Has anyone installed a home run or central manifold system with pex?
We are doing all new plumbing, and are going with pex tubing in a home run system - a central manifold with dedicated lines to every fixture.
From what I understand, pex + manifold is supposed to be super DIY-friendly, and the advantages are that we don't need any fittings, it saves a lot of water over trunk and branch... But our "plumber" is really a neighborhood handyman and hasn't done it before. SO - I have all these random questions like does Detroit plumbing code require shutoff valves at the fixtures if you have shutoff valves on the manifold for each line? do you really need those angle supports for going around corners? Will 1/2" pex tubes really make your life miserable with low water pressure?
Our plumber is trying to transfer his knowledge of straight metal pipes to pex tubing without actually knowing how pex works, so we're having to do a lot of the research.
Thanks!
Sandra,
I know this post is a year old. I plumbed our place with PEX + Home run.
We actually have two manifolds. One in the basement for the basement, 1st floor and outdoors & a second one on the 2nd floor for floors 2 & 3.
You've probably completed your project but maybe someone else down the road will have more questions.