Am I missing something here? Cpvc is touted as something easier to install than copper. Well, I find copper easier to install in the corner of a wall frame.

I am trying to replace the copper pipe in the picture below with cpvc. Trying to install elbows in the corners is really hard. Granted, I haven't actually done it yet. It's been all in my head so far, but I don't see enough room to do it easily.

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If I glue the elbow in the corner, then there is no room for the glue brush to add the next straight pipe.

Even if I glue the elbow to a loose stick of pipe, slid it into the stud holes, and then try to glue it to the pipe already in the corner, there still is hardly any room. Maybe I can 'roll' the elbow into position to match up with the waiting pipe in the corner.

If this was new construction, I guess I could leave the corner studs loose, so I could tilt them out of the way to give me more room to glue. But, what do you do for remodels when the studs are attached to drywall?

I guess if I had the hands of a surgeon, I could apply glue to the pipe in hand and then carefully slid it through the stud holes without touching the studs and wiping off the glue. By the time I get to the waiting elbow in the corner, the glue would be hard!

Any suggestions? I am already committed to the cpvc.

why did you choose CPVC? If it was me I would be replacing copper pipe/fittings with copper pipe and fittings!??

I am trying to replace the copper pipe in the picture below with cpvc. Trying to install elbows in the corners is really hard. Granted, I haven't actually done it yet. It's been all in my head so far, but I don't see enough room to do it easily. … Any suggestions? I am already committed to the cpvc.

In what universe are you committed to something that is all in your head because you haven't done it yet? Copper would be my first choice, and pex the second. After that I would pick galvanized, garden hoses, lead, pvc, and Cpvc in that order. With copper you can sweat it, use compression fittings, sharkbite fittings, Pro-Press, and probably something else that I have forgotten. With Pex you can use a variety of different adapters to make the appropriate connection. Cpvc is fine for making craft projects, or (in my opinion) disposable construction. Every single repair that I have had to make to Cpvc systems has always taken longer than it should have, made a bigger mess, and required more to be done than working with any other water delivery system available.

No problem at all. One of the pipe end lengths will be fixed, the other will be movable (or should be). Double glue the fitting, double glue the pipe ends. Push the ell on the fixed end, roll it into position and bring the loose end into the socket. A hard joint would be a blind inside corner with sheetrock on the opposite wall.

Thank you M&M. I guess you mean do two joints at once. Glue both ends of the elbow and both pipes at once and then assemble?

What about pipe push out? Holding the pipe/fitting together for 30 seconds? The elbow will push off the fixed pipe(first pipe) when I let it go to grab the loose pipe (second pipe) for the second connection? If I push the elbow back on the first pipe (especially if I wait too long, whatever that time is) while inserting the second pipe into it, won't I disturb/weaken the first joint during its crucial curing process?

I would rather use copper too, but copper does not last in my neighborhood. After 10 years it develops pin holes.

Two plumbers suggested cpvc, so that's what I focused on.

I might have used pex if I knew more about it when I started this project well over a year ago.

Right now, I have about half the cpvc installed throughout the house.

Thfre is NO WAY you are going to "roll the elbow" into place unless one of the two sides can slide back to give you insertion room, which is NOT likely in that position. CPVC would be my LAST option to fix it.

nicholas, does brass hold up better than copper where you are?
you can always use a brass 5/8 compression by compression 90 to join 2 pieces of CPVC.
not my first choice but ....... any port in a storm.....

You are using the right system for your water conditions. PEX would work fine only if you were using the plastic crimp fittings.

Packy, I have never had a drop elbow or hose bibb fail and they are brass I believe. I will keep your suggestion in mind.

HJ, You are right, before you can roll an elbow into place, the second pipe needs to be out of the way. Below is a sketch of a typical framing corner in my house. One stud is farther away from the corner to accommodate installing the drywall. "Rolling the elbow" would only work if the loose pipe goes through the stud farther from the corner.

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Of course, there are several factors...How far is the stud away from the corner? Were the holes drilled/punched in the center of the studs or offset. Too many variables to make "roll the elbow" a reliable way of gluing an elbow in a framing corner. I could be wrong though...

I am still curious about what m&m said...gluing both ends of the elbow at once. I guess if I keep one hand on the elbow at all times then push out may not be a problem. I would still be concerned about disturbing/weakening the first joint as I try to make the second joint.

With the first picture of this thread, there is enough room, especially with steel studs, to fully glue one end of the 90* and then apply primer/glue to the other end of the 90*(run the dauber through the stud hole) and insert the second pipe.