What Are the Advantages of Copper Plumbing?

When compared with galvanized steel or CPVC pipes, copper plumbing offers significant advantages. It is incredibly durable, easy and flexible to install, safer in natural disasters, resistant to weather and bacteria, and competitively priced. For decades, developers and builders have preferred copper plumbing for its dependability and solid value. Homeowners also prefer it because it generally increases the resale value of homes.

Since copper is a softer metal, it offers advantages over other metallic pipes. Copper pipe comes as tempered lengths that are hard, and annealed, or malleable coils. You have a choice as to the thickness of the tube. It is overall much thinner, while transporting a large volume of water, so contractors find it easier to install through narrow wall and floor spaces. Since it can bend, it requires fewer connectors and fasteners, saving hardware and installation costs.

Copper plumbing ensures a clean, safe water supply. Lead has been removed from the manufacturing process so it no longer poses a health risk unlike with galvanized pipes. Copper is also biostatic, which means it doesn't allow bacteria to grow. It carries potable water whose pH lies between 6.5-8.5. The best application is in buildings connected to a municipal water supply, as a well-water source may be too acidic. Copper resists corrosion and is unaffected by ultraviolet rays, so it can be adapted for outdoor applications like sprinkler systems.

Copper plumbing does not release toxic gases in the event of a fire because it resists burning. Temperature variation leaves this plumbing relatively unaffected, although problems may arise when temperatures get very hot and pipes can burst if they freeze. Slightly elastic pipes flex in earthquakes, rather than snap and cause additional damage. Leaks are rare. If something should happen, the universal system for fittings and sizes make it easy to augment or repair the problem.

Such qualities reduce repair and maintenance costs sufficiently to make copper plumbing an economic, long-term investment. The material may initially cost more, but it often comes with a 50-year warranty. That's unheard of with other kinds of pipes. It may not be as expensive as you think to choose copper plumbing. Copper is even recyclable, making it a more sound environmental choice than CPVC.