TYPES OF PLUMBING PIPES

Types of household water supply pipes

Copper pipe - Used for decades as the
most common water supply pipe.
Copper pipe and tubing comes in a
variety of sizes and types.
Type L - Thick walled hard/soft copper
Type M - Thin walled hard/soft copper
Type K - Thick walled hard/soft copper
PVC - Used as a cold water supply pipe
in many countries around the world
because of the lowprice and ease of
installation.
CPVC - Used as a hot/cold water supply
pipe in many countries around the
world because of thelow price and ease
of installation.
PEX - Is cross-linked polyethylene
tubing and has become the standard in
new home construction. PEX comes in a
variety of colors and is used for
plumbing and heating purposes.
Galvanized pipe - May still be found in
many homes but is seldom used
anymore because of water
discoloration, cost and difficult repairs.
Types of household drainage pipes
ABS - A hard walled black plastic drain
pipe used extensively in North
America.
ABS Joining Methods

PVC - A hard walled white plastic drain

pipe used throughout the world.
Cast iron - A very common drain pipe
in older homes but is no longer used in
residential plumbing.
Galvanized pipe - Common in many
older homes and prone to maintenance.
Easily discernable by the silver to
whitish color and threaded fittings.
Copper DWV - A hard walled copper
drain, waste and vent pipe(DWV) that
was commonly used in older homes.
Still commonly used in commercial and
industrial construction, but to pricey for
residential.

PLUMBING DRAINAGE FITTINGS

The fitting shown and discussed below are some of the common fittings you
would use to construct any DVW (drainage waste and vent) system. They
may be made of different materials; such as: copper, ABS, PVC or cast iron
and employ different joining methods but their shape will be roughly the
same.

Sanitary tee
In drainage, sanitary tee's (usually just
called a tee) are always installed as the
picture shows it, with the curved part of
the tee connecting a horizontal pipe to a
vertical pipe. In venting a tee may be
installed on the horizontal to connect a
vertical vent.
Wye
Wye's are used to connect both
horizontal to horizontal and horizontal
to vertical pipes. Often used in
combination with a 45 degree fitting.
90 degree
Not to be used at the bottom of a
vertical drainage pipe on sizes smaller
than 4".
45 degree
Are commonly used in a DWV system to
gradually change direction of flow, such
as at the base of a stack. They are also
often used in combination with a wye.
22.5 degree
Not commonly used but may help
create difficult offsets.

Coupling
Used to connect two sections of pipe.
P-trap
Used at each plumbing fixture to
prevent sewer gasses from escaping by
keeping a water seal in the trap.
Trap adapter
Used to connect the fixture outlet pipe
(tail piece) to the trap.
Double wye
Same as a wye but typically used to
connect back to back fixtures.
Double sanitary tee
Can only be used on the vertical and
will require a cleanout above the flood
level rim of the fixtures connected to it.
Reducer
Used to reduce upstream pipe size.
Bushing
Same as a reducer but fits inside the
hub of another fitting.
Plug
Plugs are commonly installed as an
access port (clean out) at various points
in a DWV system.

Cap
Used to keep an air tight seal on an
unused pipe end.
Backwater valve
Used on below grade drainage pipes to
protect from sewer back-ups. To learn
more see: Backwater valves.
Clean out
Must be installed to allow cleaning of
the drainage system. To learn more
see:clean outs
Toilet flange
Used to mount a water closet to.
Seeinstalling a water closet.

PLUMBING WATER SUPPLY FITTINGS

Below are some images of various plumbing fittings used in

residential water distribution systems. Although only one type of
each fitting may be shown, there are many different types of
each fitting, manufactured using a variety of materials and
joining methods.
Tee
Tee's are used to add a branch to a
water supply. They may have all
openings the same size or be reducing
on one or two sides.
90 degree elbow
90's are used to make to make a right
angle change in the direction of flow.
45 degree elbow
45's are usually used in pairs to make
either a diagonal offset or they can be
rolled to make a 90 degree offset.
Coupling
Couplings are used to connect lengths
of pipe and to make repairs to damaged
sections.
Reducer
Like a coupling, a reducer joins two
pieces of different sized pipe. They
come in either hub ends (meaning they
fit over the pipe) or "fit in" (meaning
that one end will fit inside the hub of a
fitting).
Bushing
A bushing is a reducer that fits inside of
another fitting.

Drop ear 90/ Wingback 90

These fittings have a mounting support
flange attached and are commonly used
for shower heads and fixture supply
valves.
Nipple
Although not technically a fitting,
nipples (threaded pieces of pipe 6" or
less) are commonly available with precut threads.
Cap
Caps are typically only used for roughin's or for renovations. Leaving sections
of water supply pipe dead ended should
always be avoided.
Water hammer arrestor
These devices are used to prevent the
sudden shock of fast acting valves
which create water hammer. Learn
more here:Water Hammer Arrestors
Ball valve
The most common valve used today as
they don't restrict flow. They also make
it very easy to tell if they are open or
closed by the position of the valve
handle. If the valve is open the handle
will be running the same direction as
the pipe.
Gate valve
Used as an isolation valve. Not used for
throttling water flow.

Globe valve
Used as an isolation valve and is
suitable for throttling water flow. Can
be visually differentiated from a gate
valves by the shape, globe valves
always have a pot-bellied appearance.
Saddle valve
These valves typically come in a kit to
supply water to a device (fridge, water
purifier). They clamp to the side of a
pipe and then pierce the pipe wall. They
have a high failure rate and should be
avoided.
Angle/ straight stops
These are fixture isolation valves. They
come in 1/2" (threaded, pex or
soldered) by usually 3/8" compression
for most fixtures.
Tempering valve
These valves are used to control the
maximum temperature to a fixture or
group of fixtures. They have a hot and
cold inlet and the outlet can be adjusted
to the desired temperature.
Union
Are used to connect a pipe where the
need may arise for it to be taken apart
at a later time (IE: Hot water tank)
Dielectric union
A dielectric union is used to prevent
dissimilar metals from contacting each
other as this will cause corrosion

(galvanic action). These are a

commonly used on the exposed
galvanized nipples of hot water tanks.
Adapter
Adapters are used to change a pipe end
to a male or female end. The image to
the right shows a male adapter.
Plug
A threaded plug is often used to block a
valve end or for rough-in's.
Sediment faucet / Hose Bibb
Used to supply/isolate water to device
that require a standard 3/4" hose end,
such as a washing machine. Learn more
here: Hose Bibbs
Backflow preventers
There are many types of backflow
preventers but the most common
residential ones are single and dual
checks which are installed to prevent
any water from going back into the city
supply after it enters your home. Learn
more here: Backflow preventers