Piping Alternatives

tedimc

Getting a house re-plumbed at the moment and have a couple of questions for people in the know!

1. Which is the best plastic piping available - Wain, Qualpex, etc. for hot & cold water? I was looking at the Wavin Hep2O system and it seems very good/neat.
2. Which UFH pipe is best - Unipipe, Wavin, etc?
3. While I understand the need for a barrier in the UFH pipe, is it worth paying the extra for the hot/cold water?
4. If we have 3 bathrooms at a different end of the house than the water tanks - is it better to run separate 15mm/half inch lines for each appliance, or would it be better to run a single larger pipe and tee off it where required?
5. The house has a basement, unheated. Would we be better dropping pipes down from attic, or up from basement? I know we need the gravity drop, but could we drop from tank in attic, run along basement and then run up to cistern, sink, bath, etc? I'd see this being better from an attic insulation perspective/risk of leaks, etc.
6. I've always thought the water fittings you'd see in the likes of Spain were a better job for bathrooms where a threaded fitting is housed in the wall and then a flexible pipe is used to connect to the appliance. Has anyone used these in Ireland and is there any downside to doing this?

I've a couple of plumbers coming to price the job and would like to know as much about my options in advance.

Thanks.

freddyuk

1. Any pipe certified for the use is OK. Hep2o is grey and bendy - John Guest is white and stiffer
2. Go for certified pipe for UFH. I have used standard Hep2o as I reckon it will see me out but that is not a professional recommendation.
3. No
4. If you run 22mm pipe and then branch off you will have a long wait for hot water. Run 15mm to each appliance (hot). Cold is not an issue. I would pump both supplies.
5. Yes you can run via basement but if you want "nice" taps which require pressure then pump it. If you plumb in plastic done properly leaks are unlikely but easy to repair and easier to install.
6. That is how I do my plumbing. Make sure every appliance supply has an isolating valve fitted (Ballofix). They cost nothing but save a lot of heartache. Get chrome not brass if on show.
If you try to plumb in copper pipe all the way to each outlet the chances are a bit of bending will go on to get everything lined up so chance of damage is high. Flexi connector will allow a decent job to be done. Expect to pay a little more but well worth it as it is hard to muck it up.

tedimc

Thanks Freddyuk, appreciate the response.

Just regarding Q6 -do you know the name of the fitting to fit into the walls? Are they just called stub-outs or terminals? I've struggled to get a good image of them while googling.

freddyuk

15mm to Male Iron.