Plumbers keep using flex pipe where it doesn't belong around Atlanta

I was at a supply house near Buckhead last Tuesday and overheard a homeowner bragging about running a flex pipe from his main stack to a new bathroom he added. Man I about lost it. Flex pipe is fine for a short run under a sink but folks are running it through walls and even under slabs and that's just asking for a clog every few months. I've pulled out at least 15 flex pipe jobs this year alone from people who watched a YouTube video and thought they saved money. The problem is those ridges catch everything from grease to hair and you end up with a backup that costs more to fix than doing it right the first time with PVC. Why do people think a bendable hose can replace a proper hard pipe in a main drain line?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_drew4d ago

Man people have ZERO respect for how stuff actually works. It's the SAME mindset that makes someone think a $20 fix is smarter than a $200 fix until the $20 fix costs them $800 later. I swear it's like everybody just wants the fast easy answer and thinks the people who do it right are just trying to upsell them. Flex pipe is designed for ONE specific thing and people treat it like a magic universal solution. It's the same reason folks use duct tape on everything or think a single anchor can hold up a bookshelf.

singh.blair3d agoMost Upvoted

Yeah you got me, I was totally that guy for years. Thought flex pipe was just a cheap way to fix anything and everyone else was just trying to sell me more parts. Then I had a buddy's car blow a gasket because of it and watched the whole bill triple. Made me step back and actually listen for once. Did you learn this the hard way too or just from watching others?