Viega makes repiping easyRenovation is becoming more and more common in the plumbing industry and Viega makes repiping easy with � exible PEX systems and ef� cient water distribution manifolds like the Viega ManaBloc®. The dif� culty with repiping applications is the tight spaces and close quarters installers must work in.

David Sexton, Owner of Tender Plumbing Care in Casselbury, FL, has been in the industry since 1975 and has been installing Viega products for more than 20 years. Sexton believes attics and island sinks are the most dif� cult parts of a home to repipe.

“Some of them can be real tight and hard to get to, just to get lines to them,” he said.

He prefers the Viega ManaBloc because of its ease of installation.

“I just like that I’ve got fewer � ttings,” Sexton said. “I’ve got a direct feed. If there’s a problem, you can isolate it.”

Sexton believes in quality and has spent time educating contractors and building of� cials on different methods of repiping.

“I’ve educated a lot of plumbing inspectors who’ve never seen it before,” Sexton said. “We bring several inspectors out to see what we do and I take time out to explain it to them.”

One of the contractors Sexton trained is James Hall, General Manager of Plumbing at Plumbing Today in Sarasota, FL. Hall explained that homes in Florida are built on concrete slabs and installers don’t have the luxury of climbing under the house to replace piping systems.

“We have to go through the attics and chase pipes through cabinets,” Hall said. “We love Viega pipe and the ManaBloc

system because there are only two connections, one at the ManaBloc and one at the � xture itself. And that allows us to offer a lifetime warranty on our install due to the fact that there are no joints.”

Both Sexton and Hall think that ViegaPEX™ tubing’s � exibility allows them to get into tight spaces better than CPVC. Sexton also mentioned that he appreciates the double-wall tubing Viega offers. Hall appreciates the � exibility but also thinks Viega products have provided his company a level of ef� ciency CPVC installations couldn’t.

“You’re up in the attic and you have the fumes from the glue,” Hall said. “Attics can get up to 120 degrees real quick here. When you’re up there, you want to get the pipe and get it down the walls and get out of the attic. When you’re up there and you’re trying to cut pipe and glue � ttings? It’s terrible.”

CUSTOMER: Residential homes and condominiums

APPLICATION: Plumbing systems

LOCATION: Sarasota, FL area

CONTRACTOR: Tender Plumbing Care and Plumbing Today

We love Viega pipe and the ManaBloc system because there are only two connections... that allows us to offer a lifetime warranty on our install.

“connections... that allows us to offer a lifetime warranty on our install.”

©2014 Viega LLC

With ViegaPEX tubing, Hall explained, he and his team are able to run the tubing where it needs to go easily and quickly without glue and without dif� culty.

“Flexibility is key,” Hall said, “but the ef� ciencies are what we also gain from not having to make connections up in the attic.”

Hall and Plumbing Today are working on residential homes and condominiums. They average around four to � ve repipe projects a week. Hall says his team can repipe a two-bath house in about six hours using the Viega ManaBloc system. With other systems, it used to take them two days.

“We also had a lot of callbacks with pipes popping and glue joints breaking from CPVC,” Hall said. “All the copper is going bad under the slabs. People don’t know about it until they get a huge water bill.”

“The water is pretty good here,” Sexton said. “A lot of chlorine content. It doesn’t bother the ViegaPEX but it eats up the CPVC.”

Sexton and Hall work mainly in repiping and both indicated that their relationship with their local Viega sales representative is helpful and educational for them.

“Our rep is great,” Hall said, “because if I have any concerns about his product or a competitor’s product, he’s a wealth of knowledge. I look to him for advice when I need it.”

Hall believes that Viega plumbing systems have increased his company’s ef� ciency and productivity.

“It’s a great product,” Hall said. “I’ve had other vendors come out. But I’m happy with what I’ve got and I don’t want to change.”

For more information on Viega products, visit www.Viega.us, or call toll free: 800-976-9819.