Turning Pex Up Thru Slab

[Tennman]

Guys, We will be building a barn on a slab big enough for the boiler and two vehicle bays. How do you make the 90 deg turn up from the pex trench thru the slab. I envision something like a large PVC elbow (maybe big electrical conduit) so that if I ever have to mess with the Pex I can replace/repair without busting up concrete. I had in mind this PVC conduit coming up thru the slab about 10-12" from the slab edge. How'd ya'll do this. Thanks in advance.

 

[pybyr]

I haven't done a pex in slab install myself, but I have seen people do exactly what you are describing with PVC conduit "sweep elbows." I have also seen people use the PEX elbow-former braces, and then shroud the pex with foam pipe insulation where it comes up through the surface, so that the foam protects the PEX.

Good luck

 

[Dune]

I use long sweep grey PVC electrical conduit. You can put both ends of the same loop in one 90 if you want to. Be sure to temporarily secure the elbows before pouring the slab. It is also a really good idea to take a few pictures of the laid out tube.

 

[Tennman]

Great. I had not heard of a sweep elbow, but that's what I'm after. I'm planning to get an elbow large enough in diameter to push the Pex with the black outer shell to the inside of the building. Thanks for the info.

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

There is also a specific device that snaps onto the pex, and has brackets to be attached to the rebar or a board, or other things. They're nice, but expensive.

Joe

 

[pybyr]

Qualifier- I am not a pro, Joe certainly is; but anyways, the off-the-shelf pex-bend-braces that Joe mentions have always seemed handy to me and I have used them for other purposes (such as running pex for potable water supply when I re-plumbed my 1830 farmhouse) but for purposes of coming up out of a slab, the conduit sweep elbow seems to me to offer better protection to the pex.

I don't have a radiant slab, but if I ever put one in, protecting the pex where it exits the slab would be a key concern, so that Mr. Murphy & his law didn't somehow damage the pex at a point that is inherently hard to repair.