I have a leak in my main water pipe. One estimate I got to replace with copper pipe is $2500. The guy told me he would only do copper and not the original plastic tubing. Would it be alot cheaper to not do copper? How long does the plastic tubing last? Advantage and disadvantages of both. Thank your for your replies. Located in New Jersey.
According to the Uniform Plumbing Code they should replace with the original material being plastic. I prefer copper though it is anti-bacterial, and anti-microbial.
Copper is more expensive, alot of the Quest or polybutyl piping used 20 years ago failed at a scary pace, with the newer poly pipe and new designs in fittings that won't leak doing poly is easier,cheaper , and should last for many years with proper installation. if the piping is to be in exposed areas, copper with insulated rubatex is the best choice. hope this helps,
Plastic works as well but has less protection against a careless shovel. Now, in New Jersey that should not be as much of a problem, because the piping needs to be buried below the frost line (3 and a half to five feet, generally) Also, anything like a backhoe that could dig that far would wipe out a copper line too. Make the transition at the street in copper all the way to the shutoff valve. Use a metal shutoff, then transition in plastic to the meter. If you got leakage in your original line, the odds are that it was not installed properly. If an adhesive joint was used, it either was dirty or not cured properly. If they used hub adapters, the clamps may have corroded away. If your guy is reluctant to do plastic, maybe it's because he is a lot better with copper. Plastic underground is a lot less rigid than copper, which could be a liability or a benefit, depending on how much earth movement occurs and the type of movement. All that said, I still prefer copper for the INSIDE plumbing, for a lot of reasons.
