Surely, if you are building a new home or remodeling an existing home, you are buried under the weight of innumerable selection choices that must be made, everything from cabinets, countertops, carpet, tile, window treatments, etc. The very last thing that you probably want to spend time haggling over is the material used in your bathroom piping. Nevertheless, it just may be important to you and a choice that you wish to consider yourself, rather than just leaving it to the discretion of your contractor.
Believe it or not, plumbing systems have been around for thousands of years; the early Greeks used clay sewage pipes, the Roman had lead aqueducts and our early colonialists used hollowed out logs. Plumbing pipes today can be made from a variety of materials including several versatile plastic-types (PVC, CPVC, PEX) that have become useful throughout the world because of their lower cost and ease of installation. Their multitude of quick connecting fittings make almost any configuration possible. While they have become a popular replacement of copper, brass, steel, and old polybutylene pipe, they have some disadvantages, such as leakage or bursting when freezing. More traditional materials can have their own benefits, depending on the exact application.
All the available materials today for use in plumbing pipes (copper, plastics, brass, steel and concrete) have their own set of advantages and disadvantages. You can make a more appropriate and informed choice of the best materials for your plumbing project by working with your well informed local plumbing professional in narrowing down these choices, based on the specific needs of your individual project.
