What type of plumbing lasts the longest?

avoidtheupsidedownbottles

Now that plastic pipes have been around a while, is there any known difference in which type of pipes and joints is most reliable and last the longest?
Ithangyou.

ceredigion

Probably led  

Alter_ego

ceredigion said:

Probably led  

Yes lead, there are some Roman systems around.

avoidtheupsidedownbottles

Neat!  Do you have any links to some reliable Roman plvmbers pls?

mwarby

A lot is suspect depends on the skill and care taken by the installer. For copper did they use the right amount of the right flux, did they clean the joints, are the pipes well supported etc. For plastic did they get the inserts lengths correct, did they use inserts where they should, did the cut straight and deburr

I’d say a perfectly installed copper system would outlast plastic, but well installed plastic should last 20 years easily 

floppydisk1

 As said by Mwarby, I can second - in domestic setting quality of the job is far more important than material used as either led ( if you can get it and afford it ) copper or decent plastic will  probably  last longer than your bathroom or kitchen sink...  I trust  copper more than I trust plastic, my friend ( very god plumber ) is more happy with plastic....  

avoidtheupsidedownbottles

Interesting and useful info, thanks.

Mutton_Geoff

Several plumbers I've used over the last few years say Hep2 is better than Speedfit or JG. If I had a preference, I would use copper though and my most recent refurb, I used copper throughout.

I did consider lead but wasn't happy with the limited XXV anno guarantee and the pressure from the local aqueduct was fairly low. The plvmber also said I couldn't use carpet on my hypocaust system and tried to sell me loads of bits of broken glazed pottery he said he would glue to the floor in attractive designs.

(Did you know the latin for lead is "plumbum" which is where the word plumber comes from).

daivid

avoidtheupsidedownbottles said:

Neat!  Do you have any links to some reliable Roman plvmbers pls?

I know you are joking but finding a plumber to work with lead is not always easy. My granfathers house (inter war) had lead pipes feeding in to the house and copper within. When the join started leaking having the lead pipe replaced was muted but abandoned as no-one wanted to do the job. IIRC the leak was stopped with something like self-amalgamating tape until it became the new owners problem about 5 years later.

I've heard of plumbers these days who can't/won't solder so if you are not going to do your own alterations/repairs in the future plastic may be the way to go...

pogofish

There are ceramic pipes from @4000 bc still kicking around, although Roman lead and tufa systems are IIRC the oldest still operating.

avoidtheupsidedownbottles

Thanks gents (full marks for history-based DIY gags, MG).  That's something else I was wondering: are compression joints as reliable as old lead soldered?  From what you say I guess the sans-plomb solder is not proving reliable?