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Beyond the Bars
Composite Pipe 101
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Meet Me in the Middle
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Composite Pipe 101
A Colorado builder shares his experience with an emerging pipe technology
While looking for a way to reduce warranty callbacks caused by plumbing leaks, Justin Wilson, environment and sustainability manager for Boulder, Colo.-based home builder McStain Neighborhoods, came across a solution that also reinforced the company's reputation as a "green" builder - composite water pipe. This new plumbing technology consists of a thin aluminum tube, laminated with interior and exterior coatings of polyethylene. It's getting good grades for reliability and quick installation, at comparable costs to copper and PVC.
McStain, which will build approximately 350 units of multifamily and single-family housing this year, switched to PVC water piping a few years ago. It soon ran into problems. "We were experiencing a high occurrence of water leaks at glue joints," Wilson says. "We tried a number of ways to solve the problems, but were unhappy with the results. And when closing homes in this litigious society, there is no room for water leaks."
Wilson met with all four of the company's plumbing subcontractors. He learned that one had been using composite pipe on other projects, and another had already asked McStain to consider switching to the system. McStain made the switch one contractor at a time and saw amazing results. "We saw a more than 50 percent reduction in warranty calls due to plumbing leaks," Wilson says.
He says that while the materials for a composite piping system cost slightly more than traditional plumbing, they go in faster, which reduces labor costs. All in all, the installed cost of composite pipe about equals that of other systems, but improved quality gives it a decided edge.
Some assembly required
Composite pipe can only be joined with special crimping tools. Each pipe manufacturer makes proprietary tools that are calibrated to make precise connections, and that will only work with that manufacturer's pipe. Depending on the manufacturer, these tools may need to be sent back to the factory if they are dropped and knocked out of calibration, and for regular maintenance.
Manufacturers are developing a new generation of tools that can be calibrated by plumbers on-site, along with gauges that tell the plumber whether the tools need calibration. (An improperly calibrated tool won't crimp properly and could result in a leak.) These "go no-go" gauges should help further improve quality.
Specs
Composite pipe operates efficiently at pressures ranging from 90 to 300 pounds per square inch and withstands temperatures of up to 210 degrees Fahrenheit. The pipe, which can be bent or formed by hand, is usually available in diameters of between 3/8 inch and 1 inch. Wilson says the diameter is larger than CPVC and therefore provides a high volume of water at a consistent pressure. The pipe's flexibility makes it possible to snake it through wall studs and floor joists, but it needs straps to support it horizontally and vertically at 8-foot intervals.
Wilson says that McStain, which prides itself on environmentally friendly building practices, also enjoyed some sustainability benefits from the system: The polyethylene used in composite pipe is easier to recycle than CPVC, and toxic gasses are released during PVC's manufacture. Plus the lightweight composite pipe's aluminum core prevents chemicals from leaching into water lines laid in the ground - another problem with PVC.
Costs range between $53 and $225 per 100 feet, depending on diameter, and pressure and temperature rating. First-time installers need to be trained on the system.
Composite pipe may or may not work as well for you as it has for McStain, but the potential advantages make this technology worth a closer look.
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