Put a bypass before the water heater and run it into the attic.
Pex in attic.
Connect to the to the hot water supply for hot water heater.
Such as at night if the attic temp is 15 deg f.
Yes rodents will chew absoultely eveything they step on.
Because pex piping is flexible it is often used in angles loops or other non linear shapes which makes it imperative to have equally flexible insulation material.
Up in the attic at the very furthest point you can from connect the cold water to the pex leading from the hot water heater so you can loop it back to the hot water heater.
Foam is used most commonly and generally works well.
Yes the cold water is hot in the summer very hot in fact due to the heat of the attic.
Insulation only slows the time when it will freeze after the water is not running through the pipe.
It is important to insulate pex pipe in an attic particularly in cold weather areas.
Safe for potable water pex is the red and blue flexible tubing that s used to make gentle bends around obstructions in your attic and is perfect for adding water supply to hard to reach locations.
Cross linked polyethylene tubing better known as pex pipe has revolutionized plumbing installations in new home construction and remodeling.
Sometimes they have been insulated makes very little difference to the temp on a july or august afternoon.
Pex cpvc poly back in the day even copper in the attics etc.
Pex is available in a variety of lengths from short 10 foot pieces for small repairs to rolls over 500 feet long which are used to install a home s entire water supply system.
The surface of pex piping can become grimy over time so before insulating you should take just a few minutes to clean it off.
While pex does not ordinarily burst in the cold the water in the pipes can still freeze.