I have some decent ideas as to why, I’m asking mainly as a hopefully fun contribution here, and to maybe learn some interesting plumbing info!
I have some decent ideas as to why, I’m asking mainly as a hopefully fun contribution here, and to maybe learn some interesting plumbing info!
Plumbing Apprentice here. Garden hoses wear out in 5-10 years, and ideally the water and drainage pipes will be there for decades.
Do they wear out because they’re exposed to the elements and movement, or because of their material? I read that as “what if you were to put a hose in the wall?” Would its rate of degradation be the same as say a pvc pipe?
Over time the rubber of the hose dries and cracks, and the elements/movement can expidite that process. I guess a hose inside of a wall could last much longer depending on the material. If they were made in the same way Fernco fittings are made, they could last a just as long (Fernco claim the fittings can last 50 years, but the company has only been around for ~50 years so the claim can’t really be tested).
Pvc is designed to last 50 years but some people claim that its useful lifespan is 75-100 years, but Pvc hasn’t been around long enough to test the 100 year claim.
I have seen some houses with hoses inside pipes. By doing it this way, they can just pull the hose and replace it with a new one. Even if it’s leaks it will leak inside the pipe not inside the wall.
Labor is the most expensive part: isn’t that just doubling the labor cost? Or is it that when a house is converted, they just thread through the existing leaky plumbing?
That’s what I wonder. I definitely see how cpvc and pex are a lot more convenient, much lower labor costs to instal, but my house is 80 years old, and I have not had to replace any plumbing in the 20 years I’ve been here. It’s mostly copper, which I assume is not original (several decades ago, my area had major assistance programs to remove leaded pipes), but there’s cast iron and galvanized where I have no idea how old it might be.