alt Hacker NewsIt's why plumbers use $25 sharkbite fittings now instead of soldering in a $2 copper fitting. But of course the sharkbite relies on a rubber O-ring and will probably leak in 10 years, the plumber will be long gone or the property probably under new ownership who don't remember.
Softalker is right-on in his warning:
We usually have a few freezes in the winter and some homes' pipes freeze. I was surprised, in speaking to a plumber, to find that pipe clamp installation had come to dominate the repair market (as opposed to repairing/replacing the leaky pipe).
In his first year this plumber had arrived at the plumbing supply house to find all pipe clamp orders backlogged two weeks! He thus determined to, during the warmer months, stockpile a cache of pipe clamps for the coming winter.
Furthermore, as SofTalker states, the fitting is usually left in-place instead of being replaced! Yet one more reason to have a prospective home inspected by someone who is very knowledgeable.