Pex a threat to professionals??

[Fmkehoe99]

I am no longer in the trade, and retired before the advent of Pex.
I was wondering, given the ease of using Pex, does it threaten, to some degree, the trade? (being that joe shmo can make the connections)
Just curious.

 

[havasu]

Much to the disbelief of many, pex is still prohibited in many cities in California. Seems their inspectors are old school, and just hate the stuff.

 

[voletl]

Nope not at all anyone can put pvc together yet I still have a job. Its about the craftsmanship the knowledge we professionals know will always keep us employed

 

[CT18]

I think our craftsmanship and code knowledge is valuable. I think pex may have effected the house flipper type where they might take it on instead of calling a company out. If you think about it any homeowner or flipper could have learned to solider with some practice.

 

[Matt30]

I'm not worried. Monkeys can solder copper. There was always compression fittings and acorn fittings for the DIY'er

There will always be people who absolutely will not touch plumbing and will hire a professional right away. There will also always be people who will try their own repairs with cheap products and will call us when it fails. And of course, some who will make a good DIY repair and not require our services.

Im not seeing any homeowners plumb their new construction projects. I think even as we get further into the plastic world, our jobs are pretty safe

 

[Zanne]

I don't think PEX will hurt the trade. So long as there are people who are afraid to use a screwdriver or power tools or follow simple directions, there will be a need.

 

[Fmkehoe99]

Well, thanks for all of the input. I’m happy to hear that the trade is safe and sound. Now, where did I put my lead bars and oakum....

 

[chiraldude]

I would also say that PEX is a benefit to the professional more than the DIYer. PEX can make the job easier but for the average homeowner, it's not that much more efficient. For me, I have a cheap PEX crimp tool so I have to fight to make connections in tight spaces. Then I always end up a couple of fittings short and have to make a trip to the local hardware store to get the job finished. Plus pay double or triple what contractors pay for the pipe and fittings.
PEX was invented for the professionals. If you have large spools of PEX, and a good collection of fittings (and tools) in your truck, you can pull long runs of PEX and hook it all up really fast. If you know what you are doing, PEX installs in half the time of any other pipe. The fact that you end up with far fewer fittings buried in walls is also a bonus for the contractor as long term failure rates are much lower.

 

[Diehard]

I was cutting cast iron pipe with a chisel and hammer and pouring and caulking lead, hub and spigot, joints when I was 12 years old. Never became a plumber.
A plumber is a professional that has learned the proper and required way to do plumbing work and receive a license allowing them to practice that profession legally. There's a lot more to plumbing then simply putting pipes together.

 

[Zanne]

I was cutting cast iron pipe with a chisel and hammer and pouring and caulking lead, hub and spigot, joints when I was 12 years old. Never became a plumber.
A plumber is a professional that has learned the proper and required way to do plumbing work and receive a license allowing them to practice that profession legally. There's a lot more to plumbing then simply putting pipes together.

I completely agree. I admit that I get rather agitated when I hear people "dissing" plumbers as if they are stupid or just simple manual laborers. For one, manual labor can require great skill, but I know plumbing requires math and a lot of knowledge of how things work and how to solve problems. It can also be a very dirty job, but it is absolutely necessary.

 

[Matt30]

[QUOTE="Zanne, post: 99436, member: 5960] I know plumbing requires math[/QUOTE]

I got into the trade because I figured I would never need complicated math again

.....boy was I wrong. I feel bad for calling Pythagoras Theorem all those nasty names in high school! It's more a part of my life than I want it to be