# PVC to COPPER



## Plumber101 (Feb 25, 2009)

Come off the shower drain with a short piece of PVC and then use a Fernco to join the PVC to Copper


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## adpanko (Jun 18, 2009)

Fernco, agreed. They make a coupling designed specifically for that. Makes it a real fool proof quick and easy job. It is generically called a Fernco, but that is a brand name, not the name of the gasket/coupling itself. Mission Rubber also sells such couplings, along with a handful of other brands. More generically, I think it would be called something like a "banded coupling" for "2 inch PVC to 2" copper ". My point is, the industry has generally accepted that such couplings are called Ferncos, but in case you come across someone in the plumbing department of a big box store and they have no idea what you're talking about, ask for a "banded coupling" for connecting PVC to copper. Stores don't officially order or stock them under the name "Fernco".


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## Plumber101 (Feb 25, 2009)

adpanko said:


> Fernco, agreed. They make a coupling designed specifically for that. Makes it a real fool proof quick and easy job. It is generically called a Fernco, but that is a brand name, not the name of the gasket/coupling itself. Mission Rubber also sells such couplings, along with a handful of other brands. More generically, I think it would be called something like a "banded coupling" for "2 inch PVC to 2" copper ". My point is, the industry has generally accepted that such couplings are called Ferncos, but in case you come across someone in the plumbing department of a big box store and they have no idea what you're talking about, ask for a "banded coupling" for connecting PVC to copper. Stores don't officially order or stock them under the name "Fernco".


Fernco is a Brand name.. Not just a generic name it is the company that make the fernco flexible couplings and it is not the industry has generally accepted it is what the are called. Yes you are correct that they come in many sizes to connect to different types of pipe or the same type of pipe

Here is a link

http://www.fernco.com/plumbing/flexible-couplings


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## adpanko (Jun 18, 2009)

Plumber101 said:


> Fernco is a Brand name.. Not just a generic name it is the company that make the fernco flexible couplings and it is not the industry has generally accepted it is what the are called.


Sorry for not further clarifying. Yes, I did say that Fernco is a brand name, but the part itself is not actually/officially called a Fernco. Fernco is the largest supplier of such products, (but not the exclusive maker/supplier) which is why the name Fernco has generically been accepted as the name of the part/product, just like a cotton swap is generically called a Q-Tip, which is a specific brand and not the product itself. For example, if you buy a shielded/banded coupling from Mission Rubber (www.missionrubber.com), the product is identical to what you could buy from Fernco, but I guarantee you that you won't be able to find the name Fernco anywhere on the product. It is like buying some Johnson & Johnson brand cotton swabs and expecting the package to say Q-Tip. But my ultimate point was, using the name Fernco generically might not fully explain or express what you are looking for because the product isn't necessarily called a Fernco, especially if the store you're buying from doesn't carry the Fernco brand of products. I worked in a plumbing supply house for four years and know plumbing supplies and their manufacturers intimately (at least as of 10 years ago when I worked there...I admittedly don't know anything about Pex or other technologies that weren't nearly as widespread 10 years ago). This link might add a little color as well:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_fernco

Hope this all helps!


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## missfixer (Sep 4, 2009)

*Thanks!*

Thank you for the help! I probably still have to take up the subfloor to cut the copper pipe down a bit and have room to put the coupling on, but it's great to know there's a coupling to join the PVC and copper.


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## missfixer (Sep 4, 2009)

*A bigger problem due to stupid mistake : (*

Okay... so I cut the copper pipe, got the Fernco coupling, put a new subfloor over the old for extra support... ALL WAS PERFECT UNTIL... I placed the TileRedi shower pan over the floor and I freaked... the pan's drain is 14 inches off the back wall, my drain is 16 inches center off the back wall... NOW WHAT? I am in tears. I know, I know, it's my fault I didn't check the specs for the TileRedi shower pan, but I can't return it (20% restocking fee, shipping of $150 - their cost and mine to return it...). So now I need a bent something by two inches to compensate for the offset. Any suggestions (aside from hiring a professional)?
PLEASE HELP!


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

You cut a new piece of PVC, or easier, just call the local plumber to do it & save yourself a headache & money.


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## Plumber101 (Feb 25, 2009)

two 90's


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## missfixer (Sep 4, 2009)

*two 45's*

Thank you plumber101 for your patience with a "newbie" and your good advice... I always got help with plumbing, either a professional or my brother or dad (but they are not professionals). I'm a single Mom with a very tight budget, so fargone overbudget as it is...

I did the math with 2 90's and it would have caused too much of a distance from the shower drain on the pan to the copper drain, so I got two 45's. Theoretically, they will work perfectly! The offset is exactly 2" and I have some wiggle room because the original drain was not exactly 32" center off the left wall.

Ramblings....

My house is a red-tag special, previously a rental that I purchased in 1997. I have done everything from tearing down walls, to reconstructing, replacing, sheetrock, electrical, crown moulding, renovated my kitchen - you name it. My first bathroom remodel was a piece of cake: replace vanity, install new toilet, tile floor. Dad did that plumbing. The kitchen reno I had a professional because of gas pipes needing to be moved and had new turn off valves installed, etc. (and Dad wasn't retire at that time). I could be a tour guide in my local Home Depot, but when it comes to plumbing, it is foreign. And from experience, water damage is the worst. If I had to pay to replace this tiny 4 x 8 bathroom, it would have cost thousands of dollars... when I demo'd it, water gushed out from behind the fiberglass insert they threw over the tile, the water damage/mold rotted out the 2X10 in the floor an area of 2" x ~ 18" and the floor had to be reinforced on both sides with a new 2x10. The only thing holding the tile on the bathtub/shower wall on the other side is silicone. Water damage, rot, neglect have totally demolished the sheet rock. The floor under the toilet was so warped, it could have caved in at any moment because there was no support under it! I ripped out rotted 2x4's in the walls, reinforced the entire floor, put down new flooring - that was the easy part. This plumbing stuff is a NIGHTMARE! But, i think I am going to open up a piece of wall in the downstairs to make sure the shower drain is properly seated and tight-fitting... that's this weekend's work. Having a full-time regular job and two kids gets in the way of my fun-with-home-improvements time. I am stubborn, impatient, independent - yet very intelligent. 

I consider this bathroom practice for the main bathroom - in which I have to replace every wall and the shower AND tub... but with this experience, I will make sure I READ ALL SPECS before I purchase anything that I can't return!

Thanks again!


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