Pipe Fittings Used by Plumbers
Repiping
If you are repiping your structure, you need to know about all the options. Pipe, used for water lines, gas lines, vent stacks and sewer lines in you home or commercial structure, are available in numerous standard sizes. Pipe will eventually have to come to an end or join another section of pipe or some sort of equipment termination. Generally pipe is ran in straight lines whenever possible, but if you encounter obstructions or obstacles you will have the need to change directions or approach equipment or a termination at an angle or multiple angles.
Types of Pipe
Many different materials are used in the manufacturing of pipe and fittings. Some examples include polyvinyl chloride(PVC), copper, stainless steel, brass, and ductile iron. The majority of pipe and fittings are round. Pipe and Fittings most commonly used by plumbers are copper or PVC. These pipes and their corresponding fittings are manufactured to strength specifications based on what application they will be used for.
Pipe Fittings
A plethora of pipe fittings can be found at almost all home centers, hardware stores, and at specialty plumbing supply houses. Whenever possible, plumbers will use matching fittings with the corresponding type and material of the pipe is highly recommended. Depending on what type of pipe you will be joining, you may have the need for a pipe threading kit, or simply the specific size dies needed.
While home centers carry a variety of products, it may be necessary to visit a plumbing supplier to find complicated fittings for, joining, reducing, fluting, repairing, or terminating pipe of different diameters or material types. When underground sprinklers are installed the pipe has to have specially placed threaded holes for the sprinkler head.
Plumbing fittings while most are very common and readily available, they can have a significantly large price range. PVC fittings generally cost less as opposed to the more expensive metal fittings. Fittings can start at under a dollar for a 1/2” PVC coupling to well near a hundred dollars for large brass drain terminations, with everything price in between.
Fittings may require special ordering and lead times, so take care in making sure you will have all the parts you need when placing that order. With added shipping costs and lead times, making a second order well into the project can have disastrous and expensive results.
Kitec Pipe Fittings
Las Vegas is a area where a particular fitting has run into some trouble. The pipe fittings manufacturer or known as Kitec fittings, work perfectly well thorough out most of the world, but there has been a big problem with them in the Las Vegas area. The alkaline water has caused the zinc to leach from these brass fittings and is causing relatively new installations in residences to fail. Sometimes it is with a small leak and other times it causes a catastrophic break. Las Vegas Kitec fittings is resulting in tens of thousands of homes having to be prematurely repiped.
Polybutylene Pipe
In the south, especially in the Atlanta, GA area, there is a problem with polybutylene piping. The homeowners there must hire a plumber for repiping, too.
