DIY Plumbing Got A Lot Easier

A recent home improvement project has my head spinning with possibilities as one of the more complicated and expensive construction trades just got a whole lot cheaper to me. This plumbing break through is permanent push connect fittings. Apparently they been available for the past couple years, but I never heard of them until I got stuck in our recent home improvement project to upgrade some bathroom fixtures.

Permanent push connect fittings are just that: fittings that allow you to make permanent changes to your plumbing lines using simple push connect fittings rather than the traditional solder joint or pressure fittings which are much more unforgiving and usually require a skilled plumber to use.

In our recent improvement project we attempted to update the faucets in our master bathroom - 2 sink faucets and a roman tub faucet. The sinks were straightforward, they had the typical threaded connections to the water line so that any consumer could change them out. However, the roman tub faucet was sweated directly onto a copper water line. Once I realized it was directly attached to the water line I assumed I needed to call a plumber - I didn't feel comfortable attempting to sweat a threaded connection fitting onto the water line to attach a new faucet.

However a trip to the local home improvement store changed everything as I stumbled on these push connect fittings. There are multiple manufacturers of this push connect fitting but they all work the same. Cut the water line with a pipe cutter and then just push the fitting on. It was that simple in my experience of replacing our roman tub faucet.

The push connect fitting are several dollars more than regular fittings, but it was a quick net savings of $80-$140 for avoiding a plumber service call to replace the faucet.

Another improvement project that I would typically need a plumber is to replace our hot water heater. Our local home improvement store charges $350 for a hot water heater installation as a baseline. However with permanent push connect fittings I believe I'd be comfortable installing the hot water heater myself with no plumber needed.

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Comments (3)

I know this is a bit off topic but do you follow Bank of America? I own corporate bonds in BoA to mature in 1-2 years and wondering what your view on the default risk is?

Posted by Steve | September 22, 2011 1:03 PM

Be mindful of those fittings. They tend to leak after a short time on pipe and if they are slightly bent they will leak also.

Posted by albert | September 27, 2011 10:29 PM

Have installed over a hundred of these fittings over the last five years with no problem. Most of my applications transition from copper to PEX or sometimes PEX to PEX. Have had two with drip leaks when installed and one of those two healed itself (I replaced the other without giving it a chance).

These fittings and PEX are a great option when trying to reduce the temptation for copper theft in rentals.

Posted by Tim | October 5, 2011 5:46 PM