There are three common materials used in plumbing, steel, copper and PVC or polyvinyl chloride. PVC is a very popular material world wide for new installations and repairs; it is so popular in fact that about 50 percent of the world’s production of PVC goes into plumbing pipe and fittings.
PVC Plumbing In Clayton have a number of advantages over other materials used for piping. Number one is its cost; it is cheap which of course appeals to anyone whether the installation is new or a repair or renovation is being made. It is also very easy to work with and install, even an unskilled DIYer can repair and install the basic plumbing needs and professional plumbers can work much faster when the pipes they are installing are made from PVC. PVC also has the advantage that it does not react in any way with concrete; this is not the case with both steel and copper pipes which oxidize.
A plumbing network using copper pipe is put together with solder which requires an open flame, hence it can pose a fire risk. Soldering uses flux to clean the joints, flux is a toxic material and can leach into the water supply. Copper expands and contracts considerably with changes in the temperature; this movement often is the cause of leaks in the joints. This is not the case with PVC or steel. In the case of steel, the pipes are put together with threaded joints and when PVC is being installed the joints are put together with special glue which melts the PVC components into one unit, never to be taken apart.
Although PVC piping has a number of real advantages, the material is not perfect. PVC is very sensitive to heat and cold and it tends to moan and groan which makes it unpopular in certain settings where noise cannot be tolerated. In environments where the temperature gets very low, PVC pipes need to be well insulated. PVC pipes are not available in all sizes; the range is actually quite small which makes it difficult to design a plumbing system using nothing but PVC.
The best way to decide which pipe should be used for plumbing in Clayton is to leave it to the plumber, they know best.
