There have been several reports in the trade press recently regarding push fit pipes and whether they pose more of a flooding risk than traditional copper pipes.
You may remember we published this article a while back featuring a warning and highlighting several instances where thousands of pounds worth of damage was caused by burst fittings.
Well our twitter feed has been going mad about the issue. It all started when we tweeted this article...
And the responses came thick and fast:
To answer this question as long as you tested the fitting you would not be liable for the damages as it would be a legitimate failure of the product rather than the plumbers fault. Of course if you do not test the fitting properly you would be held responsible.
Some, like VietecHeating here, see push fit pipes as a DIY product used by cowboys. A quick google search shows that many DIY enthusiasts go for push fit systems, probably due to the lack of soldering experience required and apparent ease to fit. This is then causing problems and the real plumbers are called in to sort out the mess.
It seems that although general opinion is split between those who don't see a problem with push fit pipes and those who wont take the risk, many agree that the fault lies with the installer and not with the product.
What we say
We believe that on the whole there is nothing wrong with push fit pipes. With correct installation and a full test of the fitting there should not be any problems.
However if there is a leak from a copper fitting because of a gap in the soldering or a small mistake along those lines the result is not usually as catastrophic as with a push fit system, which can burst if fitted incorrectly.
The bottom line is whatever you use, copper or plastic, fit it correctly and test thoroughly. It's not worth the risk to your business or your customers.
Hope that helps!
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And the responses came thick and fast:
To answer this question as long as you tested the fitting you would not be liable for the damages as it would be a legitimate failure of the product rather than the plumbers fault. Of course if you do not test the fitting properly you would be held responsible.
Some, like VietecHeating here, see push fit pipes as a DIY product used by cowboys. A quick google search shows that many DIY enthusiasts go for push fit systems, probably due to the lack of soldering experience required and apparent ease to fit. This is then causing problems and the real plumbers are called in to sort out the mess.
It seems that although general opinion is split between those who don't see a problem with push fit pipes and those who wont take the risk, many agree that the fault lies with the installer and not with the product.
What we say
We believe that on the whole there is nothing wrong with push fit pipes. With correct installation and a full test of the fitting there should not be any problems.
However if there is a leak from a copper fitting because of a gap in the soldering or a small mistake along those lines the result is not usually as catastrophic as with a push fit system, which can burst if fitted incorrectly.
The bottom line is whatever you use, copper or plastic, fit it correctly and test thoroughly. It's not worth the risk to your business or your customers.
Hope that helps!
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