The knob for the door on my room (but through research I see it is called a door lever- it is shaped like a horizontal very thin oval) has a small circle in the middle of it that I know is a part of the locking mechanism. Inside my room I can lock my door but the circle is on the outside which is used to lock/unlock it from the outside, but what can I use to do that?
If you're already installing pex in the rest of your house, then there's no reason to change. I would be interested to see the research that shows copper will last 100 years. That would have to be with absolutely pure water running through it, or no water running through it. In our area, where the lime content is quite high, I repair at least a dozen in-wall copper line leaks, (usually a pin hole that corroded thru), each year. Most of these houses are less than 40 years old. I'd say Pex is the wave of the future.
pex is faster, easier, and cheaper. it will last just as long as copper, if not longer. the best advantage of pex is if it is used in a home run system there are only two places it could possibly ever leak from: the stop at the fixture or at the manifold which will likely be in you mechanical area near the water heater.
I have been a concrete mixer driver for years,, All you need is a pump mix type concrete without the pee rock and add fibermesh to it. No rocks in that and is just is strong as any concrete. You can pour or trowel it..Also you can try hydralic cement to cast with.That is some very strong stuff you can get at hardware stores.
The biggest disadvantage to copper is the price compared to pex. Also if copper freezes it will split. Pex can swell without bursting. It will however split at the fittings. The big disadvantage with pex is that the average homeowner does not have the crimping tools and they are very expensive to buy. The big advantages to pex are that it is very flexible and you can bend it around heat pipes and electric boxes without using alot of fittings. Also it is made 500' rolls, so if you wanted you could pull a separate piece for each fixture from the fixture to the basement with no fittings to leak behind the drywall. Just don't kink it while pulling it. Also with pex you don't have to worry about starting your wall on fire. You can also repair pex without having to drain all the water out. Cpvc would be the way to go if you have acidic water because it will eat the copper pipe and the brass pex fittings away. Good luck
pex is faster to install . the wirsbo brand is best can handle freezing . the other pex with the metal rings at the connections may not handle freezing.
