I've had PVC valves in my place for about three years now—no major disasters yet, but I do notice they get a bit stiff in colder months. Ever had one crack outright from temp swings, or is that just overly cautious plumber talk?
"Ever had one crack outright from temp swings, or is that just overly cautious plumber talk?"
Had one crack on me a couple winters back—wasn't a full-on disaster, but definitely annoying. If you're noticing stiffness already, might wanna insulate or swap to brass valves... saves headaches later.
"Had one crack on me a couple winters back—wasn't a full-on disaster, but definitely annoying."
Yeah, same here. Had a valve split open a few years ago during a cold snap. Wasn't catastrophic, but water dripping everywhere at 2 AM isn't exactly fun... I'd second insulating or upgrading to brass. Might seem overly cautious, but better safe than mopping up puddles in your slippers at midnight.
Had a similar experience myself a while back. Thought I'd save some cash by sticking with the old plastic fittings, but one particularly nasty winter proved me wrong. Woke up to a slow drip that had already soaked through half a roll of toilet paper—talk about annoying. Ended up swapping everything out for brass fittings and wrapped 'em good with pipe insulation. Haven't had an issue since, knock on wood... Sometimes spending a bit more upfront saves you headaches down the line.
"Thought I'd save some cash by sticking with the old plastic fittings, but one particularly nasty winter proved me wrong."
Yeah, been there myself. Had a customer once who insisted on plastic fittings to save a few bucks. Told him brass would hold up better, but he wasn't having it. Sure enough, first cold snap hit, and I was back out replacing cracked fittings and mopping up water damage. Definitely learned the hard way that sometimes spending a little extra upfront is worth avoiding the hassle later on... Glad you got yours sorted.
