should i insulate hot water tubing in my basement?

Question

i have been insulating hot water pipes in my basement and i noticed that as the hot water branches to go upstairs the copper pipe connects to grey tubing which then leads to a copper junction point then back to grey tubing. my question is do i insulate this tubing or the copper junction point? should i insulate my cold water pipes? if so, how far should i go?
thanks

Answer 1

Any insulation you put on your pipes, copper or plastic, will save you money in the long run. There is no need to insulate cold water lines.

Answer 2

I don't think so -- the foam should provide the insulation barrier you need -- I'm just wondering how you managed to jam the insulation in between the pipe and the joist if they were up against each other?Another solution would have been to simply slip some aluminum tape (it's like flashing) in between with the sticky side of the tape on the wood -- that way the pipe would be against the aluminum to make a heat barrier. Still, I can't see where a hot water pipe would ever get hot enough against the wood to cause a fire -- typical hot water that runs in residential buildings is simply not hot enough to cause a fire...

Answer 3

yes i would insulate them as far as you can,