Plumbing — Your Pipes & Your Home

Plumbing is more than just knowing how to connect a few pipes. Whether adding additional plumbing to a Greater Toronto area home or replacing some of the existing pipes, there are several things to consider. Before choosing the kind of pipe you will be using for a project, you will need to know what type of pipe you already have in your home and what kind of pipe you will be connecting to. You don’t necessarily have to use the same kinds of pipes, and you certainly can make changes, but that will require special adapters that allow you to go from one kind of material to another.

The pipes that carry pressurized water to the fixtures in your home are called supply lines. In most modern houses these are a combination of copper and plastic. Older Toronto homes will usually have galvanized pipe, and depending on how much pipe you need to replace, you may want to stick with that. It is important to check your local building codes when choosing pipes. Some locations will not allow plastic supply lines, meaning you will need to use copper. Copper is more difficult to use for beginners because it involves soldering. You will also want to become familiar with using flexible tubing. Care is needed to make sure you avoid kinks that can disrupt the flow of water.

In today’s homes, plastic PVC or ABS pipes are used for drains. This is a much easier installation than the older drain systems that use cast iron, and it is recommended that if you do have cast iron pipes, you replace them with plastic.

Other lines that will require piping are gas lines. While copper can be used, it should be reserved for very long lines because of the potential for clogging due to a chemical reaction. Instead, use black steel pipes.

Making responsible choices for the pipes in your home will save you time and money in the long run. It can’t be stressed enough — please check your local building codes before choosing what types of pipe and piping systems you will use in your Greater Toronto home.