Project Highlights

• Upscale residential community plagued by chronic pinhole leaks in copper water-supply piping
• Plumbing contractor A-1 Plumbing Co. plugs the leaks for the Jones family and other Tellico Village home owners by removing the copper and re-piping with corrosion-resistant Wirsbo AQUAPEX® from Uponor
• Flexible, easy-to-route PEX saves installation time and labor by cutting the number of fittings needed

Background

Bob and Patti Jones of Tellico Village, an upscale community near Knoxville, Tenn., were at wit’s end. During a 12-month period, they had hired plumbers three times to repair the pinhole leaks that had formed in the copper piping throughout several parts of their home.

Actually, they were only one of many Tellico Village families dealing with a recurring problem of pinhole-size leaks in their copper water-supply tubing. Ten to 15 percent of the households were reportedly affected, with approximately 100 reports of pinhole leaks during the second quarter of 2005 alone.

The problem became so bad that, a group of retired professionals formed a six-member committee to investigate the source of the problem and to suggest viable alternatives. They issued a statement strongly recommending the use of either cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) or chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) instead of copper for future potable plumbing material.