Jag_Man653
Member
In 2009 I installed whole-house RO with the RO system in the guest bath. I used 1/2" "clear" poly to run up to the attic and over to the master bath. About a week ago, after some serious rain we began to see ceiling wetness in the bedroom adjacent to the master bath. Of course I thought it was rain so contracted a roofer to replace the 34 year old tile roof. The curious thing was the ceiling wetness continued to spread after the rain stopped. Suspecting a possible plumbing, the roofer finally went up into the attic and discovered a spray from the 1/2" poly up into the rafters! He took a video. We immediately shut of the RO tank an the dripping from the ceiling has stopped.
I now have my long-time RO maintenance guy on board to replace the poly. He likes black poly, but I don't because I tend to think it's no better at resisting pinhole leaks than the clear stuff. Also, I've read that PEX is supposed to be better in that respect. He agreed to do it with PEX but said it will take him longer because it's a bigger diameter so he'd have to enlarge all the holes through partition cap boards etc.
And then there's the matter of some water districts switching from Chlorine to Chloramine for health reasons. I've read that Chloramine is more likely cause pinhole leaks. I don't know if that's an issue for my water district, Yorba Linda Water District.
I haven't been able to find much discussion of the "pinhole leak issue" in the Forum.
Any thoughts?
An update 6/5/2024
My RO tech found a RO unit small enough to fit under the master bath sink so he installed it and blocked off the poly pipe. No more spraying into the attic, and the roofer has finally replaced the clay tile roof. That cost over $50k and took 2 months.
So now we're looking into repairing the water damage. Just talked to our insurance agent. The issue is whether to file a claim or not. He said if the damage was due to a "sudden event" due to, say, a terrible storm or a burst pipe, it would be covered. But if it was due to lack of normal maintenance, it wouldn't.
So the question I put before the forum is weather a sudden development of a leak in poly pipe is due to lack of normal maintenance. I believe it is not. I mean, who would think of going into the attic and replacing poly RO pipe on a regular basis?
I also want to say that the the video taken by the roofer shows a tiny jet spraying up to the rafters. I believe it was a "pinhole leak, "which is rare but not unknown.
My policy has a $500 deductible and the repair of the ceiling will probably cost a few thousand., so I'm inclined to file a claim.
Your thoughts?
TIA,
Ed
I now have my long-time RO maintenance guy on board to replace the poly. He likes black poly, but I don't because I tend to think it's no better at resisting pinhole leaks than the clear stuff. Also, I've read that PEX is supposed to be better in that respect. He agreed to do it with PEX but said it will take him longer because it's a bigger diameter so he'd have to enlarge all the holes through partition cap boards etc.
And then there's the matter of some water districts switching from Chlorine to Chloramine for health reasons. I've read that Chloramine is more likely cause pinhole leaks. I don't know if that's an issue for my water district, Yorba Linda Water District.
I haven't been able to find much discussion of the "pinhole leak issue" in the Forum.
Any thoughts?
An update 6/5/2024
My RO tech found a RO unit small enough to fit under the master bath sink so he installed it and blocked off the poly pipe. No more spraying into the attic, and the roofer has finally replaced the clay tile roof. That cost over $50k and took 2 months.
So now we're looking into repairing the water damage. Just talked to our insurance agent. The issue is whether to file a claim or not. He said if the damage was due to a "sudden event" due to, say, a terrible storm or a burst pipe, it would be covered. But if it was due to lack of normal maintenance, it wouldn't.
So the question I put before the forum is weather a sudden development of a leak in poly pipe is due to lack of normal maintenance. I believe it is not. I mean, who would think of going into the attic and replacing poly RO pipe on a regular basis?
I also want to say that the the video taken by the roofer shows a tiny jet spraying up to the rafters. I believe it was a "pinhole leak, "which is rare but not unknown.
My policy has a $500 deductible and the repair of the ceiling will probably cost a few thousand., so I'm inclined to file a claim.
Your thoughts?
TIA,
Ed
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