What Plumbing Fittings Do you Need?

It's not surprising when you hear the word plumbing repair you cringe. Plumbing systems are made up of pipes and plumbing fittings and making a repair is a mix of knowing what you need and knowing what to do. Here is some basic plumbing information to give you a helping hand.

Metal and plastic pipes are both joined using a variety of different types of fittings designed to turn corners, join straight lengths, branch in different direction, reduce or increase the size of the pipe, or so much more.

Pipes are a variety of different metals and plastics. You can figure out what a pipe does by the size of it and the overall makeup. Usually indoor water supply lines are copper, plastic, or galvanized iron and they are usually ½", ¾", or 1" in diameter. Remember this is the same sizes that gas lines are found in but gas lines are usually black and made from galvanized iron.

Fittings can be either plastic or brass. Sometimes you will find flexible piping used to go from a valve to a fixture. This line looks much like flex gas line so follow it to make sure you know what it is.

Pipes that have a larger diameter like 1 1/2" to 4" are used for sewage lines and can be plastic or cast iron but most modern homes use the plastic pipe. The larger diameter pipes are usually used to connect to the public system while smaller sizes are used off of each fixture.

Plastic Pipe is very affordable to use, easy to install, doesn't corrode, and it is very popular these days. PVC is used for DWV or cold water plumbing while CPVC is used for hot and cold water and ABS for DWV piping.

Rigid copper is the most common pipe for water supply because it is durable, sturdy, resists mineral buildup, and lasts a very long time. Soft copper is more expensive because it is so flexible but it's also more difficult to work with because it is very easy to puncture.

Galvanized iron pipes were used from the 1960s on and today they are still fairly common. The exterior resists corrosion and rusting but the problem is the inside builds up mineral deposits which create corrosion problems over time.

Cast iron pipe is also very popular because it is strong and durable and so it is commonly used for waste and drain plumbing, as well as vents.

Each type of pipe has it's own type of fittings that need to be used to ensure a proper seal and to ensure you do not create an reaction between metal types. This is very important to understand otherwise you will create some ugly plumbing problems.

It is important that you know what type of pipes you have then you can choose the correct plumbing fixtures for your job. Now that you have a better idea what to look for you are on your way.