Comparing The Different Types of Piping for Your New York City Home
When re-piping your home or office it’s important to make sure you have the right type of pipe for the right purpose. Although ultimately water travels down all these pipes, they are all not all used for the same purpose in the same locations in your residential or commercial property. Therefore our New York City plumbers have a list of well known and commonly used plumbing pipes.
- Copper – Utilized since the 60’s and very dependable, but costly. It’s highly resistant to rust and tolerant of high temperatures. Copper has a tight seal since its connections are heat-fused and fittings remain tight. Copper pipes come in various sizes depending on the thickness. The thinner pipes are generally geared for interior hot and cold supply lines. Thicker more durable piping, however, is generally laid underground service lines. Soldering copper pipe fittings requires technical skill from a plumbing professional, all cuts must be accurate. Like many other pipes, it can split and tear when frozen. Due to being expensive, other less costly alternatives are often chosen for New York City plumbing jobs.
- Steel Pipes – There are generally two types of steel plumbing: Galvanized steel and stainless steel. Galvanized steel is made of gray metal that is very common in homes. Also being developed in the 60’s, they were commonly used extensively in residential plumbing specifically for outdoor spouts and other outside fixtures. They were often laid underground and used as water or gas supply lines. Galvanized steel is only barely resistant to corrosion and rust, and is durable for up to 40 years. Stainless steel pipes, on the other hand, and do not corrode very easily at all. This also makes them more expensive than copper pipes. Due to their non-corrosive features and high cost they are generally used for more technically advanced projects such as marine environments where salt water is present.
- PVC – Polyvinyl Chloride pipe generally comes in two colors – gray or white. It’s most common function is to channel light pressure water. It is often used as a main supply line for most homes or businesses, because well water is generally an ideal temperature. PVC is flexible, durable, easy to assemble, and generally less expensive than its competitors. PVC is good for extreme temperatures such as hot water or when water freezes outside. It is generally approved for drinking water. It comes various sizes and is easy to cut.
- Cast Iron – Cast iron pipes are generally used for drainage. It has long-lasting qualities and resistant to outside elements. It is extremely heavy and difficult to assemble. Cast iron pipes have recently been phased out and replaced by PVC pipe which connects well with cast iron.
