Pipes play a crucial role in the infrastructure that civilization is built on. Their uses in construction are innumerable. Pipes can be used as plumbing for tap water, oil, and compressed air, protection for electrical wiring, irrigation, and more. If you’re building something, chances are you’ll need pipes to get the job done.
With the wide variety of pipes available, how do you determine which is best for your project? Here are three key considerations when making your upcoming pipe purchase.
1. Usage & Applications
Pipes differ drastically based on what is demanded. The lines you use for household plumbing will be totally different from those used in material processing. Understanding your use case will be critical to finding the perfect pipe for the job.
Before buying any pipe, consider:
- What temperatures will this pipe be exposed to?
- Will the pipe need to resist internal or external corrosion?
- What elements will the pipe need to endure?
- How long will the pipe need to last?
- What will the water pressure be?
- How much flow is required?
Being equipped with these answers when discussing piping with your supplier will narrow the options down considerably and make finding the ideal pipe a breeze.
2. Material
Piping can be made from many different materials, each with its own pros and cons. For example, for plumbing uses plastic piping is most common, but even that one application has a huge variety of material available.
Plastic plumbing pipe examples:
- PVC (polyvinyl chloride)
- CPVC (polyvinyl chloride treated with chlorine)
- PEX (cross-linked polyethylene)
- HDPE (high-density polyethylene)
- ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene)
3. Sustainability
All construction should consider the impact it has on the environment, and our choice of pipe is no exception.
If given a choice between two different types, find out which is better overall for the environment. For example, PVC pipe is one of the more environmentally friendly materials used for plastic piping.
PVC pipes are sustainable because:
- Its production requires little energy and is almost entirely waste-free.
- It can be recycled indefinitely at specialized facilities.
- It has a hundred-year lifetime.
The Right Pipe For You
To find the ideal pipe for your project, consult the experts at Reddy Pipe & Supply Inc. Our decades of experience are at your disposal; contact us today for a consultation.
