Is any of this plumbing work a code violation?

Question

I've repaired plenty of pre-existing plumbing, but don't know enough to put all new plumbing in a house, so I hired it out. Some of it it is fine, but I'm unhappy with the rest of it, and since I'm not a plumber, I don't know exactly what may be a code violation.

1) PEX was routed outside the wall and can't be sheetrocked.

2) Plastic tees and elbows were used instead of brass.

3) The best way to run PEX is with the smallest number of failure points possible. It would be great to have home-runs to each fixture, but I knew that wasn't going to be the case here. However, there are some runs of PEX that have 4-6 splices in them that are totally unnecessary.

4) Underneath the house (unconditioned crawl) none of the PEX is insulated, and some of it is lying on the ground.

5) The water supply was brought up through an exterior wall, right up against the exterior of the stud and sheathing. Aren't they supposed to go through the center of the stud and install nailing plates?

I'm not a plumber and don't know codes, which is why I hired this out instead of doing it myself. Are any of these code violations?

EDIT: I should have added that a permit was pulled for this work, and it passed a rough-in inspection.

Answer 1

1. All plumbing should be inside walls in finished space or it should be installed in a way that protects the joints and protects from punctures.

2. Who cares? I never heard of plumbing failing because of elbows.

3. If you wanted this you should have been watching him during it. Or another option is to just write it into the contract so you can set expectation. As it stands you do not know which extra connections were actually needed or not.

4-5. Have local inspector come out to OK it. Don't pay plumber until it passes inspection.

And to answer your question 1, 4, and 5 sound like they are code violations but we don't understand enough to call these violations. For instance I can run pex in a crawl space in Texas, I can run pex in a laundry room outside framing (still not good practice), and you can run plumbing in most places in exterior walls (not good practice and most inspectors would want to see a reasonable level of insulation).

Answer 2

If the work was complete, the plumbing operates, and you did not negotiate beforehand any quality standards or material restrictions, then you have nothing to complain about.

What are you going to do? Accuse the plumber of being a no-good hack who uses the cheapest possible materials in the fastest possible amount of time? You just described 99% of the plumbers and electricians in the United States.

Doing your own work is the only way to quality control. Most plumbers have their brains so completely hard-wired on cheap that attempting to have them execute a high-quality job is absolutely futile. You have to understand that 99% of customers want the absolute cheapest possible fix, so there is simply no business available for high-quality plumbers and electricians.

Once I asked a plumber a question about silver soldering and he didn't even know what that was.

Answer 3

Wow! You're positively right! That's absolutely horrible work & don't be surprised if there are multiple leaks! A "pro" did a simple 20-foot run in "foolproof" Pex at my parents for a garden hose relocation unbeknownst to me & everything leaked very badly.

I think you'd be far better off complaining to the Code, Building, Permit or Zoning Dept. Get the Inspector out to review everything & to let you know definitely if they're Licensed & their work is "somehow" legal & proper.

Otherwise, definitely complain to the Contractor & have them stop using scraps in your place & at least leave you with an installation that's drywall ready & behind the surface in the center of the studs. Totally inexcusable!