Plumbing in new developments in Jacksonville & St. Augustine (sales, new home)

[GeorgeJ.]

I was looking at several new home developments in Nassau, Duval & St. John's counties over the weekend. I specifically took a look at framed houses (pre-drywall) also to look at their construction underneath.

All of the framed houses had PVC piping rather than copper, which I thought was odd. And none of the sales offices could explain why. Just to cheap out the cost of the plumbing? The copper was always stolen before the drywall goes in? I don't think anyone is going to convince me that it is being done because the quality is better than copper....

This was both at D.R. Horton and Lennar locations.

Any thoughts?

[snuffybear]

Could it be humidity?

[mawipafl]

It's not just in Florida that I've noticed the trend. (Also in PA and NC). I'm thinking that it could be cheaper and easier to work with PVC than copper for just a couple of reasons. But another may be humidity - copper does seem to "sweat" more than PVC, and with no exposed piping such in a basement (nonexistent in FL), maybe the concern is dampness and moisture behind the walls.

[EricBoyd]

I'm wondering if the hardness of the water (mineral content) would adversely affect copper piping. Could that also be a consideration?

[GeorgeJ.]

Originally Posted by EricBoyd

I'm wondering if the hardness of the water (mineral content) would adversely affect copper piping. Could that also be a consideration?

I'll follow up here after I get an answer from any of the builders. Nassau County has a problem with hard water. Does Duval have a problem with the water? St. John's doesn't seem to as very few homes seem to have a water softener and it's almost standard equipment in Nassau. Most new home buyers up here have the builder do the soft water loop as part of the options.

You don't think it's just the builders trying to save money by not using copper?

[KathyKB]

We had PVC piping in our home in humid MD several years ago. The piping separated above the ceiling in the family room and caused a HUGE leak requiring drywall repair. Same thing happened to the pipes leading from the water line to the house. Our plumber took pictures and referred us to a company handling reimbursements from a class action suit to homeowners who had this piping and had damages. They paid all of the costs to switch to copper piping and the drywall repair. I would be very leery of PVC again. The class action suit covered piping put in homes in the 80's. I don't know if current PVCs are better or worse than what we had.

[EricBoyd]

This link may provide a little information: Copper vs. Plastic CPVC Pipe