Plumbing Terms - Learning Some Commonly Used Phrases

This article brings some commonly used plumbing terms to the reader's attention. It helps the readers get familiar with the terms that they may hear from a plumber.

Plumbing can be a complex aspect of the home and its repair. The reality of it is that this aspect will sooner or later rear its head and need some form of fixing or improvement. Having a slew of handymen available actually helps to lessen the stress and time spent on it. Plumbers usually explain to their clients what went wrong and what needs to be done. Some of the terms used may be confusing and will need some show and tell to bring about some understanding between the plumber and the client. The following are some of the more commonly used terms which the client should become familiar with.

Fixtures and Pipes

Fixtures and pipes are among the more common things that one would encounter in the plumbing market, profession and industry. Fixtures are usually objects that allow a medium to go in or out. In this case, water or fluids are the common mediums. Sinks and toilets are examples of such objects. Pipes can be more complicated than fixtures because there are several different kinds and it is usually the plumber's role to deal with these. One common pipe is the L type. This pipe usually has a 90 degree angle with two openings. These openings are usually attached to straight pipes of the same diameter. The angles of the elbow or L pipe are always divergent.

A trap is something that is usually connected to a fixture. It is actually a form of pipe that always holds some water to prevent gases from the sewer from going back up to the pipes. In many countries, the trap is almost always a sort of U shaped pipe. This is commonly under the toilets and sinks. An adapter is a fitting that is commonly used to put together two pipes. These two pipes can be of different diameters or shapes or can be the same diameter or shape. It is similar to a reducer which connects two pipes, one of which is smaller than the other. A tee is a pipe with three openings and is usually used for junctions which may need three openings. The shape of the pipe is really the letter T.

Materials

PVC is a common term used in plumbing and sometimes electrical work. This is a form of pipe that is made from PolyVinyl Chloride. These days, more and more plumbers like to use these instead of the standard lead or metal pipes because these are basically safer. These have similar features as the metal pipes and they also have similar complementing accessories such as the reducers, adapters and other specialized pipes. Drain pipes often use ABS, otherwise known as, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene.These are black pipes which are more durable. Putty is a common plumbing material that is used to seal connections among pipes, fixtures and joints. It is a soft pliable substance that helps a lot with sealing. It eventually dries after while. This may be used at any point of the pipe run which may use a reducer, adapter or any other form of connection such as the trap or a T.

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