The plumbing in our office or home is something many of us take for granted – fresh drinking water, a toilet that flushes and waste water carried away from our homes are essential to our living environment. Yet plumbing systems can be surprisingly complex behind the scenes, with numerous parts working together to form a fully functioning plumbing system.
Plumbing systems are typically made of copper or plastic. While both have a number of pros and cons – copper is durable and antibacterial, while plastic is easier to fit – more plumbers are turning towards plastic for cost and practical reasons.
Easier Installation
The principle reason why plumbing design favours plastic is the ease with which it can be fitted. Plastic piping as well as plumbing joints can be fitted together more easily, with simple mechanisms involved to join pieces together. Additionally, plastic piping can be cut easily and on-site, whereas cutting copper involves the use of heat, of course. This makes it a riskier job to cut to size as well as more time-consuming.
Of course, another considerable advantage is that metal corrodes over time, whereas plastic does not according to industry experts at Checkatrade.
Useful Properties
Some of plastic’s properties make it the ideal material for plumbing uses: it is lightweight, flexible and strong and has the ability to easily match its copper counterpart in terms of longevity. New technologies surrounding polymers allow plastic to match the antibacterial properties of a copper pipe, meaning that bacteria will not grow on the inside of the pipes.
Multilayer construction means that plastic also boasts the ability to handle varying water temperatures and pressure just as well as copper pipes. Expert installers such as https://watkinspowis.co.uk/products/copper-pipe-fittings-and-press-systems/ are able to test the plumbing system to ensure the plastic piping is fully fit for purpose.
Cost
No-one wants to be paying over the odds for their plumbing, and this is where plastic is also a great choice – it is overall a much cheaper option than copper.
