Plumbing question
 

Hi Folks,

The OH has asked me to find out whether the pipework and fittings for plumbing are the same as in the U.K. For instance do they use 15 and 22 mm pipework.
He has a hoard of expensive plumbing bits to fit these size pipework and as he is shipping his tools he thought he might as well throw this in too (but only if the pipework is the same size!).

Any advise would be most helpful.

Cheers.

Debs

Re: Plumbing question
 

It's all metric. Whether the "equivalent" imperial fittings as used in the UK would be approved I doubt - but you'd hardly be bringing joints etc?

The pipes used are surprisingly small bore - our bath is fed from 15mm H & C! If we ever used the bath it would take forever to fill.

Re: Plumbing question
 

Cheers for that.
I'll let the OH know.
You know what men are like with their tools and DIY paraphernalia!
I'll promise him I'll ditch a couple of pairs of shoes if he bins his toolshed junk!

Re: Plumbing question
 

This is something I too would like to know.

Re: Plumbing question
 

[QUOTE=DJC;4927664]Hi Folks,


almost all pipes are a different size ,12mm 20 mm 25mm bin most of your plumbing tackle,it wont be any good here eg benders ,springs, pipe slice etc.not worth the shipping space,probably bring any good cordless tackle,any 110 gear dont bother no 110 on site down under, bring good quality drill bits most are shite or expensive here, most plumbing merchants stock good quality rigid or rothenberger tools

Re: Plumbing question
 

:thumbup:
Cheers for the advice, Is most pipework in plastic (diy) or do ozzies work in copper (professional) with solder fittings????:)

Re: Plumbing question
 

I don't think they're allowed to use standard UK solder here - they are sh1t scared that the lead in it will kill 99% of the population overnight. So they use high temp solder and everything gets burnt to hell and the copper goes black...

Re: Plumbing question
 

Been following this thread with interest!

If you come across any British plumbers looking for work in Australia send me a reply - a busy company in Brisbane is looking for some skilled workers because of the short supply of plumbers in Australia.

Re: Plumbing question
 

most new houses are tubed out with polybutelene "profit crimped fittings"not push fit like in uk ,until recently copper was used but most builders are specifing poly with copper only being used a few metres before a water heater, and also on the gas supply .soft solder is not used all copper fittings are brazed using a rod and oxy torch, same as the USA and many other countries outside europe.most uk plumbers will get into the hang of tubing out quite easily,but it is far more physical than uk as all pipes are chased into the wall. over here you tend to be mixing mud "mortar" quite a lot as baths and toilets are set with it. last year a plumber called "scossie" on the forum said that plumbing here is hard work and believe you me he is very true.
good luck:(

Re: Plumbing question
 

On the plumbing subject, did anyone have trouble getting thier license?

Re: Plumbing question
 

Thanks very much for this info. OH said this has been very helpful. He also asked if a crimped fitting is the same as a compression joint in UK. Do you happen to know please, what size plastic piping is used in bathrooms and kitchens etc?
OH is not a qualified plumber but works in engineering. However, over the last 18 years we have refurbished many houses as a sideline and OH has always done the plumbing, kitchen fitting, electrics etc. but then brought in the necessary qualified expert to verify and certificate. We are moving to a very dated house in Perth and want to be able to carry out some of the work until we can get established and know who's who out there.
So any advise on what the differences are out in Aus as far as plumbing, electrics etc. will be very welcome as we are going in green.

Cheers to all that have contributed on this thread.

Debs

Re: Plumbing question
 

if its the same as new zealand then they dont use compression fittings,they use a flaring tool which flares the end of the copper pipe and forms a joint with a flared fitting.[quite impressive]

Re: Plumbing question
 

crimped fitting is a brand of plastic pipe which has a brass fitting the plastic pipe goes into it and is crimped with a tool , any old house is probably copper through out , word of caution many diy stores over here sell plumbing products to the public, this is not breaking the law . but diy plumbing is although many do it . there can be harsh penalities:unsure:

Re: Plumbing question
 

just read thread today,got back from bris start of june looking for work,just paid first part to Downunder Emigration, very interested in any leads re work & whether my corgi gas quals are recocognised in Bris Queensland as Ive got domestic, commercial, industrial & catering nat gas quals, also is pressurised cyl & WIAPS quals recognised over there? fed up with running own comp in UK getting no where just hoping any one out there can help with work situation.
cheers ian.

Re: Plumbing question
 

DJC, your hubby wont be able to do any of the plumbing or electrical work legally you must have a license do do the type of work you are asking about, i know people are doing there own work the problem is if there is a mistake then your home insurance is Void, if someone gets hurt either with gas or electrical he will be in the courts and the penalties are very harsh, sorry to say

Re: Plumbing question
 

Good grief!
That's a bit of a shock. I can understand that they don't want Joe Public messing about with anything to do with Gas boilers etc. but rerouting a bit of waste outlet or changing a tap or two is second nature to my OH!!!

We've been rennovating delapidated houses for years over here with no problems, so it's going to be a bit weird for us having to call in people to do what he is perfectly capable of doing.
How does he go about getting a licence? We obviously want to stay within the law for sure!!!
If plumbing hasn't been his main job then is there any way to get a licence without spending 4 years at college :confused:

Cheers

Debs

Re: Plumbing question
 

Debs, unless he gets an apprentiship he is up shits creek its as simple at that, he may be lucky & get a company to take him as an apprentice but he will be on crap money for 4 years at least then after that he will have to sit all the exams for plumbing.

Now then he may actually do a better job than some plumbers here ive seen some rough sods & i mean rough they have no idea.
If you come here he wont be using yorkshire fittings they are crap plumbers in australia use oxy & acetylene and use i higher grade solder so they actually weld the copper pipes.

Re: Plumbing question
 

OH dear.
I'm not looking forward to passing this news on to the OH tonight!
He's an avid DIYer and finds it impossible to relax when there is a job to be done!

He won't mind being taken on as an apprentice for a while I'm sure, as we don't have major outgoings as no small children to bring up. But he might not be too thrilled about having to do it for 4 long years!

Re: Plumbing question
 

Plumbing over here is as rough as guts. Cowboy isn't the word. We built a new house in Carramar and I rang the supervisor as I was concerned about what I thought to be rough plumbing. Plumber had crimped a 3/4" pipe, inserted 1/2" in the end and silver soldered it; I thought they would have used a reducer like we did in UK. Apparently that's how it is done in Oz though. Our plumber must have lost his bending machine as most bends were just done over his knee and were flattened. I don't think they know too much about clipping pipes either; talk about rattle & roll when you turn the taps on! Our builder was highly reputed; but the plumbing side was sort of Dodgy Bros........ or so i thought; but that's how we do it down-under.

I had advanced City & Guilds in plumbing which had taken me round the world working; not worth a cracker here in WA though. Good thing over here is you don't have to stick to your trade.......... I'm glad I couldn't work here in WA as a plumber without going back to school again to obtain local licences. It forced me to get off my bum and find alternative employment for the first time in ages. Been off the tools for years now; and loving it.

Re: Plumbing question
 

Bobcat,
Good to see that you have learnt something new AND are enjoying it.
What are you doing nowadays then?

Re: Plumbing question
 

[QUOTE

=
hey matey dont tarnish all plumbing here,the company i work for has very high standards most of our apprentices win the apprentice of the year in their class. a lot of brits call plumbing because it is a big shock over here getting used to it. there is rough work here but i saw a lot more in the uk:zzz:

Re: Plumbing question
 

Your right there. You get good and bad the world over. But what would the good plumbers have to do if all the crap ones packed in. Most of my work is putting things right!

Re: Plumbing question
 

I'm not tarnishing all plumbing over here; I'm just saying plumbing on our new house (in Perth) was sub-standard in my estimation, it wasn't installed how I had been trained to do it as an apprentice plumber. To me it was shoddy workmanship, but, as far as the builder was concerned it was alright.

Well it wasn't really as the guy had to come back and clip pipes in the roofspace to stop waterhammer............... the drains had been thrown in too so the plumber had to come back and rectify that.

Good on you and your company for ensuring high standards are kept. In the mine training college I too trained apprentice plumbers and its a magic feeling when they do well. It's all a question of taking pride in their work and doing the job properly.

Replumbing done on our house.......... sorry but the pride had gone out the window. Could have been that the tradesman was on job and finish, on bonus rates per metre. I don't know? What I do know is that in my humble opinion the finished work was definitely shonky to say the least.

Plumbing down under is a shock to the system when you arrive from the UK; for starters no need to bring your bossing stick or a mallet as you will hardly use it. In the UK Navvies used to put in our drains; over here plumbers do the drainage too. All part of our learning curve........... I'm from the old school though; we shouldn't sacrifice quality work for speed.

Re: Plumbing question
 

It was a bit of a shock to the old system not being able to be a plumber no more without going back to school.......... because I'd never done anything else since 1964.

I ended up in Singapore on an oil rig working offshore....... magic.

For the last 10 years I've been in real estate; now I run my own real estate company.

Re: Plumbing question
 

Wow Bobcat, that's a bit of a change of tack. Good for you.
I've always fancied a dabble in that area. We've been involved with buying, doing up and selling investment properties for many years now. I really enjoy trying to find the positives in a property and making the best of it.
Could be paying a visit to your agency to ask about possible investment properties when we get settled.

Re: Plumbing question
 

Oh yes!

Our new build has plumbing like you've never seen. And the water hammer...........

Anyone know of a hammer preventer which will protect the whole house?

Re: Plumbing question
 

you could try fitting a pressure reducing valve and a mini expansion vessell onto the cold supply [just after to stop cock] that should cure it.:)

Re: Plumbing question
 

Yes, I was looking for some sort of expansion chamber/damper piston but today the plumber fitted "fixed" piston washers in the isolation valves instead of the "floating" ones and that cured it, thank god! The floaters were just pistoning when the taps were shut off.

Re: Plumbing question
 

You can get a special kind of shock-absorber type washer for the taps; it has a spring arrangement on it. An old plumber's trick was to bash the ends of the brass jumper to flatten them a little; then wedge them up the spindle so they become fixed.

Neither solution would have worked in our 'new' house as pipes up the attic had just been thrown in without any clips at all....... I tell a lie because we did find some bent over carpenter's nails acting as makeshift clips, but they were useless.

Re: Plumbing question
 

I didn't see the washers before they changed them but from what the builder said it sounds as if they were the spring type and were causing the problem. Anyway, all quiet now!

Re: Plumbing question
 

cut the copper and fit a coil of poly pipe

Re: Plumbing question
 

That's the pipe the rats like, no?

Re: Plumbing question
 

yes wol rats and other rodents can knaw through it, before i came out to oz i got sent to a house which had a leak,it turned out mice had nibbled through the hep 20 pipe under the conservatory floor .But believe me mate it is far easier to use plastic here than copper brazing and expanding can be a nightmare:curse:

Re: Plumbing question
 

:ohmy: I came over from dundee scotland in january and have 20 yrs exp as a time served plumber / gasfitter and was always taught that if you would not exept it in your own house them why should anyone else have to exept it and always tried to take great pride in my work as you ae only as good as your last job as the saying goes , anyway yes the are rough as guts and dated with methods and systems but they do honestly believe that they are leaving a good quality job and are the best at every thing and all winge about how hard they have to work , i laugh and say try working in below zero and do all your own labouring and patch ing aswell them tell mee but its their country but i still have my standards !!! there thats what i think :thumbsup:

Re: Plumbing question
 

hi i'am a fully qualified plumber/heating engineer moving brisbane 08 and was
very interested in your quote on plumbing employment and would like more info on licencing and work carried out.