Moving In

The trailer was not winterized at some time and as a result both sides had major leaks from pipes that were busted from freezing. The plumbing in place was a mix of iron and copper pipes.

The cheapest and easiest way to go would be CPVC. From my experiences with that plumbing material in an old house that was plumbed with CPVC it was not a route I wanted to go. It is fragile and when it freezes it will split along the entire length.

Of all the materials out there for plumbing PEX comes the closest in my opinion to perfect. It’s fast and easy, it lasts longer than many other materials, and the best thing is it can freeze and not bust. I have seen PEX pipe freeze over and over with no damage, that is something other materials cannot compete with. The drawback to PEX is the expense, for what we were doing it was the most expensive option. I do firmly believe in the saying do it once and do it right. I eventually talked myself into going with PEX.

All the old pipes were removed and we ran PEX in its place. Another advantage of PEX is the pipes can come in different colors. We used PEX Red Bluered and blue to distinguish hot water lines from cold. I had never worked with PEX before but it didn’t take long to get the hang of it. When you get used to working with PEX it is faster than just about anything else. They make metal and plastic braces so you can go around corners without any fittings, just bend the pipe into the brace and the brace will hold it in a 90 degree bend. The fewer fittings you have the less the chance of a failure.

PEX BRACE
PEX BRACE

With the plumbing done we were able to move in just before Christmas and begin 2011 on our new property. Freezing weather was right behind us and ground work could not be continued as the ground froze solid in what was one of the worst winters I have ever seen.

The blizzard that happened in 2011 was the most snowfall I have Lincoln Blizzard 2011 Early Propertyseen at one time. Maybe it wasn’t big for people living in the north, but for Missouri it was a lot with 15″ of snow falling at one time. Luckily we had the tractor moved to the new property and were able to dig out to the road. One drawback to living in the country is the country roads are the last to be cleared, but at least the county does clear them when it is done with the main roads.

The gravel road to our place had drifts which were to big for me to clear with my little tractor. The worst drift was right past our driveway. One of our neighbors used his bulldozer to clear a path to the highway, but it was still deep enough that only a truck could make it out. We had to wait a couple days till the county made it our way.