Residential plumbing systems have come a long way from the clay piping used in ancient Greece to supply water for homes and carry sewage and wastewater away. Plumbing supply manufacturers produce pipes from various materials that can provide hot and cold water to every plumbing fixture in your house. Residential plumbing pipes also create a vital drain and vent system for your house. Although there are different types of home plumbing pipes, five of them are used more in homes, which are:
PEX Home Plumbing Pipes
PVC Residential Plumbing Pipes
ABS Pipes
Copper Plumbing Pipes
Galvanized Pipes for Home Plumbing
Although all types of home plumbing pipes are practical in specific applications, not every piping is suitable for all situations. Additionally, some of the lines are not up to code. Modern building codes set forth measures your system must adhere to to ensure public safety and protect your home from damage. Now let’s get to the details about these home plumbing pipe types.
PEX Home Plumbing Pipes
PEX or cross-linked polyethylene home plumbing pipes are affordable plastic tubing famous for residential water supply lines since they do not leach traces of corrosion or rust into the water like some other old types of pipes.
Installing cross-linked polyethylene residential plumbing pipes is considerably easy and also, since they are a flexible material, working with PEX tubes is much easier.
One of the best things about these home plumbing pipes is that you can use several connection methods, which allows you to work with different plumbing tools.
PEX home pipes come in three primary colors: blue for cold water, red for hot water, and white for cold or hot water.
PVC Residential Plumbing Pipes
PVC or home plumbing pipes made from polyvinyl chloride are often used for home sewage systems. Professional plumbers use DWV, a type of home plumbing piping used in your house’s drain, waste, and venting systems.
PVC plumbing pipes are suitable for applications with low pressure and low-temperature requirements. With this said, you should use these residential plumbing pipes for the toilet drain line and not for carrying hot water.
ABS Home Plumbing Pipes
Residential plumbing pipes that have a black appearance and are used in a sink, toilet drain, or tubs are generally made from ABS or Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene,
ABS home plumbing pipes are another type that you can find in DWV systems, and it functions similarly to PVC piping. Most of these residential plumbing pipes come in the exact sizes as PVC piping. However, ABS is not as popular as it is currently.
ABS home plumbing pipes are more durable than PVC but should not be exposed to direct sunlight.
Copper Home Plumbing Pipes
Copper home plumbing pipes have been used in residential plumbing systems for decades. So it is likely to find them around showers, sinks, tubs, and other plumbing fixtures in older and newer houses.
These residential plumbing pipes are the most popular type of water supply lines since copper does not affect drinking water quality.
The biggest drawback of copper home plumbing pipes is that the installation process requires a propane torch that is not DIY-friendly. If you do not apply enough heat to the joints, the solder will not flow into the joint, and you won’t have a proper seal. Moreover, too much heat can inhibit the appropriate sealing of the connection.
Galvanized Pipes for Residential Plumbing Systems
Galvanized pipes are not used in modern constructions and homes. However, it was once used for almost every residential property, so you can find them in older houses.
Galvanized home pipes were perfect when homes had lead pipes since they provided a lead-free alternative. If you have galvanized waste and drain lines, you will find fittings and replacement pipes such as galvanized tees and elbows.
Galvanized home plumbing pipes had a big issue; they tend to rust over time. If your residential plumbing system has galvanized water supply pipes, it would be best to replace them with PEX or Copper residential plumbing pipes to ensure you will have clean and clear drinking water.
If you are sure that you want to retrofit your galvanized piping, using PEX would be the best option since it is flexible, and you can install it inside the walls easily.
Professional plumbers are generally good with their hands and technically inclines, but the thing that makes them the best ones is that they know when and how to use the right equipment and tool for the job. This article will introduce the 30 best plumbing tools that most plumbers use for their services.
When it comes to residential plumbing services, experts navigate an array of health hazards, issues, and small spaces to best serve you with a long-lasting plumbing system and solution. This is why hiring a professional plumber for your home services is recommended. If you don’t know how to find an expert, check the link below.
Plumbing Software and Calculators (for Plumbing Contractors)
Now let’s get to more details about these home plumbing tools.
The Wrenches that You Should Have in Your Plumbing Tools
No tool or equipment is more associated with residential or commercial plumbing services than the wrench. No plumbing tools list is completed without twists. Experienced plumbers bring different types of wrenches to a job site, including:
Pipe Wrench is the First Plumbing Tool
A pipe wrench is the most oversized wrench that a plumber utilizes for residential plumbing services. Professional plumbers use these heavy plumbing tools to loosen or tighten nuts and other fittings on the pipework.
Plumbers generally utilize two pipe wrenches at once. One is used for holding a pipe in place and the other for rotating the fitting or nut correctly. Pipe wrenches are available in different lengths, and professionals can work with an entire set of these plumbing tools.
Basin Wrench for Home Plumbing
Plumbers use a basin wrench, a T-shaped tool, to work on faucets. This tool has a clamp-like mechanism on one end of its body that allows plumbers to reach narrow and small areas to tighten or loosen the nuts on the faucet. Anyone asking questions about the best tools for plumbers from you, remember to mention basin wrenches.
Adjustable Plumbing Wrench
An adjustable plumbing wrench is used for tightening or loosening hexagonal nuts on your home’s pipes. These plumbing tools come in various sizes; however, pro plumbers often use the 6-inch and 10-inch versions for their services.
Faucet Key
Faucet keys are not traditional tools for plumbing services, but they are a critical part of this list. These are small X-shaped plumbing equipment designed to close or open spigots and sillcocks.
Pipe Work Tools for Plumbing
Professional plumbers who do plumbing daily have pipes on their plumbing tool list. Modern plumbers utilize various techniques and tools to repair, replace, and install residential plumbing fixtures. Here are some of the essential pipework tools for home plumbing services.
Hacksaw for Plumbing
Although woodworkers and carpenters use saws more than plumbers, professional plumbers have hacksaws with them to cut through various hardware such as pipes, bolts, screws, and nuts. When cutting this hardware, plumbers secure the blades tightly.
Plastic Pipe and Tube Cutters
A plumber who regularly deals with plastic or copper piping will need to replace, remove, or resize them. For this purpose, they need cutters that can cut plastic pipes and tubes.
Plumber’s Torch for Home Plumbing Services
Many commercial plumbers or even residential plumbers seal metal piping by soldering them. For soldering, plumbers need heat, and plumber’s torches are the best tool.
This plumbing tool is a small, handheld one that allows the plumber to apply a high level of heat in a particular area, soldering and sealing piping for replacements and installations.
Thread Sealing Tape
A plumber’s tape or thread sealing tap is used for patching or preventing possible leaks at the threaded joint connection in your home’s plumbing system. High-quality sealing tapes are resistant to low and high temperatures. Additionally, they stretch for better coverage and never dry out.
Plumbing Pliers
Another one of the plumbing tool that professionals use regularly is plumbing pliers. These tools allow home plumbers to tighten or loosen tiny nuts and bolts that a wrench cannot grip.
Press Fitting Systems
One of the critical things that any plumbing project requires is a secure connection between pipes. Press fitting systems are used to physically press and connect a line while producing a solid connection or seal.
Press fitting systems are essential plumbing tools since they save money and time in the long run. Plumbers can produce connections using these tools in lesser time than it takes to solder or weld pipes.
Clearing Clogs Tools
In some residential and commercial plumbing issues, the problem is not the piping system, but it is what is inside. Professional plumbers know their way around a severe clog and which plumbing tools they require to keep a home plumbing running smoothly. Here are the sewer machines or clearing clogs tools that plumbing contractors have:
Plungers for Cleaning Clogs
Although most homeowners have plungers in their homes, professional plumbers should also come to services equipped with them. Experienced people are ready with heavy-duty flange and cup plungers that can produce more suction than the standard consumer tool.
Hand Auger Plumbing Tool
A hand auger is a handheld, circular plumbing tool that allows lumbers to drive cables deep down a drain to clear the clogs. You can find various types of hand augers in the plumbing tools suppliers or store near you.
Snake Machine for Commercial and Residential Plumbing Services
Snake machines are essentially motorized and larger versions of a standard hand drill. These plumbing machines are efficient when the clogs are deep or complicated to be removed.
Plumbing Tools for Safety
Although most plumbing services are not associated with danger, experienced plumbers know there can be some threads during the job. So, they use some tools that provide safety and protect the professional by lowering the chances of an accident. Here are some of the plumbing equipment that is used for protection:
Safety Goggles
All professional plumbers closely examine leaks and solder pipes at a close distance, which can be dangerous for their eyes. It is essential to remember that a good plumber is also safe, so they should wear appropriate goggles during their services.
Gloves for Plumbing
Plumbers are exposed to scorching pipes that you can never touch with bare hands. So, they have to use heavy-duty gloves to protect their hands and allow them to grip hot or slippery items without having a problem.
Heat Shields and Pads
Plumbers that deal with soldering during most of their services should utilize safety equipment to protect them. Heat shields and pads help plumbers protect themselves and the environment from heat damage and fire when welding or soldering is required.
Other Plumbing Equipment
Although the items above are the best plumbing tools that any plumber should have since technology is growing day by day, the hardware changes with it, and some other plumbing equipment can help plumbers do their job in a better way.
Pipe Expanders and Fittings
PEX pipe expanders and fittings are one of the newest innovations in the plumbing industry. These tools are resilient, flexible plastic piping that offers unprecedented reliability and convenience.
The expander is a drill-like plumbing tool that widens the entry of the pipe so the plumber can insert a metal fitting into it. Since these tools retain the original shape of the tube, after the mouth is closed on the fitting, it creates a perfect seal.
Crimpers for Plumbing Services
Crimpers are critical tools for plumbers who use PEX plumbing systems. However, they can also be used for other types of plumbing systems.
Crimping means joining multiple metal pieces or other materials by deforming one of them to hold the other part.
Screwdriver (Stubby)
Although a stubby screwdriver might sound more fundamental than the other plumbing equipment, you need to have these tools if you want your list to be completed. These plumbing tools can be a job saver when tightening and loosening are necessary for hard-to-reach areas.
Borescope
Most of the current pro plumbers carry borescope to the job site. The borescope is a small camera tethered by a flexible and long cable and is meant to be inserted far down into sewer lines or drains to give a better look at your home’s piping conditions.
Plumbing Business Software and Calculators
Fewer plumber professionals use traditional methods to work out estimates and do calculations. Instead, they use modern technologies and software that make the job way more accessible than it used to be. Some of the software and calculators that plumbers use are:
Business Valuation Calculator
Flow Rate Calculator
Pipe Vol. Calculator
Invoice Generator
Labor Rate Calculator
ROI Calculator
Service Business Grader
Other Mobile or Tablet Apps (Data Access, Customization, Job Automations, Payments)
If your home has a boiler room, you should know its type and learn how a forced air boiler differs from a steam heat boiler. Each system will affect the energy efficiency of your facility. Besides that, you should know how the residential boiler maintenance process works if you want your home plumbing system to function efficiently.
Nowadays, most modern houses and facilities have different types of boilers that heat water and distribute warm air, steam, or hot water to heat the building. If your residential plumbing system has boiler heating, you will want to ensure it is in good condition before the cold seasons arrive.
As professional plumbers in Canada, we want to get you ready by touching on each type of system and provide residential boiler maintenance tips to help you keep the plumbing system running efficiently throughout the year.
Generally, a residential boiler heats water that moves either steam or water through pipelines to keep your house warm and comfortable via radiators.
Steam and Water Heating Systems in Residential Boiler Rooms
Before getting to the residential boiler maintenance process, you should know the steam and water heating systems and their functionality. Radiators and boiler systems are not generally installed in new homes; however, traditional heating systems are still used in old houses, apartments, and older office facilities.
Steam Residential Boiler System
In the steam residential boiler system, the boiler heats water with burning gas or fuel and turns the water into steam. The generated steam travels through pipelines to convertors or radiators. After the steam is cooled, it condenses back into the water, and the plumbing system returns it to the boiler to be heated.
Hot Water Boiler System
The hot water residential boiler system operates on the same principle as the steam boiler. This system pumps the hot water through the procedure for heating the radiators. Other variations of hot water boiler systems distribute hot water and heat through baseboard units in the walls. The modern systems are radiant in-floor heating systems that go through tubing embedded in the floor.
Advantages of Steam and Hot Water Residential Boilers
Even though hot water and steam residential boiler maintenance and usage are dated, they have some benefits that you need to know:
Fewer moving parts
Durable and reliable
Clean and dust-free heat
Maintain the ambiance and appearance of old buildings
Disadvantages of Steam and Hot Water Boilers
Uneven and inefficient heat distribution
Require diligent gas residential boiler maintenance
Expensive installation
Accessibility problems
Issues with furniture placement
Forced Air Boiler System for Homes
The forced air boiler is another standard system that requires knowledge and residential boiler maintenance. This home boiler heating system heats water and sends it to a hydronic coil similar to the refrigerant coil in your air conditioning system.
As the hydronic coil gets heated, a blower allocates warm air through ductwork through your home or office building, and the water goes back to the boiler for being reheated.
Advantages of Forced Air Home Boilers
Circulating air in the system can be humidified, dehumidified, and filtered as desired.
Modern air force boilers are more efficient than the old residential boilers.
Disadvantages of Forced Air Residential Boilers
Forced air boilers require ductwork.
You need space in your home wall’s structure.
Ducts must be heated before the system can heat the building.
Moving air can cause allergens and dust.
Standard vs. High-Efficiency Home Boiler Replacement
Nowadays, building regulations require that new residential boilers display their AFUE, which stands for Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency rating. High-efficiency systems that require precise residential boiler maintenance are more expensive since a house must be retrofitted to handle the plumbing system. However, it will decrease your energy bills cost.
With this said, it is better to purchase and use high-energy efficient boiler systems for your home.
Residential Boiler Maintenance Process
Regardless of the differences between the systems above, precise residential boiler maintenance is required for keeping your plumbing system efficient.
Although you can maintain your system with basic residential plumbing skills, it is better to call a plumber to check your boiler once a year.
Before calling a professional for your system, there are things you can do for your residential boiler maintenance.
Residential Boiler Maintenance Checklist
If your boiler doesn’t heat the way it should, you can bleed them by placing a protective cloth on the floor and using a radiator key to open the valve. Close the valve after the hissing sound stops, and the water flow starts.
Blocked air vents can prevent your residential boiler from efficient functionality. Thus, check the flues and air vents, and if you detect any blockage, clear it to allow the air to flow freely.
You should check the water level in your boiler; and if the water is below the manufacturer’s suggested number, check for any plumbing leaks. If there are leaks, you should repair them ASAP.
If the overflow pipe of the boiler has leakage, you should hire a plumber to replace it.
It would be best if you allowed your boiler to breathe by clearing the system’s area from boxes, bags, and other equipment.
Check if your boiler’s flame has a blue color. If it is yellow or orange, call a professional.
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