PEX retrofit help

[mucho]

Hi, I'm a rookie planning to retrofit my 50's bungalow with PEX and am hoping to get some advice.

I am planning to convert the basement into a suite, and really want to avoid/mitigate surprising drops in pressure. (like when someone washing dishes at the kitchen sink freezes someone in the shower). I'd also like to maintain or improve the 10 second wait for hot water that I have in the bathroom furthest from the HWH, and I'd love to be as efficient with water as possible. But the first thing takes priority.

The house is a simple rectangle. Hot Water heater is located on the far West side of the house. Width of the house is 26 feet. Fixtures, in order of distance from Hot water heater are:

1. Clothes washing machine
2. Laundry sink
3. Main Floor Kitchen Sink / Dishwasher
4. Main Floor Full Bath
5. Lower (suite) Kitchen Sink
6. Lower (suite) Full Bath

(so basically the bathrooms are furthest from the HWH)

I also have 3 external cold water taps.

I am torn between a 'home run' plan and a '3/4 trunk with recirculating pump' plan. Any help greatly appreciated.

 

[Matt30]

The home run system is great for service, but poor performance.

Say you run a basin of warm water so you can have a shave. Now when you go to turn on the shower, you are again going to have to bring that hot water from the water heater and wait. If it was a trunk system, warm water would already be at hand.