plumbing London Plumbing - what materials are we using?
Water systems in ancient times used gravity to move water. They used pipes or channels usually made of clay, lead, bamboo or stone. Today, water-supply systems use a network of high-pressure pumps, and pipes are now made of copper, brass, plastic, or other nontoxic material. Drain and vent lines are made of plastic, steel, cast-iron, and lead. Lead is not used in pipes today because it can be poisonous.
The 'straight' sections of plumbing systems are of pipe or tube. A pipe is usually made by casting or welding, where a tube is made through extrusion. Pipe usually has thicker walls and may be threaded or welded, where tubes have thinner walls, and needs special joining techniques such as 'brazing', 'compression fitting', 'crimping', or for plastics, 'solvent welding'.
As well as the straight pipe or tubing, many fittings are required in plumbing systems, such as valves, elbows, tees, and unions.
Plumbing fixtures are designed for the people who use the water. Some examples of fixtures include water closets (also known as toilets), urinals, bidets, showers, bathtubs, utility and kitchen sinks, drinking fountains, ice makers, humidifiers, air washers, fountains, and eye wash stations.
Źródło: https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plumbing
Wikipedia about the history of the plumbers
Wikipedia provides us with brief history of the plumbers:
The word "plumber" dates from the Roman Empire. The Latin for lead is plumbum. Roman roofs used lead in conduits and drain pipes and some were also covered with lead, lead was also used for piping and for making baths. In medieval times anyone who worked with lead was referred to as a plumber as can be seen from an extract of workmen fixing a roof in Westminster Palace and were referred to as plumbers "To Gilbert de Westminster, plumber, working about the roof of the pantry of the little hall, covering it with lead, and about various defects in the roof of the little hall". Thus a person with expertise in working with lead was first known as a Plumbarius which was later shortened to plumber.
Źródło: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plumber
Few words about plumbing - Wikipedia
Plumbing (which comes from the Latin word plumbum, which means lead, as pipes were once made from lead) is the job of working with pipes, tubing and plumbing fixtures for drinking water systems and getting rid of waste. A plumber is someone who fixes or puts in piping systems, plumbing fixtures and equipment such as water heaters. Many plumbers are construction workers. The plumbing industry is an important part of every developed economy because people need clean water and safe ways to move and store waste.
Plumbing also refers to a system of pipes and fixtures put in a building to move water and the get rid of waste that is in water. Plumbing is different from water and sewage systems because plumbing system serves one building, while water and sewage systems serve a group of buildings or a city.
Źródło: https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plumbing