Bathroom Remodel Plumbing Help

[sctclimbs]

Hi, I'm a pretty good DIYer in most everything except for plumbing so am looking for any info. anyone can offer. I did put in a lawn sprinkler system several years ago and remember some stuff about gpm and pressure stuff but its been while.

I'm remodeling my master bath which had an ugly fiberglass shower stall, that I have ripped out. The right side of the stall was a half wall that I want to replace with glass block. The problem though is that the plumbing for the shower ran through that wall. I would like to put in an overhead rain-type shower head, a handheld shower massager that will be located on the left side wall and possibly even a couple body sprayers.

For ease of installation, I have run PEX pipe beneath the floor joists over to the wall on the left side. Couple questions on PEX:
1. Do I need to secure the pex to the joists or is it OK to just let it hang there?
2. Does the pex need to be supported/reinforced where it makes a 90 degree turn?
3. Are you even allowed to have it run like that or should I keep the PEX running straight and use fittings to make the turns?
4. Do I need to convert back to copper in the wall to avoid vibration chatter?
5. Anything else I should be sure to do/not to do?

Other questions:
1. In adding another shower head and possibly body jets, i assume this is similar to my lawn system in that I need to figure out the available volume and then stay within that range with all the fixtures?
2. Can I just T off the PEX pipe to run lines to each fixture?

In my ignorance I fear I am missing some probably huge things. Any help is most appreciated.
Thanks,
Scott

[jadnashua]

While pex has the same external size, it is smaller than equivalent copper, so that will play into some of what you need to know when sizing things and determining what will work. One of the benefits of pex is that you don't need to treat it like copper - just don't exceed the minimum radius specified for the material you use. To a degree, the lack of fittings will mitigate the difference in flow, but not entirely.

Body sprays typically need a loop, not T's, to ensure each gets the same pressure. You'd be better off with 3/4" pex if you want to have multiple spray heads.

Check out www.johnbridge.com for help with tiling and your glass block. I really like Kerdi from www.schluter.com. They have some videos on that website that describe Kerdi...a neat system for waterproofing a shower.

[construct30]

What system of pex are you using? What type of crimp tools?

Using 3/4" PEX to any water hog is a good concept and be sure to read and follow the manufactures guide lines for piping any faucets and heads and be sure they are compatible with each other. Using a matched engineered system is best. Getting it all hooked up and closed in and finding out it doesn't work will ruin your experience.

Pex needs supported, but not strapped tight. It needs to be able to expand and contract, a lot, similar to cpvc. Do not put it in a bind or the fittings can break. They do make pipe support guides for turning 90's, not a bad idea. Zurn has a good how to on their website, however right now their fittings have a lawsuit against them, as well as a few others.

[sctclimbs]

Thanks for the tip on the loop and sizing info., Jim. I have been all over John Bridge and plan on a Kerdi shower and have learned the glass block building techniques there as well. Great site, as is this one!

If I forego the body jets and just do 2 shower heads, would I then just T off and not need the loop? Or how about 2 showers and 1 jet?

Construct30...The Pex is from Wisbro. I used Shark Bite quick connects to connect it (no tools needed) to the copper pipe and currently just have the other end capped off. Took five minutes to run the pipe under the floor and up the other wall. Wunderbar!!! Best thing since sliced bread in my opinion. I havent purchased any fixtures yet but you are saying the I need to make sure they are compatible. I assume the fixtures will come with that information, or am I mistaken there?
I was on the Zurn site the other day and saw their supports. Guessing the law suit in on their fittings and not for the supports, is that correct?

Thanks again for the advice.
Scott

[GrumpyPlumber]

Point to mention on showers,
The larger the diameter feed from valve to shower, the larger the volume, the longer the time it takes when you turn up the hot for it to reach the shower head.

[jadnashua]

Most of the manufacturers have some diagrams on the way things need to be plumbed when doing multiple heads. Depends on how you have your divertors set up...best to decide exactly what you want and check with the manufacturer or query here...generalizations only go so far.