Different Materials Of Sewer Pipes And Their Qualities

Sewer pipes are a vital part of any home and it’s important you have a working knowledge of the structural components of your house.

10:14 05 October 2019

You never know when you might have to replace your sewer pipe, whether it’s because of old age, a natural disaster, or some other form of damage to the pipe. Luckily, you won’t have to dig up your sewer pipe for this exercise and our comprehensive guide will be able to guide you well enough.

Today, we’re going to be discussing the different materials that pipes are made out of and their various qualities. There are four main materials sewer pipes are made out of, clay, cast iron, plastic, and Orangeburg. While they all have their own qualities, the frequency of their usage has varied across the years since plumbing was a thing.

Older homes, built before the 1950s, had sewer pipes made of cast iron and clay. Whereas newer homes will mostly feature plastic pipes, which have come to replace the other types of pipes with alarming speed. Plastic has replaced these other pipes as it is easier to work with, but the longer lifespans and strength of clay and cast iron pipes cannot be easily ignored.

PLASTIC

Plastic sewer pipes come in two different sub-types, ABS and PVC. One of the reasons plastic took over the market from clay and cast iron is the smooth interior of the pipe walls. This quality prevents and solid waste matter from sticking to the sides of the pipe walls. The equally smooth exterior makes it ideal for use as underground sewage pipes as it prevents roots from anchoring around the pipe.

PVC has become popular due to its lightweight and ease of working with. It’s incredibly easy to cut and fitting them is very easy, as all you need is glue and solvent to attach the pipes to the fittings. They are also very cheap, and all these qualities have made PVC popular for irrigation purposes as well, as long distances of pipe can be laid down for significantly low cost.

ABS, which stands for acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, like PVC pipes are light, but are more flexible, making them easy to bend and weave around turns or spaces. They’re also a lot stronger than PVC pipes and some consider it a better option for underground usage. They also do well with colder temperatures and won’t crack or freeze over, as PVC pipes would.

However, PVC does have a few drawbacks. For one, their lifespan is not as long as clay and cast iron pipes and they cannot be un-joined as glue and solvent are used and you need to cut the pipe if you want to repurpose it later. Also, the glued joints mean that they are prone to leakage and, due to their lightweight nature they tend to be quite fragile and can crack with ease. ABS pipes are stronger than PVC, but in warmer climates, they tend to warp and crack.

Plastic is effective as pipe material, but if the chances of cracking are high, then it’s best not to take any risks, especially when you consider that sewage can be a messy business. If you do opt for plastic pipes, make sure to buy high-grade plastic pipes that are resistant to cracking. Click over to EasyMerchant if you’re looking to buy high-quality plastic pipes.

CAST IRON

While plastic pipes may have gained more popularity in the last few decades that does not mean that cast iron is no longer used for sewer pipes. First and foremost, the biggest advantages of cast iron pipes are an incredible strength and high resistance to water pressure. A cast-iron pipe with a 4-inch diameter is able to withstand more than two tons of pressure and will even survive an earthquake. At this amount of pressure, clay and plastic pipes are going to easily break. Cast iron is also quite resistant to natural elements such as temperature and is able to withstand high temperatures as well as low ones quite effectively.

However, cast iron pipes can cost quite a bit of money. They are also very difficult to work with and you would need equally high-grade metal fittings to be able to accommodate the pipe. Presumably, it is also quite difficult to cut and requires specialist tools and a certain level of training. These qualities make it not DIY-friendly and most individuals would have to hire a professional to do the job. The already high cost of the pipe itself, added with the cost of hiring a professional, does not make cast iron pipes a cost-effective solution.

CLAY

The biggest advantage of clay pipes is that they are heavily resistant to chemical degradation. Clay is an inert material and will not react to different elements such as solid waste and dirt. This gives clay pipes a very long lifespan and you don’t need to worry about replacement any time soon. However, that is where the advantages end.

Clay pipes are very heavy and cannot be cut by a novice. You will require professional help if you’re installing clay pipes because, as an amateur, you’re likely to cut the pipe wrong. In fact, even if you do manage to cut the pipe without breaking it, a wrong cut could result in problems in the future and cause leakages and cracking over time. Just as you would with cast iron pipes, you would have to hire a professional which would only add to the overall cost.

There’s also the porous surface of the clay pipes which attracts tree roots like a moth to a flame. This further increases the risks of cracking. However, people do subvert this risk by laying plastic piping over the clay pipe itself, but that involves spending money on two different types of pipe. If you have the budget for that, using a plastic pipe as a covering to the clay one could be beneficial as you could enjoy the long lifespan of the pipe due to the deterrent nature of the plastic to the roots.