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MONDAY MORNING MESSENGER

Message Prepared For Home Inspectors and Especially for Members of the

American Institute of Inspectors®

August 9, 1999

GOOOOOD MORNING, A.I.I.™

It's a sad day at Michael Leavitt & Co Home Inspections. As you know, last week found us celebrating my birthday on the very same day we were burying my Grandmother. It was quite a challenge to be one of two key speakers at her funeral. Death is never easy and it rarely comes at a convenient time.

Yesterday we learned that Shelly's Grandmother has just died. She battled Alzheimers disease for the last 9 years. Her funeral is Wednesday in Phoenix, Arizona. This means shuffling the schedule to accommodate another trip...... Once again, death is not convenient. Immediately after finding out about her Grandmother's passing, we loaded up the kids to head to an annual Cousins Reunion in Salt Lake City. On the way, the freeway traffic came to a dramatic halt and our Dodge Caravan's anti-lock brakes refused to stop in time...we plowed into the car ahead of us. Thankfully everyone was fine except the vehicle. It will be a few weeks and as many thousands of dollars to make it better. Oh, what a week it has been.

Today's MMM is short on editorializing due to the circumstances that we have been enduring. Although brief, it is still informative. Read on...

PEX FITTINGS

I had the chance this past week to have two, very new in-training Inspectors join me on-site. Their enthusiasm made up for their lack of inspection procedural experience. I love being around new Inspectors because they bring back all of those feelings that I went through not so many years ago. While looking at this brand new home I encountered a new fitting that I had yet to encounter previously.

I first noticed them in the interior basement water main shut off. The pipe was clear and the joint fitting looked to be a plastic sleeve that was slid over the top of the connection. The connectors were a combination of plastic and brass. All of the connections looked to be made without any glue joints.

The interesting thing was that there was not a typical PEX manifold and at each turn there were fittings. Up until now all of the PEX that I have been encountering were in manifold systems without any in wall splices. Instead, there were large bends and loops in the lines. I had been told that this also helped with the expansions and contraction in the lines. This installation left no major slack areas for expansion and contraction.

The PEX used in this home was marked with the following..... WIRSBO AQUAPEX™ 3/4 IN SDR9/ sa B137.5 POTABLE/ NSFP-4/ ASTMF876/F877/ ICBO ES ER5142 HAUSER/ SBCCI PST & ESI 9661 / 160PSI 73.4f/ 100 PSI 180f/ 80 PSI 200f WIRSBO-PEX-a TUBING UNI6990209 07356 .... This is quite a bit of information and it is printed over and over on the lines. The tubing was not the normal red and blue. Instead, it was all milky white in color.

I was going to throw up the question to all of you as to what types of fittings these were and then I blindly stumbled onto the manufacturer's website. The following is their description of the product at www.wirsbo.com.

Wirsbo AQUAPEX® -- The Future of Plumbing

Current problems with corrosive water, leaky fittings and disintegrating pipe have left the plumbing industry looking for a reliable solution. AQUAPEX® is the answer. AQUAPEX® uses AQUAPEX® tubing (Engel), which is cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) tubing for hot and cold potable water service and distribution. Wirsbo PEX tubing has been used in plumbing systems around the world for over 25 years, longer than any other flexible plumbing system available.

AQUAPEX® is a logical choice for modern plumbing systems because it offers many advantages over rigid metal and other plastic tubing.

Its light, flexible nature makes it installation-friendly reducing labor costs.
Its non toxic formula makes it completely clean, healthy and safe. Concerns about lead, copper and other toxins leaching into drinking water are eliminated.
Its smooth, cross-linked structure makes it resistant to corrosion. AQUAPEX® tubing will not corrode, pit or scale.
A 25 year track record means it is proven effective in plumbing.
Its unique ProPEX® fitting system is the most reliable system on the market. AQUAPEX® systems even come with a 25 year warranty when they are installed by a Wirsbo trained installer.

The AQUAPEX® system boasts the best fitting system in the industry -- ProPEX®. ProPEX® fittings use the shape-memory of AQUAPEX® tubing. Using the hand-held ProPEX® expander tool, the tubing and a PEX ring are expanded and the fitting is inserted. The tubing then compresses around the fitting as it tries to return to its original shape.

The connection is permanent, leak-proof and proven reliable. Wirsbo also offers an electrically powered automatic ProPEX® expander tool for even faster, easier connections.

A Home Run: The flexibility of AQUAPEX® tubing allows alternative installation methods that minimize the pressure drops that result when two fixtures operate simultaneously. Using the Home Run method, centrally located manifolds distribute water to each fixture with dedicated hot and cold water lines. The Home Run method requires fewer fittings, helping to eliminate leaks and keeping overall material cost competitive.

Wirsbo's AQUAPEX tubing has the incredible property of thermal memory. If the tubing becomes kinked, heating it up with a heat gun will make it transparent and return it to its original shape and strength. The tubing returns to its natural opaque color when cooled.

AQUAPEX® BENEFITS BUILDERS AND CONSUMER

Proven Product
Installed without Joints in the Slab
Clean and Healthy -- No Lead in AQUAPEX
25 Year Warranty
Looks Professional
Lower Delivered Cost
Fewer Joints in the Walls
Excellent Freeze Resistance
Corrosion Resistant

AQUAPEX® BENEFITS THE PLUMBERS

Proven product
Flexible
Easy to Install
Light-weight
No Flame Necessary
ProPEX Does not Leak
Inert to Aggressive Soil and Water
Excellent Freeze Resistance
Run in slab, or over head
Perfect for Retrofit, Remodeling Work
Provides a Professional Looking Plumbing System
Plumbers get Trained and Pass on 25 Year Warranty

Code Approvals: AQUAPEX tubing is manufactured and listed to ASTM F876, F877, and F1960 for use in hot and cold potable water distribution systems. It is approved by BOCA, CABO, ICBO 5142, SBCCI, IPC for potable hot and cold water distribution, and by IPC and SBCCI for water service. It has IAPMO Acceptance. AQUAPEX® is approved in many states, cities and counties around the United States and Canada. Check with your local code official for further code information.

AQUAPEX® tubing undergoes the most exhaustive testing of any material on the market. Wirsbo PEX undergoes an extensive battery of tests internally, and through an independent third party testing agency. Wirsbo PEX tubing currently holds the unofficial world record for long-term testing at elevated temperatures and pressures -- 23 years at 203 ° F at 152 psi, and still going. The record will be official when the testing is complete.

AQUAPEX® tubing is rated at 180° F at 100 psi, 200° F at 80 psi and 73.4° F at 160 psi.

CPSC FIRE SPRINKLER WARNING

NEWS from CPSC - U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - August 4, 1999

Release # 99-152

CPSC, Mealane Corp. Announce Recall of Star Fire Sprinklers

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Mealane Corp. of Philadelphia, Pa., is voluntarily recalling up to 1 million "Star" brand fire sprinklers manufactured from 1961 through 1976. These sprinklers could fail in a fire, exposing the public to bodily injury or death. These sprinklers have been installed nationwide, primarily in nursing homes. They also may be found in hospitals, schools, resorts, stores, office buildings, warehouses and supermarkets.

CPSC reports that 67 percent of the sprinklers that were removed from locations across the country and submitted for testing to independent testing laboratories, such as by Underwriters Laboratories and Factory Mutual Research Corp., failed to activate as they should. CPSC has received one report of a Star sprinkler allegedly not functioning in a bedroom fire in a nursing home.

The Star sprinklers being recalled are dry-type models D-1, RD-1, RE-1, E-1 and ME-1 made from 1961 through 1976. The name "Star" appears on the sprinkler, along with the model number and date of manufacture. With "dry-type" sprinklers, portions of the pipe do not have water in them until the sprinkler activates. The former Star Sprinkler Co., of Philadelphia, Pa., sold its assets and changed its name in June 1976 and became known as Mealane Corp.

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, an independent, not-for-profit organization that evaluates and accredits hospitals and other long-term-care facilities, is supporting the recall with CPSC.

Consumers and property owners should determine whether their facilities contain these recalled sprinklers and if so, call the Star Sprinkler Recall Hotline at (800) 866-7807 or access the website at www.star-recall.com to participate in the recall. Mealane will provide free replacement sprinkler heads and reimbursement for the labor costs of removing and replacing the old units.

CPSC is continuing its ongoing investigation of fire sprinklers.