Thanks for the UV tip Mongo. I actually knew that but forgot for some reason. If it's behind the toilet and not in direct line with the window then is UV still a problem? i.e. can it bounce off the side of the vanity and then breakdown the Kitec? Believe it or not, thats a serious question. I assume some sort of tape or sleeve (chrome) would help against the UV? If I can't find chrome anywhere, how bad will the foil HVAC tape look? Better than light blue? Horrible? And what about nice flange/escutcheon plates? Anyone?

Babka, disclaimer, I am only a DIYer in my spare time and only recently at that :) During the winter, when temps really dip below freezing, the exterior walls of my house on the inside can feel very cold. And standing next to one can be a chilly experience. In my area, central Iowa, we need to have insulation in the exterior walls to help maintain interior warmth. The old houses usually have 2x4 stud walls, so not much room to hold insulation. Some insulation is better than others. I believe closed cell foam provides more insulation per inch depth than does batt type insulation. If a water line is in the wall and only has 2 or 3" of insulation protecting it from the exterior temperatures, it is possible that the water will freeze in the pipe. I have read that the moving air within a wall is a problem and in old houses there can be moving air within the walls. I didn't mention this earlier, but in the bathroom that I just remodeled, we had pipes freeze once many years ago and they weren't inside an exterior wall. Even so the exterior bathroom wall was insulated with blown in insulation at one time. The plumbing came up from the floor and was about a foot from the wall, housed within a cabinet. I believe what may have happened was that the crawl space got too cold, even though it was open to the rest of the basement that was heated. The crawl space probably just got too cold for too long. It was not insulated, at the foundation. When cold wind blows it cools things faster than when the air is still. What I have read as an option for exterior walls is building a second wall to the interior to house the utilities. There was a GW thread I was reading on this subject this morning, I will link it. And I will post a picture of an example of a secondary wall for utilities that I found. In this image the interior wall is sealed from air movement that might occur within the insulated wall using plywood or OSB. The interior of this second wall is not to be insulated so that is can collect the heat from the room's interior. BTW, my area has an average frost depth in the soil of 40-45". Here is a link that might be useful: Interior shower plumbing located on [in] an outside wall

"...just trickling out...." There's your clue. That isn't "pressure" other than gravity acting on what remains in the pipes. Weedmeister is correct. Annoying because it seems to go on forever. When you replace those valves, use 1/4-turn ball-valves. If you use the el-cheapos you just removed you're going round again with frozen valves when you most need to be able to close them. The ball valves cost more but so little more there really isn't any excuse not to buck up and do it right.

The jury is out on whether the braided thread/vinyl clad (polymer) replacement lines are an improvement or a water leak waiting to happen. I'd go with another copper (chromed or not) line, but IMO the best solution are these corrugated SS ones... http://www.falconstainless.com/ Flow more than the braided polymer and FAR more reliable. You will only buy them ONCE... unless you screw up the install.