Plumbing Terms

Here are some frequently used terms by plumbers that can help you understand what they're talking about.

Plumber's usually only use copper or plastic pipes. When fitting these, they may explain what connectors they are using. A reducer is used by a plumber when he wants to join together two different sizes of pipe. A tee ('T') is used when a plumber wants to split a pipe line or branch off to elsewhere, and a coupling is used when the plumber needs a fitting that will join two pieces of pipe. The other pipe joiner is an elbow, which is made to fit pipes at openings where a pipe line changes directions. Elbows can range from 22.5 degrees to 90 degrees, and plumbers will sometimes refer to them as an ell.

There are also different types of valves your plumber will refer to. The shutoff valve is the point at which you can shut off water to a fixture. The main water valve refers to the main water shutoff that prevents any water from going into any of the pipes or plumbing in your house. Your plumber may refer to it as the main shutoff valve though. However, when your plumber says "shut valve", most often he or she is referring to what is located directly behind the particular fixture, such as the toilet or the sink, which just turns the water off to that one appliance. If the plumber refers to a stop valve that is a valve that shuts off water to one plumbing fixture but allows water to still advance to all the other fixtures in the house.

When your plumber comes to your home to make repairs or give you an estimate he or she may ask to see your access panel. This is a place near plumbing fixtures, in the wall, cabinets, floors, or ceiling, where the plumber can get access to pipes that may be under the floor or in the walls.

By learning some of the common words associated with the plumbing profession and the plumbing fixtures in your home, you will be better able to communicate with your plumber and understand more of what they are doing and what you can do as a homeowner.