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Phil Thien
08-31-2007, 8:27 AM
I am installing a pedestal sink. The drain and hot/cold were not vertically aligned with the light fixture or medicine cabinet opening during rough-in. Seeing as I had to open the wall to add blocking to support the sink, I made the hole a little larger and would like to adjust the plumbing so the finished job looks right.

This rough-in was done w/ PEX. There is a transition to copper for the shutoffs (which were never installed). The drain is PVC.

There is enough slack on the PEX to move the hot/cold over. But the copper "stubs" at the end of the PEX seem to be soldered to the copper strapping that is screwed to the wall. They wobble in the strap, though. They won't go in and out because the solder on the "stub" has formed a ridge in front of and behind the strap. But they do wobble around. Shouldn't these be tighter?

To move them, do I just heat 'em up w/ a torch and pull 'em out? Any danger of doing this with the PEX already connected to the copper? Will this work now that there is water in the lines, or will the water prevent the copper/colder from heating enough? Safe to at least try it?

Is there any concern in extending the PVC by adding a coupler? Will it cause the drain to clog more often?

Oh, and the hot/cold are closer to the floor than the drain. Is that normal/okay? In my other bathroom the hot/cold are HIGHER than the drain.

I don't have tools to work with the PEX or replace the copper. I was hoping to make the adjustment, close-up the wall this weekend and place the sink, then have a _good_ plumber finish-up by installing the shut-offs and finishing it up.

Any tips on how to do this job would be greatly appreciated.

Stuart Johnson
08-31-2007, 8:51 AM
First a word of warning.... I hate plumbing.

Right way or not I would cut the copper strap on each end. Nail a short piece of 2x4 on the left side and move the strap over to the right. At least it looks like it should go to the right. Re-nail it and you should be good. I don't think the wobble should cause a problem. I can't answer your pvc question.

Matt Meiser
08-31-2007, 9:02 AM
Disclaimer: I'm not a plumber, but I've done some plumbing that works fine.

If it were my house, I would do the same thing Stuart suggested with the supply lines. For the drain I would cut it off right before the 90, add a coupler and rebuild from there. There's already so many existing fittings in any system, I don't see adding one more being an issue.

If you need to work on the PEX, you can rent the crimper. I just rented one from my local hardware store for $5/day. It is extremely easy to work with--cut the line to lenght, slip on a crimp ring, slip in the fitting, and crimp. There is a Go/No-Go gauge to tell you if you've crimped far enough. I just stubbed out of the wall with PEX and plan to use the crimp on shutoffs for the sink and toilet.

Jim O'Dell
08-31-2007, 9:36 AM
You won't have any problem with the PVC, just cut and add what you need. Jim.
ps-don't forget the glue! :p

Phil Thien
08-31-2007, 10:33 AM
I couldn't resist the temptation and took my propane torch to the plumbing. I'm posting back in case anyone else is ever in the same situation.

It was pretty easy to melt the little amout of solder that was there and slide the "stub" back out of the strap. I did this for the right (cold) side, where the PVC wasn't in the way. The end of the copper near the PEX never got more than warm to the touch.

I then unscrewed the strap from the wall and was able to shimmy it from side to side to remove it, along with the hot water supply. Finally, I was able to remove the hot water stub and now I have good access to the PVC to extend it.

After I extend the PVC drain, I'll replace the strap and reassemble the hot and cold feeds.

The only thing that really bothers me is how lose these copper stubs are in the strap. It seems the strap really just barely holds them. I'd have thought they would have used something like a bushing over the end to keep them from wobbling side to side and up and down. I'm going to research it a little and see if this was installed correctly.

Matt Meiser
08-31-2007, 11:01 AM
Phil, if you are worried about it, how about installing some blocking behind the turns in the copper and putting some pipe straps on them. Really though, I don't think I would worry about it. They have to be more substantial than my PEX will be.

Brian Weick
08-31-2007, 11:23 AM
I couldn't resist the temptation and took my propane torch to the plumbing. I'm posting back in case anyone else is ever in the same situation.

It was pretty easy to melt the little amout of solder that was there and slide the "stub" back out of the strap. I did this for the right (cold) side, where the PVC wasn't in the way. The end of the copper near the PEX never got more than warm to the touch.

I then unscrewed the strap from the wall and was able to shimmy it from side to side to remove it, along with the hot water supply. Finally, I was able to remove the hot water stub and now I have good access to the PVC to extend it.

After I extend the PVC drain, I'll replace the strap and reassemble the hot and cold feeds.

The only thing that really bothers me is how lose these copper stubs are in the strap. It seems the strap really just barely holds them. I'd have thought they would have used something like a bushing over the end to keep them from wobbling side to side and up and down. I'm going to research it a little and see if this was installed correctly.

Phil, take some wire strapping - copper again and wrap it around the H/C (spaced accordingly) and do the same near the back end of the copper piping (where the pipe bends) screw the strap to either side of the wall studs on bothe ends and adjust your piping so it is straight and then solder the pipe to the strap. You should have no lateral movement and slight movement up and down.
Brian