Five Main Types of Plumbing Pipes Used in Homes

Home plumbing has come a long way in mere decades. In the early part of the 20th century, it was not uncommon for Florida houses to have been built equipped with antiquated piping, like high schedule (thickness) iron and lead pipes. The materials available for home plumbing in Villa park were few, and the pipes were unwieldy and unsafe, prone to easily cracking, bursting, or in the case of lead, causing severe sickness.

As technology progressed and the dangers of antiquated home plumbing became more well-known, federal regulations started to phase out these forms of piping in favor of the development of piping that was lighter, more cost effective, more efficient, and safer. These days, the options for outfitting home plumbing in Villa Park can be narrowed down to five main types, each with their own pros and cons.

Five Main Types of Home Plumbing

#1: PEX Piping

Cross-linked polyethylene piping - commonly referred to as PEX - is one of the most recent and popular forms of pipes commonly found in home plumbing in Villa Park. It is light, inexpensive, flexible, and easy to deal with for amateur fixes. PEX can be cut very easily, is often color-coded for water temperature, and can often be outfitted with push-lock style fittings that don’t require tapping, soldering, or compression sleeves.

The downsides to PEX include the possibility of an improperly coupled fitting leaking, and since the fittings can’t be reused, this will require the pipe to be cut and a new fitting to be installed. And because PEX is a fairly recent standard in home plumbing in Villa Park, no one is quite sure yet about the long-term effects of it being used for home water piping.

#2: PVC

Polyvinyl chloride - or PVC - is a rigid pipe made out of plastic that was initially introduced as an alternative to cast iron or galvanized steel pipe. It is much easier to cut, but it is highly durable and is well-suited for the heavy and toxic materials that can often travel through drain lines. Though not as easy to cut as PEX, cutting PVC pipe requires only a hacksaw or reciprocating saw, and couplings are installed using ABS cement rather than needing to be threaded. Of course, this also means that, if you need to modify your home plumbing in Villa Park, the fittings will need to be cut off, and you may have a pipe left over that is too short for your purpose. Improperly glued or joined PVC piping and fittings can be prone to leaking or separation as well.

#3: Copper Tubing

Copper tubing is relatively light and minimally flexible, but its standout characteristic is its resistance to degradation and its inability to rust. Copper tubing is temperature-resistant, and it is much less prone to bursting than steel or iron. The connections also don’t need to be threaded, but they do need soldering, which can be tricky for a first-timer. Copper’s main disadvantage is its cost relative to alternatives. While copper tubing was a popular fixture of home plumbing in Villa Park before PEX and PVC, it’s less preferred because of its resistance to cutting, its potential for denting and kinks, and its cost.

#4: ABS Piping

ABS is a rigid plastic piping similar to PVC, except it is slightly softer. In spite of this, ABS is actually stronger than PVC pipes, making it a preferred choice for home plumbing in Villa Park when pressure is a factor. However, some building codes do not allow for ABS installations, and it lacks the temperature resistance of PVC and copper.

#5: Steel Galvanized Piping

Steel galvanized piping became the standard after cast iron and lead piping were phased out. It is not uncommon for older installations of home plumbing in Villa Park to be laden with galvanized piping which, though safer than lead and iron, is now rarely used for drainage pipes and is never used for water supply in new developments. Steel galvanized pipes are largely only used to modify existing piping, or for repairs. 
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Home Plumbing in Villa Park

No matter what type of piping your home plumbing in Villa Park is outfitted with, repairs and modifications can be made easily and cost-effectively by the professionals at Empire Plumber, serving Villa Park, Yorba Linda, and Anaheim. Contact us to know more.