Don’t know how to explain a problem you’re having—or don’t understand the plumber talk that a technician explained to you? Here is a list of some of our favorite terms. Some of them relate to common problems and fixes. Others are important terms you should know or hear all the time, and some are just interesting.
But if you’re really having trouble understanding something, need us to translate plumber talk or have any questions, please feel free to call us at 804-794-0918—we’re here to help!
Click on a letter below to see a list of terms.
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
1/8 Bend Offset - A plumbing fitting used for positioning a pipe around an obstacle, such as another pipe or something structural. Great to know if you’re retro-fitting stuff.
Access Panel - Covered opening in a wall or ceiling near a fixture that allows access for servicing a plumbing or electric system. Knowing where your access panel is can save you hours of playing hide-and-seek with your plumbing tech, especially if you have a large, irregularly built office or home and that panel could be hidden anywhere.
Air Gap - The vertical, unobstructed distance between the flood level in a plumbing fixture and the lowest water supply inlet, such as the distance between the rim of the tub and the faucet.
Air Trap - A u-shaped pipe filled with water and located beneath plumbing fixtures to form a seal against the passage of gases and odors.
Arconitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) - A type of plastic used to make plumbing pipe—as opposed to more commonly used materials, such as PVC, copper, or galvanized steel pipes. Not sure what the difference is? Call us for the details.
B-Tank - Acetylene tank holding 40 cubic feet of gas, used for plumbing, once used to fuel boats, thus the name.
Back Vent - Plumbing fixture's separate vent in a building drainage system. This is actually a very important and very sophisticated part of any plumbing system that helps maintain the right pressure throughout the system and keeps non-potable waste water from flowing back into your system and mixing with the clean water.
Balancing Ell - Control of water flow through a heat distribution unit using an elbow plumbing fitting. In other words, a piece of plumbing that is bent like your elbow bends that helps control water flow to and from your water heater.
Ball Joint - Sphere shaped end of this flexible plumbing joint that rests in a socket. Shower heads are a common example of using a ball joint in plumbing.
Branch Drain - A drain from any plumbing fixture (think faucet) to the main drain line.
Circuit Vent - A vertical vent in the plumbing drainage system, which is run from the last two traps on a horizontal drain line to the main vent stack of a building drainage system.
Closet Auger - A plumbing tool used for clearing obstructions from toilet traps to the mouth of the waste pipe.
Coupling - Type of fitting with two female ends that receive the smaller ends of piping or tubing, making a connection. Coupling also refers to a mechanical device or part for joining parts together to make a joint and a type of fitting used to join plumbing pipes.
Directional Tee Plumbing - A fitting that is shaped like a “T,” which directs flow in one direction by use of an internal baffle.
Drum Trap - Plumbing fixture shaped like a cylinder that retains water as a seal, with an outlet at its top and an inlet at its base. Used in plumbing fixtures that are too low to the floor to install a P-trap.
Ell, or Pipe Ell - Plumbing fitting, shaped like an elbow, which allows water to flow in a curve. Also referred to as an elbow, it is designed to use with pipe, tubing, conduit, or duct and is available in 90 to 45 degrees.
Finish Plumbing - The best part of the plumbing! When you’re done! The installation of fancy plumbing fixtures to make the system usable.
First Draw - Water that has been sitting in pipes or plumbing fixtures overnight and is first drawn when taps are opened in the morning. For instance, if lead is present in your plumbing, this water will have the highest levels of lead contamination.
Fixture - product that you use to get at your water—sinks, toilets, tubs, faucets, etc.
Fixture Branch - Pipe that carries wastes from non-toilet plumbing fixtures (like your kitchen sink, for example) directly to the building drain. It is also called a waste pipe, wet vent, or fixture drain.
Fixture Drain - Pipe that carries wastes from non-toilet plumbing fixtures (like your kitchen sink, for example) directly to the building drain. It is also called a waste pipe, wet vent, or fixture branch.
Flow Control Valve - Device designed to reduce water flow to a plumbing fixture. Often used to improve efficiency and reduce operating costs. Also a check valve that prevents flow reversal when heater is turned off.
GPH - Gallons per hour—another key measure of appliance energy efficiency and of the overall health of your plumbing system.
GPM - Gallons per minute—a key measure in how energy efficient your appliances are and of how healthy your plumbing system and water pressure are.
Horizontal Branch - Lateral drain pipes which run from the plumbing fixtures to the waste stack in a building or into the soil.
Increaser - Plumbing drainage fitting that enlarges the diameter of a straight-line run by virtue of its larger size on one end and smaller on the other. If it is used for the reverse, to make the diameter of a straight-line run smaller, it is called a reducer.
P-Trap - Plumbing device, used to prevent sewer gas from entering a building, by keeping a water seal in the drain.
P-traps - All fixtures that have drains must have a P-trap installed. A toilet is the only plumbing fixture that uses an S-trap.
Plumber - Tradesman who installs and repairs plumbing systems, AKA Gary Robinoson.
Plumbing Bend - Elbow fitting, used in drain and vent lines, to make a bend at an angle to the main line.
Plumbing Fixture - Mechanism which both receives and discharges wastes and water into a drainage system.
Plumbing Snake - Thin, flexible length of spiral-wound metal, which is inserted into a drain and rotated to clear anything that is clogged in the pipes.
Plumbing Tree - Prefabricated set of drain waste, vent, and supply lines.
Plumbing Y-Branch - Y-shaped fitting, also called a wye, which has one straight side and a branch joining at an angle and is used to join a branch line and a main run.
Pressure Head - Pressure in a plumbing system. The unit of measure which is the vertical force exerted by water at a depth of one foot.
Return - A plumbing fitting with a 180-degree bend.
Rough In Plumbing - Plumbing system installation which prepares for but does not include the installation of fixtures.
S-Trap - A plumbing trap that takes the shape of the letter S and is used where a waste pipe feeds into the floor instead of the wall, which uses a P-Trap. Disallowed in many parts of the country, they can create a siphoning situation, pulling water out of the trap.
Sewer - A system of pipes, containment and treatment facilities for the disposal of plumbing wastes.
Soil Pipe - A pipe that penetrates a roof and is used to vent a building's plumbing.
Supply Stops - The valves under your sink or toilet that shut off the hot or cold water from flowing to your faucet or toilet. A really great thing to know about if you ever have water flowing uncontrollably from a faucet or toilet and need to shut the water off in a hurry.
Sweat - A soldered pipe connection.
Tee - A plumbing fitting in the shape of the letter "T," used to connect three sections of pipe.
Trap - If you’ve ever smelled a funny, rotten-smelling odor coming from your sink, even after you’ve cleaned it, you may be smelling sewer gases, which can contain methane and sometimes hydrogen sulfide gas. The trap is just that—it traps those types of gases. It’s a curved section of drain line that prevents sewer odors from escaping into the atmosphere. There are many different types of traps that use different designs and seals to trap the gases.
Vitreous - Surface material on some plumbing fixtures derived from or consisting of glass. It usually has a translucent quality and is low on porosity.
Waste Stack - A vertical pipe in a plumbing system that carries the discharge from any fixture.
