Project Highlights

• When the Rock Springs Vista VIII Condominiums in Las Vegas, Nev., began to experience leaky plumbing, the owners needed a solution fast.
• Larry Moncrief of KDT Plumbing chose Uponor’s Wirsbo AQUAPEX tubing for the re-plumb project because of its resistance to corrosion, pitting and scaling from aggressive water conditions.
• Also, because Wirsbo AQUAPEX is flexible and requires less joints compared with rigid copper systems, the installers were able to retrofit the units in half the time that it would have taken with copper.

Background

When the Rock Springs Vista VIII Condominiums in Las Vegas, Nev. began to experience leaky plumbing, the owners needed a solution fast. After 12 years, the acidic desert soil was wreaking havoc on the copper plumbing installed under the slab, making an alternative plumbing system a necessity.

Larry Moncrief of KDT Plumbing knew Uponor crosslinked polyethylene (PEX) tubing was resistant to the aggressive water conditions in Las Vegas. Although he had never installed Uponor tubing before, he felt the system would be the best option for all 244 condominium units.

“Plumbing re-pipes present unique installation challenges because of space constraints,” Moncrief says. “Wirsbo AQUAPEX tubing is fast and easy to install, works well in tight spaces and offers a nice solution to the pinhole leaks often seen with copper plumbing.”

The durability of PEX tubing is especially significant in areas such as Las Vegas since it is resistant to corrosion, pitting and scaling from aggressive water conditions. And because Wirsbo AQUAPEX is flexible, joints are not necessary every time the tubing changes direction. Fewer joints save the installers time and money.

“We were able to retrofit eight units per week using AQUAPEX,” says Moncrief. “It would have taken us twice as long to replace these systems with copper.”

The project also incorporated Uponor’s revolutionary ProPEX® fitting system. ProPEX fittings rely on the shape memory of Uponor PEX tubing to make a fast, secure connection. ProPEX fittings do not require torches, glues or gauges, which is especially beneficial in re-pipe situations where the systems are installed in finished structures.

“The ProPEX fitting system is very easy to use and is perfect for retrofit situations where space is limited,” says Moncrief. “Using the Uponor system saved us valuable time and money. A retrofit like this would have been a nightmare with a rigid product like copper.”