# PEX Repiping in Columbus, Ohio > PEX repiping in Columbus: PEX-A or PEX-B, expansion or crimp fittings, manifold or trunk layout, support and freeze routing, City permit and a pressure test. URL: https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/pex-repiping/ A repipe in crosslinked polyethylene tubing, with the tubing type, fitting system and layout chosen for the house and written into the scope. Last Updated: October 29, 2026 A repipe in crosslinked polyethylene tubing, with the tubing type, fitting system and layout chosen for the house and written into the scope. Last Updated: October 29, 2026 **$4,000 to $12,000** Typical Columbus-area range for a whole-house PEX repipe, set by size, fixtures and access **4 to 5%** Rise in plastic pipe prices over a year in the BLS producer price index, against about 30% for copper **103.2** Nights a year at or below freezing at the Columbus airport station, by NOAA climate normals PEX is the flexible plastic tubing in most repipes done in occupied houses, because it bends around joists and through bored holes where rigid pipe would need another elbow and another opening. [Slate Repiping Columbus](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/) offers PEX repiping across Columbus and the nearby Franklin County suburbs, from a single bathroom group to a [whole-house repipe](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/whole-house-repiping/). The work is carried out by licensed and insured plumbing contractors under the plumbing permit for the address. The word PEX covers more than one product. There are different tubing types, at least three fitting systems and two common layouts, and each choice changes how many fittings sit inside the walls, how the system shuts off and how the house goes back together. This page walks through those choices. The [PEX vs copper guide](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/pex-vs-copper/) covers the material decision itself, and the [guide to whether PEX is safe](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/is-pex-safe/) covers the drinking-water questions. ## What the walk-through looks for in a PEX job The visit starts at the main shutoff, usually in the basement near the inside water meter in a Columbus house, and works out to each fixture group. For a PEX job it pays attention to things a copper job would treat differently: where a manifold board could hang near the water heater, which joist bays run toward the stacked bathrooms, and which walls are exterior, because tubing should stay out of cold cavities. It also notes everything the new tubing will connect to. The water heater, the meter-side piping, any copper that stays, the washer box and the outdoor faucets all need a listed transition. Static pressure and flow are measured so the owner knows what the street supplies before the job starts, since a new system of the same size will not raise the pressure that arrives at the meter; the [low water pressure](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/low-water-pressure/) page covers the other causes. The scope then names the tubing type, the fitting system, the layout and the openings. ## PEX-A and PEX-B The letters describe how the polyethylene is crosslinked during manufacturing, which changes how the tubing behaves on the job. Both are made to the same ASTM tubing standard and both are listed for hot and cold drinking water. PEX-A is the more flexible of the two. It holds tighter bends without kinking, and a kink can often be closed by heating the tube, which matters when tubing is being fished up a wall cavity and cannot be seen. PEX-B is stiffer and holds a straight line along a joist. It is widely available and usually costs less per foot. Neither is the right answer for every house. A brick house with plaster walls and a climb through a closet chase rewards flexibility. A ranch with an open basement and short drops to each fixture does not. What matters more than the letter is that tubing and fittings belong to one listed system, installed to that maker’s instructions, and that the scope says which one is going in. ## Fittings: expansion, crimp and clamp Most leaks in a new PEX system come at a joint, so the fitting system deserves as much thought as the tube. ### Expansion fittings Expansion fittings are used with PEX-A. A tool stretches the end of the tube and a ring, the fitting slides in, and the tube shrinks back around it. The bore of the fitting stays close to the bore of the tube, so there is less restriction at each joint, which helps on long runs to an upstairs shower. ### Crimp and clamp fittings Crimp and clamp fittings are used with PEX-B, and with PEX-A in some systems. An insert goes inside the tube and a copper crimp ring or stainless clamp is squeezed around the outside. The insert narrows the bore slightly. A correctly sized ring, checked with a go/no-go gauge, is what makes the joint; a crimp made with a worn or uncalibrated tool is the usual weak point. Push-fit fittings exist too. They are useful for a repair, but a whole system built from them puts many O-ring joints inside closed walls, so their use in a repipe should be stated in the scope rather than assumed. ## Trunk-and-branch or a manifold A trunk-and-branch layout copies the old system: a main line runs through the basement and tees off to each fixture group. It uses less tubing and suits compact houses. A home-run manifold gives each fixture its own line from a central panel of valves, which means fewer hidden fittings and a single place to shut off one sink, at the cost of much more tubing. Where a long run would make the hot water wait worse, [hot water recirculation](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/hot-water-recirculation-installation/) can be planned in at the same time. Some houses use a hybrid, with a small manifold serving each bathroom. The table above sets out the tradeoffs, and the [manifold vs trunk-and-branch guide](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/manifold-vs-trunk-and-branch/) goes further, including hot water wait times. ## Expansion and support in a basement PEX grows and shrinks noticeably with temperature, far more than copper. A hot line pulled tight between two fixed points can stress its fittings each time the water heater runs. The answer is slack: gentle loops on long runs, supports that hold the tube without pinching it, and room to move where it passes through a joist. Support matters for the same reason. Tubing is hung at the spacing its maker lists, with plastic or coated hangers rather than bare metal straps that could cut it. Where PEX passes through a stud near the wall face, a steel plate keeps a drywall screw out of it. Where it turns up into a wall or out of a floor, a bend support holds the radius so the tube does not kink at the fitting. In a Columbus basement, where most new mains run along open joists, this is visible work an inspector can see and an owner can check. ## Sunlight, heat and cold PEX is damaged by ultraviolet light. Tubing stored outdoors or left exposed under a window or a skylight can degrade, so it is kept covered on site and is not run where daylight reaches it. It is also kept away from flue pipes, recessed lights and the first stretch of pipe above a gas water heater, where most makers call for a metal connector. Cold is the Columbus concern. The airport station averages 103.2 nights a year at or below freezing, and the City’s building code sets a frost depth of 32 inches. Tubing can stretch when water freezes, which gives it more tolerance than copper, but fittings, valves and the hose bibb connection can still fail. Routes are drawn to keep lines inside the heated envelope and off rim joists, and the [guide to freezing pipes in a Columbus winter](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/blog/freezing-pipes-columbus-winter/) covers what owners can do in a cold snap. ## Where PEX meets the old system Unless every pipe in the house is replaced, the new tubing meets something old: copper at a water heater, galvanized at the meter side, or brass at a valve. The [pipe material guide](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/how-to-identify-pipe-material/) shows how to tell them apart. Each meeting point gets a listed transition fitting. Where tubing meets [galvanized steel](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/galvanized-pipe-replacement/), the old pipe near the joint is the next thing likely to fail, so the boundary is drawn where the steel ends or where it can be inspected. A [partial repipe](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/partial-repiping/) page covers how those boundaries are written down. Removing metal pipe can also break an electrical bonding or grounding path that ran through it in an older house. That is electrical work, not plumbing, so the scope notes it and an electrician confirms the bond. ## Cost, permit and the pressure test A typical Columbus-area range for a whole-house PEX repipe is $4,000 to $12,000, set mainly by fixture count, stories, access and the number of openings, not by the tubing. Plastic pipe prices rose about 4 to 5% over a year in the Bureau of Labor Statistics producer price index while copper rose about 30%, which is part of why PEX usually comes in lower. The [Columbus repipe cost guide](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/repiping-cost/) breaks the price down. Inside the City of Columbus, Building and Zoning Services issues the plumbing permit: $275 for a 1, 2 or 3 family home, with two inspections. Most suburbs issue their own permit after Franklin County Public Health reviews the plan, and the [Columbus repiping permit guide](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/repiping-permit-columbus/) sorts out which office covers which street. Before walls close, the new system is pressure tested and checked joint by joint, then flushed so cutover debris clears the aerators. Shutoffs, and the manifold if there is one, are labeled by fixture. ## What's included - Choice of PEX-A or PEX-B and the matching fitting system, named in the scope - Trunk-and-branch or manifold layout, drawn before work starts - New hot and cold PEX from the main shutoff to each fixture in the scope - Hangers, sleeves and bend supports at joists, studs and fixture stub-outs - Listed transition fittings where PEX meets the water heater, the meter side or retained metal pipe - Insulation on runs near exterior walls, rim joists or crawlspace vents - Pressure test, flush and labeled shutoffs - A note to have the electrical bond checked where metal water pipe is removed ## The two common PEX layouts in a Columbus repipe | | Trunk-and-branch | Home-run manifold | | --- | --- | --- | | How it is laid out | A main line with tees to each fixture group, like the old pipe | One line from a central manifold to each fixture | | Tubing used | Less | More, sometimes a lot more in a two-story house | | Fittings hidden in walls | More tees and elbows along the way | Few or none between the manifold and the fixture | | Shutting off one fixture | At the fixture stop | At the manifold, as well as the fixture stop | | Hot water wait | Shared mains stay warm between uses | Each line holds its own water, so a long run can wait longer | | Where it fits | Compact houses, open basements, tight budgets | Houses with many fixtures, owners who want central shutoffs | ## Related resources - Decision Guide [PEX vs copper repiping: which fits your house?](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/pex-vs-copper/)Both are allowed by the Ohio Plumbing Code. The choice turns on the house: its access, its exposure to cold and sunlight, the budget, and how long the owner plans to stay. - Learn [Is PEX safe for drinking water?](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/is-pex-safe/)PEX sold for drinking water is tested and listed for it. Listing is not the end of the story, though: product choice, sunlight, chlorine exposure, fittings and installation decide how a PEX system behaves over time. - Decision Guide [Should a PEX repipe use a manifold or trunk-and-branch layout?](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/manifold-vs-trunk-and-branch/)How a home-run manifold and a trunk-and-branch layout each carry water to the fixtures, how they differ on flow, hot water wait, shutoffs and openings, and the house details that tip the choice. - Cost Guide [How much does it cost to repipe a house in Columbus?](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/repiping-cost/)Typical Columbus-area ranges for a whole-house repipe in PEX or copper, what sits inside the price, the permit fees by office, and why two quotes for the same house can differ. - Learn [Do you need a permit to repipe a house in Columbus?](https://slaterepipingcolumbus.com/guide/repiping-permit-columbus/)Which office issues the permit for your address, who is allowed to pull it, what it costs, what changed with county plan review in February 2026, and what happens when a repipe is done without one. ## How a repipe runs 1. First call Describe the houseIts age, the pipe you can see in the basement, the leaks so far and which floors lose pressure. 2. Walk through Map and scopeMains, branches, shutoffs and fixtures traced from the meter; material, openings and permit agreed in writing. 3. Pipe day Replace and reconnectWater shut off in stages, new lines run, fixtures and the water heater reconnected. 4. Sign off Test, inspect, patchPressure test and flush, permit inspections, then the openings are closed. ## What this work looks like Gloved hand fitting a white expansion ring over a brass PEX fitting on white PEX-A tubing, in a Columbus house Blue PEX tube joined to a brass elbow with a copper crimp ring, a crimp tool beside it on a bench, in a Columbus house Black plastic bend support turning a red PEX tube up through a subfloor and into a stud wall, in a Columbus house Shutoff valve and brass transition fitting where new red PEX meets older copper in a basement ceiling, blue tape on the joist, in an older Columbus home Before After ## PEX repiping questions ### Is PEX-A worth paying more for than PEX-B? It depends on the house more than the label. Both are listed for drinking water under the code Columbus enforces. PEX-A is more flexible and uses expansion fittings that open the tube and let it shrink back over the fitting; PEX-B is stiffer and usually joined with crimp or clamp rings. In a house with tight bends through plaster, PEX-A can save fittings; in an open basement, PEX-B does the same job. ### Can PEX run through an unheated crawlspace in Columbus? It can, with care. PEX tolerates a freeze better than rigid pipe because it can stretch, but it is not freeze-proof, and fittings can still split. Columbus averages about 103 nights a year at or below freezing, so crawlspace runs are kept off exterior walls and vents where possible and insulated where they cannot be moved. ### Will switching to PEX affect my home's electrical grounding? It can. Many older houses used the metal water pipe as part of the electrical bonding or grounding path. When that pipe is replaced with plastic, the path can be broken, so a licensed electrician should confirm the bond is still in place before the job is closed out. ### Does a PEX repipe have to use home runs to every fixture? No. A home-run manifold is one option, not a requirement. PEX can also be laid out as trunk-and-branch, with a main line and tees to each fixture group. The choice depends on fixture count, where a manifold could be mounted and how the owner wants to shut off water later. ## Related services ### Whole-house repiping Every hot and cold supply line from the main shutoff to the fixtures, replaced in PEX or copper, pressure tested and inspected under a City or suburban plumbing permit. ### Copper repiping A repipe in rigid copper tube, with the tube type and joining method set out in the scope and the routes planned for straight runs. ### Partial repiping One section of the water supply replaced, such as the hot side, a bath group, a floor or the basement main, with the boundary and the old pipe that stays written into the scope.