I replaced the iron pipes serving my clothes washer with PEX. PEX was chosen to allow flexibility in the placement of the pipes during demolition of cabinets, etc. I had been thinking I'd build new cabinets and attach the PEX to their structure, but decided to go with standalone metal shelving instead, leaving me with a dilemma about how to secure the PEX pipes. Here's what it looks like now:
I think my options are:
- Replace PEX with copper pipe, which, being rigid, would require less support.
- Frame out an interior soffit with 2x4s and drywall to secure and hide the PEX.
Surface-mount PEX to plaster walls using a plastic bracket like the one on the right:
I expect I'd have to use screws and plaster anchors instead of nails. I'd like the hot side to be offset from the wall to leave room for insulation. I found copper "bells" (shown in photo above, on left) that do this for copper pipe but haven't found anything similar for PEX. I could use small pieces of wood to offset I guess.
Another option would be to install 1 or 2 horizontal 1x2 lumber on the wall and attach the PEX to that.
I'd like to avoid the effort of Options 1 and 2 since this is a utility room that will be filled with shelving, so it doesn't have to look perfect. Is there anything I'm not thinking of?