General Plumbing Tools That You Need At Home

Plumbing is something you can decide you will learn how to do on your own or you might decide to leave it up to the professionals and call a plumber whenever a problem crops up with water in your home. There are some plumbing problems that are relatively easy to cope with that you can learn to repair yourself by reading a book, watching an instructional DVD or having a family member or friend who is more knowledgeable in this area than you are to teach you.

There may be a time when phoning around for a plumber is not possible. In those instances it helps for you to have some general knowledge of what to do as well as to have some basic plumbing tools on hand. If the problem is large and widespread then calling a professional is best. However if it is a smaller problem such as a leaky faucet then you should be able to remedy the problem in no time on your own.

What plumbing equipment should you have in your toolbox or tool drawer in the event that you need to make a repair yourself? The three most important tools for this purpose include wrenches, pliers and pipe vises. Let us take a brief look at each of these tools now.

You probably already have a wrench or two in your home lying around somewhere. Wrenches are a necessity for plumbing concerns. If you do not already have a wrench then upon visiting a hardware store you will discover that they come in all different types and sizes.

The most suitable choice for your purposes is adjustable wrenches. The adjustable variety of wrench is very versatile and flexible and allows you to modify the grip as you see fit and depending upon the work that you are using it for. The adjustable wrenches have a selection of grips which means they can be used for any number of home-related tasks.

Another option for a wrench is the fixed wrench. There is nothing wrong with this wrench other than the fact that it does not offer as much flexibility as the one previously discussed above. The fixed wrench has only one kind of grip. The other options for wrenches include the basin wrench, the pipe wrench and the socket wrench.

Pliers are another essential tool. The most commonly used pliers are the tongue and groove pliers. Pliers should be easy to find in most hardware stores. There are also the water pump pliers, which many plumbers use in their work. These kinds of pliers can give you an excellent grip because they are constructed with jaws.

Pipe vises come in handy to do a variety of things. They can be used to cut pipes, ream pipes and thread pipes. Pipe vises can be used on pipes of different sizes. The most popular kinds of pipe vises you will see on the market and that you should buy are the chain vises and the yoke pipes. Chain vises are used on pipes that do not have jaws while yoke pipes are used for pipes that come with jaws.