie them down to anything, they want them to just flop around, the whole earthquake thing I guess. We also use these big brass manifolds, one big manifold near where the main water line comes into the house then a line to each room, etc. I've installed a lot of those tankless water heaters they are great! Cheers from Tokyo! Stu
Love that Uponor pex. I've done hundreds of those connections, and the only one that's leaked was a brass shutoff that got dropped and nicked and we didn't realize it until after we turned the water on. Heated the end with a heat gun, popped it off, replaced the shutoff, and it never leaked again.
He has one, uses it when in the crawl space. Not sure why he doesn't use it all the time, maybe its just faster to use the hand one on the 1/2 pex and leave the 3/4 tip on the tool. The milwaukee tool does look more bulky then the dewalt one I use though.
@@Azaduur The 1 1/4" head is technically compatible with m12 but it takes a really long time, professionals spring for the m18 cuz it expands 1" to 1 1/2" much faster.
At one point of time Phil said that he was using it to show people watching the series that they can just buy a manual and don’t need to buy a Milwaukee. It was an earlier video, I don’t remember which one.
Phil reminds a lot of all the men I respect on the job site. Knowledge gained from experienced is priceless. “He don’t need no stinkin schematics” He knows what’s best and can do it while daydreaming about any and everything but plumbing!
I have a blue and a red sharpie, and I’ll put a color dot on the line as I go. I’m DIY, so it’s belt and suspenders sometimes with me. In the basement shower, I painted the supply handles red or blue, for the kiddos ! They understood immediately ! N.E.OH Bob
I've never heard of a "recirculation line" before, but it sounds like a great idea! I've always just gotten used to waiting 30+ seconds for warm water to reach my upstairs bathroom sink from the water heater in the basement.
I am doing all the plumbing in my place and bought the Uponor (expandable) PEX. Really glad I did it. The job went so fast and no leaks the first test.
i am doing my own house right now.....i am up north....cant do a water test right now. Did you do a water or air test. If you did an air test, what pressure and for how long?
Did you use the manual expander, or get the Milwaukee cordless one? I already have the M12 batteries and was debating buying, using, then selling it used, but I'm not sure if it's worth the extra cost over a manual expander.
@@thePilgrem I had a tough time deciding and then thought about how much I was saving and just went ahead and bought the cordless one. I got it at Supply House and it was worth it!
bpdp379 Our recirculating pump has a timer that we set to match our daily activities. Our system has a hot water temperature sensor under the kitchen sink (the farthest outlet from the tank). So The timer wakes up the pump 1/2 hour before we get up. The temp sensor is cold, so the recirc line port is open. The pump runs until the sensor comes up to temp., then it shuts off the recirculating port, and the pump shuts down... etc. etc.
@@bpdp379 it’s possible, but just like any recirculating system it’s energy wasteful. I have an on demand plus a mannibloc system. I just insulated my pex runs that I frequent so once I have hot water there it stays longer. If you were going to do it though you could put a small electric on demand in the recirc loop so the gas on demand isn’t constantly kicking on. The on demand will stop running once up to temp.
@@Estok8805 Note: I am not an expert in this area. I'm only repeating what I was told about how this works, and I know my area PEX houses don't freeze up and copper houses do. There could be other factors involved. Again, I am not an expert. Listen to my dumb a&& at your own risk. That said ... I'm told that the water in the pipe doesn't freeze 100% all at once, but goes thru stages of different areas going from liquid to slush to ice at different times and rates. There is considerable entrained air in tap water. When the water freezes (again, which happens slower than you might expect), the air is squeezed out first. If that air pressure has some place to go, it will create enough room (actually more than enough for room) for the ice to expand the 10% it needs. This is the REAL reason you leave the tap dripping when you expect the pipes to freeze: It's an air escape valve. So, regarding PEX, every piece of the plumbing system doesn't have to be flexible. The rigid bits (like the tees) are fine as long as there is something with give nearby to accept the expanding ice and air as it tries to move around. You can see in the video that the pipe can be stretched in diameter considerably and it can still recover. It is being stretched far more in volume capacity than the 10% required. What we saw in the video from the expander tool was probably almost a doubling in volume. This theory also assumes that your entire run of PEX pipe throughout the house doesn't freeze solid, but certain runs of the pipe (deeper in the house) stay fluid while only a bit in the exterior walls is exposed to the freezing cold. The expansion of slush can "back into" the warmer area of the pipe to SOME extent. I have no doubt that a 20ft run of PEX exposed to an instant flash freeze would split something somewhere.
@@WanJae42 Despite your disclaimers, your logic makes sense to me. Even if the rest isn't right (though I suspect there is at least some element of truth there, those pipes do look surprisingly stretchy), at the very least I learned that there was hella air in the tap water.
one of the few channels I click the thumbs up in the first 20 seconds because you just know its gonna be good no matter what its one of those rare things in life one can depend on lol keep em coming
This part of the home build is the most exciting for me. Can't wait to see more about the plumbing, water heater, electrical, hvac, etc... Thank you for sharing all this with us! I was wondering why he was using the manual pipe expander when he had the power tool right by his side. Is there a reason?
Rinnai. In business in Japan since 1920. Landed in the US in 1974. Awesome tankless units. Some with holding tanks and others without. Recirc. WISE CHOICE.
I remember watching the work in the basement, it is quite nice to see the follow up after so much progress. I am looking forward to seeing the rest of the installation. I have 12 years in design, construction and commissioning of various building services, including plumbing. I currently work on a research project which investigates the biofouling of, among other things, water supply systems. The one reason why I would always go for copper pipes, despite the cost, inconvenience, etc. is because of copper's bactericidal properties. Copper pipes have limited susceptibility to attachment of bacteria, unlike plastic or steel. Bacterial slime persists in our water distribution pipes and that is the elephant in the room we don't discuss, because there is simply nothing we can practically do about it. We just spend our whole lives gulping it down! Proper selection of materials can help to significantly reduce this health risk, however. There is plenty of scientific papers describing these copper properties, so to provide a couple of examples: sfamjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2672.1985.tb01442.x meridian.allenpress.com/jfp/article/61/10/1321/169229/Adhesion-of-Aeromonas-hydrophila-to-Water pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1611559/
I say it to MYSELF all the time (and my wife says it to me!): focus on the basics. You're right, I would often like to fire myself, but my employee has an edge: the lowest hourly rate.
I find myself reminded of life in the military, while working in the Armory and helping inventory the munitions for Marines and Seals... Opened a crate of Claymore land-mines, and very clearly in bright orange lettering about an inch... maybe an inch and a half tall, I was greeted with "This side toward enemy" in standard block lettering. You know... All the safety regulations are "written in blood" of those who had to learn before us. Think about that for a moment. ;o)
It is a shame that so many young people are brought up thinki g that there is something wrong with working a trade. Tradesmen are some of the smartest, most content, and financialy stable people you will meet.
I don't know of anyone who goes around saying there's something wrong with working a trade? It's the young generation who are lazy and don't want to do it is the problem. Plenty of trade colleges so there's no shortage of people studying trades.
Got into an electrical 5 year apprenticeship when I was 19. My highschool guidance counselor told me I would be making a mistake not going to college. Well, 23 years later, It was a really good choice!
Yeah, the generations before sure fucked up by luring all the young folks into getting a degree. Supposedly that was *the* way to make a stable living. Boy, did they get that wrong...
Scott and gang, it’s been said before but it’s worth repeating, what you’re doing is a treasure. I’ve missed some episodes since completing my basement remodel. We just started to remodel the bathroom and these plumbing videos dropped exactly when I needed them. Unbelievable.
“Somebody later on will thank you under their breath” So many times work is harder because the contractor before you cheaped out or took a shortcut. A quality tradesman thinks of making life easier for the trades who come after him (or her). Also reaaal handy when you are the one who has to go back later on 😂
i really enjoy watching phil the plumber !! i sure wish he was my boss when i was plumbing i may have stay with it !! but i still use the skills that i learned along time ago to work on my home or someone else as needed !!! last time i did plumbing work was for a family in need !! their water heater went out and they just had enough money to pay for the water heater but i didnt know it at the time that they were in a tight spot !! so i just did like i always do when someone needs help so i told them not to worry i went and got the all things needed for the job !!! i worked about five hours redoing some water lines and getting a platform for the heater built ! got the heater set the old one out and called it perfect !!! a couple weeks later i got a card telling me the whole story and how much i helped them out !! that card made me feel better then the biggest check i ever made on the clock !! thanks for the video and have a merry christmas !!!
I grew up in the Chicago area, and copper is still code, and pex is not allowed. I'm pretty sure it goes back to pipefitter unions. Electrical has to run in conduit as well.
@@christophergruenwald5054 Eh, I'm not from Chicago, but I prefer soldered copper for water and conduit for electrical anyway. I'm ambivalent on block, I prefer poured foundations, but if block is done right it's just fine.
Phil had a come up at around 9:30 trading in his trusty manual expander with the paint worn off for a brand new M-18 expander. Feels good finally dropping a grand on that tool kit you always wanted that does only one thing, doesn't it?
Then you're a fool. At some point in the future either you or someone else will have to fix or extend it, and being able to instantly see whether a pipe carries hot or cold will save plenty of time. Fortunately many areas are starting to mandate the use of colour coded pipes to save people from cowboy contractors who think they're cool.
@@-_James_- well like I said in the comment my uncle picked the blue and red so we are able to see the hot and cold... I was pointing out the joke of the color coded being for "millennials: when my uncle knows better to use the color pex.
Awesome video! Love your content EC! Please do more videos, if the opportunities arise, with Phil the Plumber!!! Keep up the great work! God bless you and your family. peace
3 years ago my wife and I built our dream home. We have had the plans for years and finally pulled the trigger. Once we got going the two things that scared me the most was the heating and cooling and the plumbing. We built a log home and this is our forever home. The plumber came in with pex and I said hold on we are building a 370,000 home and you are going to put mobile home pipes...I don't think so. I wanted copper. He laughed and said he will be back. He brought a mock up to the house and explained pex and actually showed me the benifits and the warranty. So pex it was in the floors for heat, in the walls and everywhere. Next was the ductless ac. I was worried due to the amount of windows. Jump ahead three years. No issues with the pex and the ductless system is absolutely amazing!
only if you have the recirculation pump running constantly. put a motion sensor in the bathrooms or laundry furthuest from the hot water heater to turn the recirculation pump on when someone walks in the room.
@@gregorysmith9158 I'd put the recirculating pump on a timer. The main need for it is a shower or bath and, for me at least, the time for my showers are pretty much a fixed time. Keeping a recirculating pump on 24/7 kind of defeats the purpose of a tankless water heater.
@@RickHowell89 timer, motion sensor, or really any method to tie water use to recirc pump use all accomplish the same goal - get that pump off when not needed. What a recirc system can do if pump always on is to essentially attempt to heat the house (like what @Trogdor Burninator suggests) brining cold water back to the water heater tank, turning the tank back on since the returning water is now colder (ala a hydronic system) and repeating this cycle over and over until your electric and gas bills are through the roof. I recognize they are putting tankless in here but same principle can occur without specialized details (turning tankless on because it senses water movement). I didn't see any discussion about it so assuming the worst
My tankless Noritz is on a timer, but only off late at night. It runs recirc every half hour during the day unless another call for hot water cancels the need. Wonderful to have immediate warm water at every fixture. I do wish the lines had been fully insulated because that instant warm water temperature does fluctuate a lot. But as to the cost - I've played with the schedule and tried to minimize the 'on' time with very little noticeable difference. The water heater is just that efficient.
Currently studying civil engineering. I found out this brilliant channel from spec house ep18. I am more than amused by the quality of the videos. Makes me remember the old days helping my grandpa build his fireplace or the days that something went south and was on the run to fix it. I wish you all the best for you and your family and spend some quality time in the new home of yours
@@codywalls7022 Uponor is expanded and forever self crimps down on the fittings. The fittings are also larger inner diameter and allow more flow vs PEX B.
Two years ago I completely re-plumbed my house with the old galvanized piping. I used PEX and absolutely love it. One issue I did have was the plastic one-nail hangers that I Phil is using. Mine looked identical. I probably got a bad batch of hangers, but within a year the plastic began breaking and my piping began to fall. I immediately went to the hardware store and got two-eared handers and it's been fine since.
Recovering_Californian yes! and if you're plumbing a recirc line, use green. As you say, the next guy in doesn't have to screw around figuring things out at the home owners expense, just because you forgot to load your truck with colored pex.
@@1971merlin Coloured pipes aren't rocket science either? If someone's doing repairs on their plumbing, there's a good chance they have a leak and aren't in the mood to run a few more gallons of water onto the floors trying to figure out which pipe is hot, cold, and recirculation.
I still have an affinity for copper. Maybe it is because every house I worked on with my dad he used copper. I just have skepticism around plastic. I know it is slower and more expensive, but damn does copper look good. I love this Phil guy you guys should have him on a lot more.
there is certainly a gap in the market for a battery operated "epanpanda" type tool for opening up the internal dia. of the pex pipes instead of using the mechanical tool .... could save some serious time on site given how many joints are being made. EDIT: I see later in the vid there is a battery operated tool
@@trmpt73 I missed that, good catch. He's pretty fast with that manual expander, he wouldn't save that much time by doing the power expander from what I've seen.
I like that he expands the pipe before connecting them. I've often used bigger pipes and fittings to prevent pressure loss but I didn't realize I could expand PEX.
In the UK push fit is the thing - I've used John Guest 'Speedfit' for a few years now. No expander etc needed, the only specialist tool you need is the pipe snips. The fittings are also removable and re-useable.
My ex wife got the house that I built in the divorce and then complained about mice eating the PEX. I told her to put pelletized warfarin in the water softener. Worked great and I saved a ton on alimony.
B Mingo Yup, and I'll bet you used old time leaded solder, with big mother blobs of it inside each joint, ready to start leaching into your kid's/grandkid's drinking water.
@@oneselmo lead solder isn’t allowed by code, not to mention fairly difficult to find. Tin solder was used and all work was done by myself and a commercial plumber(combined nearly 50 years of experience) . 👍 Nice try though.
@@bmingo2828 Nothing wrong with copper, but our plumber, who has almost 50 years experience by himself (not to mention his dad), uses almost nothing but PEX. He didn't trust it for 15+ years, then he took a piece about 6" long and filled it with water and capped it. That was back in 2008. He has taken it out of the freezer every morning when he gets to his office and puts it back every evening. To this day it has yet to bust. After a year and a half of that he started using PEX exclusively, except when customers require hm to use copper. PEX is cheaper, easier and faster, and he has fewer problems out of it than he does copper. If you want copper, it is a great product, but PEX out performs copper in every way, except knocking pipes.
I'm not sure why a PEX manifold system wasn't installed. All those fittings create flow and pressure problems at the fixtures. With any PEX manifold system each fixture has its own run to the manifold with no fittings. Sure, you probably use more pipe, but the cost isn't that greater.
Manifold systems use more energy on recirculated lines. Heating up a lot more water than you would need to otherwise and lots of more return lines. This way you run 1 3/4” line past the kitchen to the bathroom with 1 1/2” return line. I’d understand if you were somewhat close to a bath/ laundry room to run those off a small manifold
Fairly certain Phil said that pack rats and mice could/ would do that on their second channel (EC2) Podcast interview. I can't remember when in the conversation that it comes up, but I just listened to it yesterday and that did come up!
The pex I put in my house is coming up on 13 years old. No leaks yet. It's by far the best system on the market. We used 1/2" hdpe (pex, but not branded as pex) tubing at my old job for pouring hot urethane directly from the processing machine mix head, it would hold up under 225-ish farenheit temps for well over 2 hours.
I wish I had one. My master bath is as far as you can get from the water heater while still being in the same house. The shower is not too bad but the sinks can take an eternity to heat up. Very wasteful in a desert climate. :(
StoneysWorkshop that is so frustrating... usually a return line was like 250-300 bucks for the plumber to put in during construction if we could gravity feed it. It was more if we needed a pump. We got to where we just included it in our bids.
ONLY IF every tradesmen EVER thought "how am I, or someone else, Going to work on this later on" - the world would LITERALLY be the best place! Phil is the man! He is the most fun, nicest Plumber I have ever seen! Most of them are just miserable and hate all other trades! (at least the ones I have come in contact on a job site with!)
...only if Scott or Nate smack Matt upside the head when he does his uber annoying "Catch you next time Ooooooon the Build Show" outro. It's like fingernails on a chalkboard. That said, I watch a lot of Matt's videos because somewhere buried in those "infomercials", there's usually some real building science knowledge to be had.
Phil is quickly becoming a youtube legend. The sharknado shirt alone is is priceless!
#getphilhisownyoutubechannel
How is the dry well working?
@@Highstranger951 haven't finished remodeling my garage yet, so it still has yet to be used. Should work like a champ though
Phil's old school jokes and dry humor were just stellar :D
When Phil mentioned planning for future repairs, it reminded me of the adage, "Do the next guy a favor, because it's probably going to be you."
Imagine every tradesmen EVER thought "How will this be worked on in the future?" - We would have one perfect world!
Phil is a RUclips goldmine, he just doesn't know it.
No
@@jrchac4331 yes
“That probably won’t leak hardly at all” 😂😂😂
😂😂😂
Just like my 3 sewer fittings that my plumber forgot to glue. After that I learned how to plumb myself.
@@christophergruenwald5054 I’ve been doing various upgrades and renovations to my 1976 constructed home over the last 8 years. I’ve encountered two basement sinks that were friction fit ABS! On top of that, at one point there was PVC coming up out of the floor transitioned to ABS with yellow ABS cement. It came apart in my hands. How I didn’t find substantial leaks is beyond me
I’ve been around plumbing my entire life but have been running my own little business for around 5 years now. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve ran into 3”-4” fittings without any glue or primer at all. It’s insane. I think shit like that has to happen with bigger companies with guys working for 15/Hr. There’s just absolutely no way in hell anybody doing plumbing for themselves could ever do something like that. Plumbing mistakes are VERY expensive and even more embarrassing. The guys who do shit like that just can’t be worried about having to pay for damages or ruining their reputation. There’s just no way.
Please don’t call big companies to have plumbing done. Find a good self employed guy and not only will he give you a better deal he will care about that plumbing just as much if not more than you will.
Phil needs his own show! I would definitely watch it.
“Phil Your Pipes”. 🥸😅
I second this
Green Side Up
agreed
@@jasonkraus2831"Green side up", needs no explanation and can be related to any field someone thinks they are an expert in. Whatever you do should make sense.
I have to admire anyone who chooses plumbing as a way to make their living. Good plumbers are worth every penny they charge. I really enjoyed this video. Thank you.
It’s a very fun way to make a living. Start your own business & choose what type of plumbing you want to do. If you enjoy remodels more then do remodels. If you enjoy new construction then do that. You don’t even have to touch poop if you don’t want to as a self employed plumber. It can be tough but it’s definitely better than being a cowboy for $7/hr or working at a jail I can tell you that much for sure! LOL
"Sometimes $100 an hour isn't worth a $3 fitting." Class act right there!
Man i needed Phil on my current custom home build, our pex install is so nasty.. Did you notice Phil hammering the nails down on the backside of the clamp on the BCI.. Thats an install guy i'd pay top dollar for.. loved, loved this series.
“I’m thinkin they write UP on there it stands for something”. I laughed way to hard at that joke.
I pulled a similar prank on my fave supplier one time. I walked into the manager's office with an electrical switch in my hand proclaiming it was defective. It says "NO and FFO"!
Upper Penninsula?
Universal Polarity?
Under Pants?
Upside-down Plumber ? ;)
Pipe in pipe systems is standard here in Norway for new builds. So if the PEX pipe gets a leak, the leak will go into a connectionbox through the outer pipe and then to the drain. Another good thing about pipe in pipe system is that you can change a leaking pipe without opening walls/floors.
I’m not often surprised by comments but this one has me interested. Do you mean a pipe in a pipe is standard for interior and residential piping?
I do engineering of commercial systems in USA and we mostly use a carrier pipe for protection underground. Can’t think of an instance inside the building other than some very special life safety instances for refrigeration.
@@michaelwitt7984 In Norway it is now illegal to put in new plumbing in a house that is not "pipe in pipe".
@@michaelwitt7984 This wikipedia pages explaines it well. (google translate) no.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%B8r-i-r%C3%B8r_systemet
That awesome, I’m gonna read more about that
Phil dropped a Larry Haun line!
"That's the code"!
"I was on a job where they were laying sod and the foreman kept yelling at the guys lay it the green side up" 🤣🤣🤣 im dying aha i love this guy
Buy Phil the Milwaukee M12 pex expander as a gift, he'll love it.
He has one they just show him using the hand one to give the viewers an idea of a more budget friendly tool if you are doing a DIY project. They talk about it in one of the earlier episodes.
@@shaung638 I saw the m18, but the m12 will do the smaller stuff the m18 won't
That's for millennials! :D
Nice example of deadening the nail on the clamp. The term: dead as a door nail. Nail point comes through the door and is bent over or deadened. Love this entire series. BRING BACK SHOP CLASS TO THE MIDDLE SCHOOLS AND HIGH SCHOOLS.
"That's why my thumbnail is so short." Phil's delivery is 100%.
Well, as long as he's cutting the nail and not the skin, it's all good. Wouldn't want bloodstains on those pipes.
@@russlehman2070 don't get red blood on the cold line! Haha
@@russlehman2070 shit comment bruh
I’m excited to see the electrical and trim work of this job to begin. Love the series
Ive been waiting on electrical installation now for weeks myself
"The best thing about pex is, we can pretend to be electricians!" - GODLY quote. Phil is amazing!
Yes!!! Starting at 16:00, always keep in mind future maintenance when installing any type of service, ie: plumbing, HVAC, electrical, etc. Future homeowners and service people will thank you.
If every tradesmen in the world thought this way, We would live in a much happier world!
Seeing Phil has been an early present for the Holidays to each and every one of us.
uponor pex a is great stuff. plenty of videos online about how to save a fitting if needed - don't really have to cut through the ring and pipe but rather just score ring, heat it and pipe up to remove fitting. Ironically, Phil talks about how his labor at $100/hr isn't worth saving a $3 fitting but then goes and manually expands all the piping. If you use a manual tool to expand the pipe ends, you have to rotate the expander between hand pumps (just like the electric Milwaukee and Dewalt tools do) or else you get ridges form on the inside of the pipes where the manual expander grips and you get leaks. Hope you don't end up with leaks - there was a lot of unrotated manual expansion being done in this video. also didn't see it being used but uponor's multi-port tees are a great solution to run pipe to an area and branch off from there.
I like that Phil mentioned about costing more money to run around for parts versus improvising on site to save money for the homeowner. Also, this video pointed out plumbing installation details that a non-plumber wouldn't think of which are super important once things are buttoned up. After watching this, I'd never attempt to do the job myself. ~~~~~ Thanks....
This comment stood out to me as well, but for a different reason. The reason why he had to improvise was because made a mistake. If he had to run around town to get a new part, why would the home owner have to pay for his mistake? Making mistakes and improvising is totally fine if the solution doesn't affect the end result. But charging the home owner for your mistakes seems unethical to me. He seems like a good guy, and I'm sure this wasn't his intent. Just thought it was an interesting comment.
@@mikecoles8030 What it made me think was that some (other) plumbers charge homeowners for mistakes that the homeowner never hears about.
@@mikecoles8030 To think that a tradesman will never make a mistake, and if they do, the only ethical thing is to, ‘stop the clock’, retrieve the new necessary parts on their own time and expense and resume the clock when they get back in the same position they were when the mistake was made is hilariously unrealistic. Virtually no trade or industry or accountant or computer programmer or politician or anyone does this, bar none. The only way around it, is to demand a flat rate, zero-contingency contract. The price you get from that party will invariably be the highest price you can possibly pay for a project.
psidvicious well said.
@@mikecoles8030 apparently has never had a job in his life.
"How ya gonna work on this later on?"
Another good reason for mechanical piping drawings, even if you have an installer like Phil that doesn't need them.
As second owner of a very well built home, when I had a sudden failure in the plumbing of one of the toilets recently, boy was I happy to have prints marked with the as-plumbed piping diagram, which showed me exactly which basement ceiling panel to remove to find the supply shut-off valve that isolated that bathroom so I could keep water to the rest of the house until the repair could be made.
Man, watching and listening to Phil is a treat. Such a nice, cool dude.
I really like the application of a re-circulation line. The water fixtures in out house take a long time to get hot, long enough that I often do not have the patience to wait on it. Not to mention the water that is running down the drain.
"...that's for the millennials." Phil is hilarious!
What about when he said, ""thank goodness they write that on there , that sands for something ". Hahaha
I didn't really understand the joke. Anyone care to explain?
@@thaitichi The suggestion was to use blue/red pipe so you don't need to keep track of which side of pipe is your hot/cold (the assumption is you plumb the cold lines with blue PEX and the hot side with red PEX). I guess he's joking that it makes it too easy if you do that, but also because he's spent decades having to keep track of it, it's innate at this point, and he just orders the cheapest color.
Red and blue is code around here, and oxy-barrier orange for hydronic
Making something simple is never dumb. It is brilliant.
16:00 THIS! Exactly THIS is what makes a master craftsman. And this is not some romantic or esotheric "love your neigbour" kind of deal. It's simply that this is part of your job, if you want to do it really good. Your customers INVEST in you and your craft. Make your product so it returns, not only at the time of investment, but over the years. It is THIS, what builds a legacy.
No water hammer with this system too. Pex and sharkbite fittings (I only use them in spaces were they aren't buried in a wall) are game changers. No draining down an entire water system to sweat a joint - cut, push, expand or crimp and you're done.
To be honest, I prefer the system they're using here over sharkbite. In a pinch, it is fine, but I think this system makes a better seal.
@@jackielinde7568 I only use a Sharkbite when I tie Pex into copper and can't drain the system down enough to solder. And I'd never use it in a wall.
@@dalesworld1308 Sounds like a plan. ;) Like I said, they're not bad in a pinch, but it's best to use the fittings designed for the system where possible
When i found this channel I loved it. I'm an apprentice plumber. So when I saw the first 2 episodes with Phil I was very excited. If I lived anywhere near him i would bug the shit out of him to come let me work my ass off for him. Solid guy.
I love watching a skilled craftsmen work. I wish we taught this stuff to kids in school.
Nice the have a plumber that thinks ahead and cares about possible future problems, at the end of the day
It feels good to know the job was done right and professionally
Phil is great. Going to be in a YT video seen by millions, wears the sharknado shirt!! Love it!
Mark the pipe every so often.
Phil is the man, copper pipe went away around in my area many years ago in Western Canada, pex saves money, plastic piping started here with that polybutylene pipe. My parents place has it, knock on wood it hasn't had any major issues, it was the "revolutionary" way of plumbing back in the early 80s. Thank god for shark bite fittings for repairs as there isn't those compression fittings originally available.
Phil has a good soul and heart. Would love to work with him for a year to learn about plumbing and more about life. Also, I love the Rinnai. IMO, none better.
Hey great job Phil !
Hi EC, Thanks again for all the content you put on RUclips land,
Plumber from France here, and I must say, once again I'm amazed at how different our methods are.
I've seen a lot of american plumbing here on youtube, barely ever seen a bend on a copper pipe ! Fittings only, no wonder you love pex so much ! I guess you work with hard copper only.
We still make heating manifold out of steel pipe, oxy welded or tig welded for the most part, trying to avoid using fittings as much as possible once again. Well, I have to say not everybody works like that even here...
Anyways, never used pex myself for anything else than underfloor heating, but I quite often use multilayer pipes, such as Geberit Mepla to name one. It's like an aluminium pipe sandwiched in two pex pipes. The aluminium makes it completely impermeable to oxygene, and allows it to keep its shape after we bent the pipe.
I'm not saying it's a better system, but thought you might like to know and give it a shot maybe.
Thanks again for everything you do, and keep up the good work ! ;)
I love Phil's wry outlook on the job. Great job, done by a guy who'd never knowingly do it badly.
Phil is the very best at his work. He really, really sets a great example of integrity and proper usage of material. I could watch several videos back to back. Pex is a great thing. I love it. Jim Tree
Just hearing Phil talk puts a smile on my face.
In Poland we have PEX pipes and fittings that you heat the ends with designated heating iron until they melt a little and then you connect them, its designed in a way that they fit in each other nicely and inside of your plumbing is nice and smooth this way, its better for the flow and for the noise inside the walls, we also use foam pipes to cover them so cold ones doesnt condensate moisture and hot ones doesnt lose so much heat on the way to the sink or shower.
16:00 Thanks, Phil.
I do my own plumbing in the renovations I do, I'm not even in the same game as Phil, but I certainly do appreciate his skills.
The PEX we use here in Tokyo is white but they come with a blue or pink sheath of insulation. They specify that we do NOT tie them down to anything, they want them to just flop around, the whole earthquake thing I guess.
We also use these big brass manifolds, one big manifold near where the main water line comes into the house then a line to each room, etc.
I've installed a lot of those tankless water heaters they are great!
Cheers from Tokyo!
Stu
Like Phil's USAF shirt. As a retired USAF veteran, I appreciate seeing it displayed by a man of integrity.
USAF? It's a "Sharknado" shirt isn't it?
@@MrEazyE357 He wore both during the video.
@@DavidWilliams-tr9gt I see it now. My bad.
Love that Uponor pex. I've done hundreds of those connections, and the only one that's leaked was a brass shutoff that got dropped and nicked and we didn't realize it until after we turned the water on. Heated the end with a heat gun, popped it off, replaced the shutoff, and it never leaked again.
Holy, this gentleman deserves a Milwaukee pex tool for Christmas.
He has one, uses it when in the crawl space. Not sure why he doesn't use it all the time, maybe its just faster to use the hand one on the 1/2 pex and leave the 3/4 tip on the tool. The milwaukee tool does look more bulky then the dewalt one I use though.
@@nabeshin-j9865 He's using the next biggest Milwaukee tool, there's a 12-volt version that does half through one inch.
@@kozemchuk they got a 1 and 1/4 head for the m12 now, but after today im not sure im too pleased with it.
@@Azaduur The 1 1/4" head is technically compatible with m12 but it takes a really long time, professionals spring for the m18 cuz it expands 1" to 1 1/2" much faster.
At one point of time Phil said that he was using it to show people watching the series that they can just buy a manual and don’t need to buy a Milwaukee. It was an earlier video, I don’t remember which one.
Phil reminds a lot of all the men I respect on the job site. Knowledge gained from experienced is priceless.
“He don’t need no stinkin schematics”
He knows what’s best and can do it while daydreaming about any and everything but plumbing!
I have a blue and a red sharpie, and I’ll put a color dot on the line as I go. I’m DIY, so it’s belt and suspenders sometimes with me. In the basement shower, I painted the supply handles red or blue, for the kiddos ! They understood immediately ! N.E.OH Bob
I've never heard of a "recirculation line" before, but it sounds like a great idea! I've always just gotten used to waiting 30+ seconds for warm water to reach my upstairs bathroom sink from the water heater in the basement.
Same, going to look into that.
I am doing all the plumbing in my place and bought the Uponor (expandable) PEX. Really glad I did it. The job went so fast and no leaks the first test.
i am doing my own house right now.....i am up north....cant do a water test right now. Did you do a water or air test. If you did an air test, what pressure and for how long?
@@jaysidhu3313 Should be stipulated in your local plumbing code, it can vary by area.
@@jaysidhu3313 I put on all the angle stops and did a water test just for my own state of mind. I still have to have the 4 way inspection.
Did you use the manual expander, or get the Milwaukee cordless one? I already have the M12 batteries and was debating buying, using, then selling it used, but I'm not sure if it's worth the extra cost over a manual expander.
@@thePilgrem I had a tough time deciding and then thought about how much I was saving and just went ahead and bought the cordless one. I got it at Supply House and it was worth it!
Thanks Scott and Nate for introducing us to Phil (again). A pleasure to watch
We did the same thing in our new home about 2 years ago. Similar water heater with a recirc pump. Works great. One of the better decisions I made.
How does it work with an on demand? Does the pump run constantly like a tank based system? Or does it activate off the temperature?
bpdp379 Our recirculating pump has a timer that we set to match our daily activities. Our system has a hot water temperature sensor under the kitchen sink (the farthest outlet from the tank). So The timer wakes up the pump 1/2 hour before we get up. The temp sensor is cold, so the recirc line port is open. The pump runs until the sensor comes up to temp., then it shuts off the recirculating port, and the pump shuts down... etc. etc.
@@oneselmo very nice. Thanks for the info. I'd always assumed there was no way to run a recirc with an on demand system.
@@bpdp379 it’s possible, but just like any recirculating system it’s energy wasteful. I have an on demand plus a mannibloc system. I just insulated my pex runs that I frequent so once I have hot water there it stays longer. If you were going to do it though you could put a small electric on demand in the recirc loop so the gas on demand isn’t constantly kicking on. The on demand will stop running once up to temp.
I replaced my copper plumbing with Pex recently and decoded to use the crimp fittings instead of the expansion fittings. Pex rocks! Great job Phil.
A beautiful thing about PEX is how it can (reasonably) withstand freezing.
I assume most of the expansion then has to happen in the pipes, right? I don't see the elbows and tee's standing up well to that.
@@Estok8805 Note: I am not an expert in this area. I'm only repeating what I was told about how this works, and I know my area PEX houses don't freeze up and copper houses do. There could be other factors involved. Again, I am not an expert. Listen to my dumb a&& at your own risk. That said ...
I'm told that the water in the pipe doesn't freeze 100% all at once, but goes thru stages of different areas going from liquid to slush to ice at different times and rates. There is considerable entrained air in tap water. When the water freezes (again, which happens slower than you might expect), the air is squeezed out first. If that air pressure has some place to go, it will create enough room (actually more than enough for room) for the ice to expand the 10% it needs. This is the REAL reason you leave the tap dripping when you expect the pipes to freeze: It's an air escape valve.
So, regarding PEX, every piece of the plumbing system doesn't have to be flexible. The rigid bits (like the tees) are fine as long as there is something with give nearby to accept the expanding ice and air as it tries to move around. You can see in the video that the pipe can be stretched in diameter considerably and it can still recover. It is being stretched far more in volume capacity than the 10% required. What we saw in the video from the expander tool was probably almost a doubling in volume.
This theory also assumes that your entire run of PEX pipe throughout the house doesn't freeze solid, but certain runs of the pipe (deeper in the house) stay fluid while only a bit in the exterior walls is exposed to the freezing cold. The expansion of slush can "back into" the warmer area of the pipe to SOME extent. I have no doubt that a 20ft run of PEX exposed to an instant flash freeze would split something somewhere.
@@WanJae42 Despite your disclaimers, your logic makes sense to me. Even if the rest isn't right (though I suspect there is at least some element of truth there, those pipes do look surprisingly stretchy), at the very least I learned that there was hella air in the tap water.
one of the few channels I click the thumbs up in the first 20 seconds because you just know its gonna be good no matter what its one of those rare things in life one can depend on lol keep em coming
This part of the home build is the most exciting for me. Can't wait to see more about the plumbing, water heater, electrical, hvac, etc... Thank you for sharing all this with us!
I was wondering why he was using the manual pipe expander when he had the power tool right by his side. Is there a reason?
We only saw him use the cordless on the 1" pipe. Maybe he had it set up for 1" and the manual for 1/2" and didn't want to switch heads?
Rinnai. In business in Japan since 1920. Landed in the US in 1974. Awesome tankless units. Some with holding tanks and others without. Recirc. WISE CHOICE.
It’s a rare craftsman these days hat considers how maintenance will affected. Phil is a rare one indeed. 😀
I remember watching the work in the basement, it is quite nice to see the follow up after so much progress. I am looking forward to seeing the rest of the installation.
I have 12 years in design, construction and commissioning of various building services, including plumbing. I currently work on a research project which investigates the biofouling of, among other things, water supply systems. The one reason why I would always go for copper pipes, despite the cost, inconvenience, etc. is because of copper's bactericidal properties. Copper pipes have limited susceptibility to attachment of bacteria, unlike plastic or steel. Bacterial slime persists in our water distribution pipes and that is the elephant in the room we don't discuss, because there is simply nothing we can practically do about it. We just spend our whole lives gulping it down! Proper selection of materials can help to significantly reduce this health risk, however.
There is plenty of scientific papers describing these copper properties, so to provide a couple of examples:
sfamjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2672.1985.tb01442.x
meridian.allenpress.com/jfp/article/61/10/1321/169229/Adhesion-of-Aeromonas-hydrophila-to-Water
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1611559/
"Green side up". I'm thinking that if you actually have to say that to somebody installing sod, you might want to replace them.
Here in Canada, that’s a newfie joke. And like most of those Newfie jokes, it originated from Newfoundland!
I say it to MYSELF all the time (and my wife says it to me!): focus on the basics. You're right, I would often like to fire myself, but my employee has an edge: the lowest hourly rate.
I find myself reminded of life in the military, while working in the Armory and helping inventory the munitions for Marines and Seals... Opened a crate of Claymore land-mines, and very clearly in bright orange lettering about an inch... maybe an inch and a half tall, I was greeted with "This side toward enemy" in standard block lettering.
You know... All the safety regulations are "written in blood" of those who had to learn before us. Think about that for a moment. ;o)
Could watch this all day
- Am Plumber
It is a shame that so many young people are brought up thinki g that there is something wrong with working a trade. Tradesmen are some of the smartest, most content, and financialy stable people you will meet.
And it is nice to see something done at the end of the day.
I don't know of anyone who goes around saying there's something wrong with working a trade? It's the young generation who are lazy and don't want to do it is the problem. Plenty of trade colleges so there's no shortage of people studying trades.
Got into an electrical 5 year apprenticeship when I was 19. My highschool guidance counselor told me I would be making a mistake not going to college. Well, 23 years later, It was a really good choice!
That is good, more work better paid for those who do it
Yeah, the generations before sure fucked up by luring all the young folks into getting a degree. Supposedly that was *the* way to make a stable living. Boy, did they get that wrong...
Scott and gang, it’s been said before but it’s worth repeating, what you’re doing is a treasure. I’ve missed some episodes since completing my basement remodel. We just started to remodel the bathroom and these plumbing videos dropped exactly when I needed them. Unbelievable.
gotta love Phil, he is EC's goldmine, he just doesnt know it (c) Justin
Phil is the type of guy I like to work with, fun; but serious and professional about the job.
“Somebody later on will thank you under their breath” So many times work is harder because the contractor before you cheaped out or took a shortcut. A quality tradesman thinks of making life easier for the trades who come after him (or her). Also reaaal handy when you are the one who has to go back later on 😂
i really enjoy watching phil the plumber !! i sure wish he was my boss when i was plumbing i may have stay with it !! but i still use the skills that i learned along time ago to work on my home or someone else as needed !!! last time i did plumbing work was for a family in need !! their water heater went out and they just had enough money to pay for the water heater but i didnt know it at the time that they were in a tight spot !! so i just did like i always do when someone needs help so i told them not to worry i went and got the all things needed for the job !!! i worked about five hours redoing some water lines and getting a platform for the heater built ! got the heater set the old one out and called it perfect !!! a couple weeks later i got a card telling me the whole story and how much i helped them out !! that card made me feel better then the biggest check i ever made on the clock !! thanks for the video and have a merry christmas !!!
I grew up in the Chicago area, and copper is still code, and pex is not allowed. I'm pretty sure it goes back to pipefitter unions. Electrical has to run in conduit as well.
Not only that, but all copper has to be sweat or brazed, no crimp or push lock fittings allowed. Pipefitters afraid of the future.
I think your foundations have to be block walls too. The unions in Chicago are strong.
I would be moving out of that city and state.
@@christophergruenwald5054 Eh, I'm not from Chicago, but I prefer soldered copper for water and conduit for electrical anyway. I'm ambivalent on block, I prefer poured foundations, but if block is done right it's just fine.
@@christophergruenwald5054 It's specific to Crook County and not all of Illinois, but yeah definitely not ideal.
Phil had a come up at around 9:30 trading in his trusty manual expander with the paint worn off for a brand new M-18 expander. Feels good finally dropping a grand on that tool kit you always wanted that does only one thing, doesn't it?
Me and my uncle reworked my aunt's old plumbing and use pex tubing. Really nice stuff. My 60 something uncle bought the red and blue pex, not me
Then you're a fool. At some point in the future either you or someone else will have to fix or extend it, and being able to instantly see whether a pipe carries hot or cold will save plenty of time.
Fortunately many areas are starting to mandate the use of colour coded pipes to save people from cowboy contractors who think they're cool.
@@-_James_- well like I said in the comment my uncle picked the blue and red so we are able to see the hot and cold... I was pointing out the joke of the color coded being for "millennials: when my uncle knows better to use the color pex.
@@droc6927 Fair enough. :)
@@-_James_- l
Awesome video! Love your content EC! Please do more videos, if the opportunities arise, with Phil the Plumber!!! Keep up the great work! God bless you and your family. peace
“Save the brown side ones for the other side of the yard.” N.E.OH Bob
The nails with the heads on the wrong end... Don't throw them away. Use them on the other side of the house.
3 years ago my wife and I built our dream home. We have had the plans for years and finally pulled the trigger. Once we got going the two things that scared me the most was the heating and cooling and the plumbing. We built a log home and this is our forever home. The plumber came in with pex and I said hold on we are building a 370,000 home and you are going to put mobile home pipes...I don't think so. I wanted copper. He laughed and said he will be back. He brought a mock up to the house and explained pex and actually showed me the benifits and the warranty. So pex it was in the floors for heat, in the walls and everywhere. Next was the ductless ac. I was worried due to the amount of windows. Jump ahead three years. No issues with the pex and the ductless system is absolutely amazing!
As a solar electrician using EMT conduit, I spend most of my time "plumbing" the conduit. The easy part is wiring.
I love watching a listening to Phil's wisdom
When you run a recirc line, make sure you insulate the hell out of it. They're like 24/7/365 space heaters otherwise.
only if you have the recirculation pump running constantly. put a motion sensor in the bathrooms or laundry furthuest from the hot water heater to turn the recirculation pump on when someone walks in the room.
@@gregorysmith9158 I'd put the recirculating pump on a timer. The main need for it is a shower or bath and, for me at least, the time for my showers are pretty much a fixed time. Keeping a recirculating pump on 24/7 kind of defeats the purpose of a tankless water heater.
@@RickHowell89 timer, motion sensor, or really any method to tie water use to recirc pump use all accomplish the same goal - get that pump off when not needed. What a recirc system can do if pump always on is to essentially attempt to heat the house (like what @Trogdor Burninator suggests) brining cold water back to the water heater tank, turning the tank back on since the returning water is now colder (ala a hydronic system) and repeating this cycle over and over until your electric and gas bills are through the roof. I recognize they are putting tankless in here but same principle can occur without specialized details (turning tankless on because it senses water movement). I didn't see any discussion about it so assuming the worst
Well said, I was thinking the same thing.
My tankless Noritz is on a timer, but only off late at night. It runs recirc every half hour during the day unless another call for hot water cancels the need. Wonderful to have immediate warm water at every fixture. I do wish the lines had been fully insulated because that instant warm water temperature does fluctuate a lot. But as to the cost - I've played with the schedule and tried to minimize the 'on' time with very little noticeable difference. The water heater is just that efficient.
Currently studying civil engineering. I found out this brilliant channel from spec house ep18. I am more than amused by the quality of the videos. Makes me remember the old days helping my grandpa build his fireplace or the days that something went south and was on the run to fix it. I wish you all the best for you and your family and spend some quality time in the new home of yours
using that manual expander... thats how you get popeye arms fast. the amount of force to expand it is painful after a few fittings...
He should have his own RUclips channel. What a great teacher! He even showed his mistakes.
Using a manual expansion tool, ouch. Hopefully rotating while expanding.
If there’s a power tool version, I’ll buy it for him. What a treasure to have on you tube!
@@michaelhobbs8082 Milwaukee M12 does a good job.
How is that method of connecting pex compared to the crimp rings?
@@codywalls7022 Uponor is expanded and forever self crimps down on the fittings. The fittings are also larger inner diameter and allow more flow vs PEX B.
Two years ago I completely re-plumbed my house with the old galvanized piping. I used PEX and absolutely love it.
One issue I did have was the plastic one-nail hangers that I Phil is using. Mine looked identical. I probably got a bad batch of hangers, but within a year the plastic began breaking and my piping began to fall. I immediately went to the hardware store and got two-eared handers and it's been fine since.
Use red/blue pipe because 15 years from now when a wall needs to be opened the owner/repair person doesn't have to figure out what is what.
Recovering_Californian yes! and if you're plumbing a recirc line, use green. As you say, the next guy in doesn't have to screw around figuring things out at the home owners expense, just because you forgot to load your truck with colored pex.
just stick some coloured tape every few metres
Tey touching it. The hot one is the hot. The cold one isn't. Not rocket science.
@@1971merlin Coloured pipes aren't rocket science either? If someone's doing repairs on their plumbing, there's a good chance they have a leak and aren't in the mood to run a few more gallons of water onto the floors trying to figure out which pipe is hot, cold, and recirculation.
yep because one being warm and the other cold is hard to figure out
I still have an affinity for copper. Maybe it is because every house I worked on with my dad he used copper. I just have skepticism around plastic. I know it is slower and more expensive, but damn does copper look good. I love this Phil guy you guys should have him on a lot more.
there is certainly a gap in the market for a battery operated "epanpanda" type tool for opening up the internal dia. of the pex pipes instead of using the mechanical tool .... could save some serious time on site given how many joints are being made.
EDIT: I see later in the vid there is a battery operated tool
Phil mentioned in a previous video that he's using the manual one most of the time to show the DIYer since the power tool version is more expensive.
@@trmpt73 I missed that, good catch. He's pretty fast with that manual expander, he wouldn't save that much time by doing the power expander from what I've seen.
I like that he expands the pipe before connecting them. I've often used bigger pipes and fittings to prevent pressure loss but I didn't realize I could expand PEX.
Only PEX-A can be expanded. PEX-B and C can only be crimped/clamped. PEX-A expansion fittings are different than crimp/clamp fittings as well.
@@edulmes Thanks bud 👍
@@HousesandCars But you can crimp onto PEX-A too, it's very versatile.
In the UK push fit is the thing - I've used John Guest 'Speedfit' for a few years now. No expander etc needed, the only specialist tool you need is the pipe snips. The fittings are also removable and re-useable.
Thanking you under your breath...Brilliant
Penlty of a workman i have cursed under my breath
My ex wife got the house that I built in the divorce and then complained about mice eating the PEX. I told her to put pelletized warfarin in the water softener. Worked great and I saved a ton on alimony.
Plummer needs his own show.
Thanks guys great work.
Be Blessed!
Replumbed my whole house in copper (Made in USA) 😎.
Because I’m old-school and don’t like plastic.
B Mingo Yup, and I'll bet you used old time leaded solder, with big mother blobs of it inside each joint, ready to start leaching into your kid's/grandkid's drinking water.
@@oneselmo lead solder isn’t allowed by code, not to mention fairly difficult to find. Tin solder was used and all work was done by myself and a commercial plumber(combined nearly 50 years of experience) . 👍 Nice try though.
@@bmingo2828 Nothing wrong with copper, but our plumber, who has almost 50 years experience by himself (not to mention his dad), uses almost nothing but PEX.
He didn't trust it for 15+ years, then he took a piece about 6" long and filled it with water and capped it. That was back in 2008. He has taken it out of the freezer every morning when he gets to his office and puts it back every evening. To this day it has yet to bust. After a year and a half of that he started using PEX exclusively, except when customers require hm to use copper.
PEX is cheaper, easier and faster, and he has fewer problems out of it than he does copper. If you want copper, it is a great product, but PEX out performs copper in every way, except knocking pipes.
Millennial plumber here! Thanks for giving us a good name Phil! Your work look damn good!
I'm not sure why a PEX manifold system wasn't installed. All those fittings create flow and pressure problems at the fixtures. With any PEX manifold system each fixture has its own run to the manifold with no fittings. Sure, you probably use more pipe, but the cost isn't that greater.
The pipe is being expanded so the fitting is the same size as the pipe.
Manifold systems use more energy on recirculated lines. Heating up a lot more water than you would need to otherwise and lots of more return lines. This way you run 1 3/4” line past the kitchen to the bathroom with 1 1/2” return line. I’d understand if you were somewhat close to a bath/ laundry room to run those off a small manifold
i was wondering the same thing. i thought the point was to have continues runs and no points of leaking.
Phil is a hoot but a highly skilled tradesman. Always enjoy listening to his expertise and sense of humor.
I've read where mice have been known to chew through Pex. What does Phil say?
Fairly certain Phil said that pack rats and mice could/ would do that on their second channel (EC2) Podcast interview. I can't remember when in the conversation that it comes up, but I just listened to it yesterday and that did come up!
Mice will chew through anything given they are motivated to do it
@@kevinwallace1499 Exactly. If you are feeding and watering your mice/rats properly, they won't chew into your PEX. Haha
@@kevinwallace1499 Mice and rats wouldn't chew through anything. They won't chew through copper, brass or steel.
I had rats chew through pex pipe twice, a line to dischwasher. I still like pex, but that is a concern.
The pex I put in my house is coming up on 13 years old. No leaks yet. It's by far the best system on the market.
We used 1/2" hdpe (pex, but not branded as pex) tubing at my old job for pouring hot urethane directly from the processing machine mix head, it would hold up under 225-ish farenheit temps for well over 2 hours.
Curious, is Phil a USAF Veteran or does he have a child who is currently in the Air Force? Either way, love the T-shirt.
Enjoy all of y’all’s videos but it is a treat to listen to Phil! I bet he’d be a hoot to be an apprentice under!
Why doesn't he have the Milwaukee sized for the small fittings as that looks to be the most used.....
10:50 THIS GUY! I love his shirt! I'm a survivor too. xD LOL
Recirculation lines are worth their weight in gold.
I wish I had one. My master bath is as far as you can get from the water heater while still being in the same house. The shower is not too bad but the sinks can take an eternity to heat up. Very wasteful in a desert climate. :(
wish my fancy house had them. Kitchen sink can take up to 5 minutes for warm-hot water
@@StoneysWorkshop If it takes that long, it may be a good idea to use a small cupboard boiler, or one of those fancy electric hot water faucets.
StoneysWorkshop that is so frustrating... usually a return line was like 250-300 bucks for the plumber to put in during construction if we could gravity feed it. It was more if we needed a pump. We got to where we just included it in our bids.
@@mfbfreak I will be looking into it, I have only done a small amount of looking at those havent been in home for a year yet
ONLY IF every tradesmen EVER thought "how am I, or someone else, Going to work on this later on" - the world would LITERALLY be the best place! Phil is the man! He is the most fun, nicest Plumber I have ever seen! Most of them are just miserable and hate all other trades! (at least the ones I have come in contact on a job site with!)
Dear Essential Craftsman,
A co-op video with Matt Risinger would be the greatest Christmas present you could give to the construction community.
Matt risinger is more of a car salesman personality, don't think there would be good chemistry.
I don't like Matt either - totally different vibe, sales man like and arrogant - pass.
I really enjoy watching both! They both have areas of expertise that I think could align really well
...only if Scott or Nate smack Matt upside the head when he does his uber annoying "Catch you next time Ooooooon the Build Show" outro. It's like fingernails on a chalkboard. That said, I watch a lot of Matt's videos because somewhere buried in those "infomercials", there's usually some real building science knowledge to be had.
No thanks. This guy is out of Matt's league.
Honestly. These videos are so educational and fun to watch. It makes me want to build my own home