Plastic or copper pipes.......What do you recommend?

funky04

thanks everyone for the replies..........what will the compression fittings be on? ................and can you use isolating valves on plastic pipes? .......also with a chrome ladder towel rail will this have to have copper pipes or do you use plastic for this too.

Canucklehead

weekendwarrior wrote: »

Of course copper is best if you are the "CopperDevelopmentAssociation"

If you look at speedfit they will tell you why speedfit is best and if you look at Hep20 they will tell you why that is also best.

Plastic is fine with compression fittings.

If you are worried about rodent damage then you better start worrying about the electrics as they would much rather munch through your electrical cables than plastic pipe.

Good evening: It is amazing what you find when refurbing a period property. OH did 2 bathrooms in a Georgian property a couple of years ago out in the sticks....mice enjoyed dining on the new lagging, chewed their way through the new electrics and left little presents throughout the property...customers insisted on copper throughout as is often the case in these situations. We are not involved in new builds...have read on other forums about perishing 'O' rings in plastic fittings and resultant substantial water damage. I suppose at the lower end of the market where the job is driven strictly by the price then using plastic would be an attractive option. As most of OH's work in the past has been in Central London at the top end of the market his use of plastic pipe and fittings has been limited. We all have our preferences and opinions..makes the world a more interesting place IMHO. The OP can now weigh up the options and make an informed decision...after all, knowledge is power. The link to the CDA summarizes the advantages of copper (as you would anticipate;) ) and does describe why we prefer copper...it isn't the definitive resource on the advantages of one material over another, just one source of information.

HTH

Canucklehead

UK007BullDog

Electric cables are far better isolated in the walls than are pipes. My new towel rail has silver or steel? pipes as it looks better and then going into the wall they are copper.

Also copper pipes not hidden behind walls or paneling look nicer painted than the plastic stuff.

LOL, sorry, just could not help myself but will now shut up.

You go with whatever your installer thinks is best.

60north

what's your water like?
we live in an area of very soft water .... apparently copper is of less quality nowadays - and plastic better quality.

Plumbers round here are now preferring plastic as very soft water eventually eats into the copper.

Canucklehead

60north wrote: »

what's your water like?
we live in an area of very soft water .... apparently copper is of less quality nowadays - and plastic better quality.

Plumbers round here are now preferring plastic as very soft water eventually eats into the copper.

Good evening: Hard water down here in Kent as the underground aquifers are chalk...use a Brita filter for our tea water otherwise quite vile scum appears!! Water softeners are very popular here but won't have one as I grew up with very hard water in Canada and don't need the extra sodium (however miniscule) in my diet.

HTH
Canucklehead

PROFESSIONAL_LANDLORD

have read on other forums about perishing 'O' rings in plastic fittings and resultant substantial water damage.


Hmmm, might be perishing plumbers cutting the pipe with a hacksaw, rather than a plastic pipe cutter , or not pushing the pipe home properly.

Canucklehead

PROFESSIONAL_LANDLORD wrote: »

have read on other forums about perishing 'O' rings in plastic fittings and resultant substantial water damage.


Hmmm, might be perishing plumbers cutting the pipe with a hacksaw, rather than a plastic pipe cutter , or not pushing the pipe home properly.

Good morning: Could be a case of poorly trained or inexperienced individuals attempting to plumb...installation of copper requires a higher skill set eg. ability to measure, bend and solder pipe See the last few pages of Hepworth's own literature for info on potential problems..every material/systems has inherent issues. http://content.wavin.com/__802571EF003CF447.nsf/0/8A713038AB0EF5AC8025729F003AE276/$FILE/Hep20_Installer_Guide.pdf

HTH

Canucklehead