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g/plumbing • Posted by u/pex_pioneer •

Clean PEX-A manifold rough-in on a new build — sharing for the apprentices

New 4-bedroom, 3-bath build. Uponor PEX-A throughout. Central manifold in the mechanical room feeding 22 runs.

Manifold is a Uponor Stainless Steel with individual shutoffs on each port. Every run is labeled at the manifold (printed labels, not just marker). Color code: red for hot, blue for cold.

Took a bit longer to set up this way but every future service call on this house will be easier. Homebuilder initially pushed back on the Uponor cost vs PEX-B — I told him to price out one water damage claim and we moved on.

Sharing this for any apprentices who haven't seen a well-done manifold setup.

💬 4 replies

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u/drain_dave •

Is the manifold mounted so you can get a pipe wrench in if you ever need to service a port? Looks tight in the pic. Seen manifolds mounted too close to the wall and it's a nightmare when a shutoff fails.

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u/backflow_ben •

Uponor PEX-A is the right choice. The expansion fitting system is significantly more reliable than crimp or clamp rings over time, especially in freeze-thaw climates. The material cost delta is real but the lifetime performance is better.

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u/water_heater_wally •

This is exactly the kind of setup I want to learn. How long did it take to run 22 lines from the manifold?

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u/pipefitter_pat •

That's a clean setup. Labels make all the difference — I've been on service calls in houses with unlabeled manifolds and it's a guessing game every time. Good work.

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