Plumbing tools: names, pictures and what each one is used for

Isolate, drain, then work

Almost every flood caused by a competent person happens because they knew where the stopcock was and did not check it actually closed. Old gate valves seize part open, and a pipe that dribbles will not solder and cannot be push fitted reliably.

So the sequence is: close the isolation, open the lowest tap to drain down, and confirm nothing is still moving before you cut anything. If water keeps coming, you have not isolated it, whatever the valve position suggests.

Find and test the stopcock before you need it

Turn it fully off and on once a year. A valve that has not moved in fifteen years is a valve that will not move when the pipe is already open.

Fit service valves as you go

A small isolating valve at each appliance means the next repair does not involve draining the house. They cost very little and every one you fit saves an hour later.

Drain from the lowest point

Water sits in low runs and will run back into the joint you are trying to make. Open the lowest outlet and let it clear properly.

Have towels and a bucket before you start

Not after. Every plumber's kit contains more absorbent material than tools, and there is a reason for that.

The four ways to join copper, and when to use each

Most confusion in domestic plumbing is about joints rather than tools. There are four common methods and each has a situation where it is clearly correct.

Soldered, for permanent and neat

Cheapest fittings, smallest profile, strongest result, and it needs a dry pipe and a flame. Not an option inside a cupboard full of insulation or against a joist you cannot protect.

Compression, for serviceable joints

A nut and an olive, tightened with two spanners. Can be undone and remade, which is why it belongs at appliances and isolating valves.

Push fit, for speed and awkward spots

Push the pipe in and it grips. Tolerant of a slightly damp pipe, bulky, and the right answer in a tight space or where a flame is unsafe.

Press fit, for professional volume

A powered tool crimps the fitting permanently in a second. Fast and utterly reliable, and the tool costs more than most domestic jobs are worth.

Never mix olives and fittings between brands

They look identical and the taper differs. A mismatched olive weeps slowly, which is the worst kind of leak because you will not find it for a month.

How to tell a good one from a bad one

Pipe cutters over hacksaws, always

A cutting wheel leaves a square burr free end. A hacksaw leaves swarf inside the pipe that ends up in a valve seat, and an out of square cut that will not seal.

Adjustable jaws must not flex

The whole point of a pipe wrench or water pump pliers is force. Flex under load means it slips, rounds the fitting, and then nothing will grip it.

Two spanners, not one

Compression joints need one spanner holding the fitting and one turning the nut. Using one twists the pipework and starts a leak somewhere you are not looking.

A blowtorch you can control beats a hot one

Fine flame adjustment and a reliable trigger matter more than raw output. Overheating a joint burns the flux and produces a joint that looks fine and weeps.

Buy the basin wrench

It looks like a single purpose oddity and it is the only thing that reaches the nuts behind a basin. Every plumber owns one for exactly one reason.

What to buy first, in order

Stage one: fix a tap and a leak

Water pump pliers, an adjustable spanner, a copper pipe cutter, PTFE tape, a basin wrench, a plunger and a bucket. That covers washers, traps, isolating valves and most weeping joints.

Stage two: cut into and extend pipework

A blowtorch, solder and flux, or a set of push fit fittings if a flame is not sensible. A pipe bender or spring benders. A deburring tool. A pipe slice for tight spaces.

Stage three: diagnosis and drains

Drain rods and a sink auger for blockages. A pressure test kit if you are altering a system. An inspection camera for anything you cannot see, which underground is everything.

Mistakes that cost money

Soldering a wet pipe

The water boils, steam blows through the joint, and the solder will not draw. Get it genuinely dry, using bread or a pipe freezing kit if you must.

Overtightening compression

Past a certain point the olive deforms and the joint weeps rather than seals. Firm plus a quarter turn, then test, rather than as hard as it will go.

PTFE tape on a compression joint

It does nothing there and can hold the olive off its seat. PTFE belongs on threads, not on olives or push fit.

Hacksawing pipe in place

Swarf falls into the pipe and lodges in the first valve or cartridge downstream. Use a slice, and if you must saw, deburr and flush.

Heating near anything you cannot see behind

Joists, insulation and cables catch. Use a heat mat, and keep a damp cloth to hand rather than trusting the wall.

Not testing before closing up

Pressure test and leave it an hour before you replace the panel or tile over. A weep found now is a fitting; found later it is a ceiling.

Looking after plumbing tools

Dry everything before it goes in the bag

These tools live in water. A wet bag rusts cutting wheels and seizes adjusters faster than any amount of use.

Replace cutting wheels rather than forcing them

A dull wheel crushes and work hardens the pipe instead of cutting it. The wheel costs almost nothing and the pipe is the expensive part.

Check torch hoses and seals

A perished hose on a gas torch is a fire in a confined space. Smell for gas and check the connection every time you fit a cylinder.

Keep PTFE and flux sealed

Flux dries out and stops working, and it will not tell you. A joint made with dead flux fails within weeks.

Flush augers after use

Whatever a drain auger just cleared is now on the auger. Rinse and dry it, or you will be storing that.

Frequently asked questions

What plumbing tools do I need for basic repairs?

Water pump pliers, an adjustable spanner, a copper pipe cutter, PTFE tape, a basin wrench, a plunger and a bucket. That handles washers, traps, isolating valves and most weeping joints, which is the majority of domestic plumbing.

What is the difference between a pipe wrench and water pump pliers?

A pipe wrench has hardened toothed jaws that bite into round pipe and grip harder as you pull, so it marks whatever it touches. Water pump pliers have smooth or lightly serrated parallel jaws that adjust wide, for nuts and fittings you do not want chewed.

Should I use a pipe cutter or a hacksaw on copper?

A pipe cutter, nearly always. It leaves a square burr free end that seals properly. A hacksaw leaves swarf inside the pipe that lodges in the next valve or cartridge, and an out of square end that will not seat.

What is a basin wrench for?

Reaching the tap connector nuts behind a basin, where there is no room for any normal spanner. It looks like a single purpose oddity because it is one, and it is the only tool that does that job.

Do I need a blowtorch, or can I use push fit?

Push fit is fine, tolerant of slightly damp pipe and much safer in a confined space. Soldered joints are cheaper in fittings, far slimmer, and neater where they will be seen. Most people should own push fit and learn soldering when they need it.

Why does my compression joint leak?

Usually overtightening, which deforms the olive, or a mismatched olive from a different brand. Occasionally the pipe end is out of square or scored. Undo it, fit a fresh olive, and tighten firm plus about a quarter turn rather than as hard as possible.

Where should PTFE tape be used?

On threaded joints only, wound in the direction that tightening will not unwrap. It does nothing on a compression olive or a push fit, and on a compression joint it can hold the olive off its seat and cause the leak you were trying to prevent.

How do I unblock a drain without chemicals?

A plunger for a sink, a sink auger for a trap and short run, drain rods for an outside run or a manhole. Mechanical clearing removes the blockage; chemicals sometimes dissolve part of it and always sit in the pipe if they do not.

What is a pipe freezing kit?

It freezes a plug of water in the pipe so you can work downstream without draining the system. For situations where isolation is impossible or the drain down would be enormous, and it buys you a limited working time.

How do I stop a soldered joint from failing?

Clean the pipe and fitting properly, flux both, heat the fitting rather than the solder until it draws in on its own, and do not overheat. Burnt flux is the usual cause of a joint that looks perfect and weeps a week later.

Can I turn the water off myself?

Yes, at the internal stopcock, usually under the kitchen sink, and there is an external one at the boundary. Test yours now rather than during an emergency, because a valve that has not moved for years often will not.

How long should I pressure test before closing up?

At least an hour at normal working pressure, longer if you can, and check every joint by hand and by eye. A weep found while the panel is off is a five minute fix, and the same weep found later is a ceiling.

What tools do plumbers actually carry every day?

Far less than a full plumbing tools set. A pipe cutter, two adjustable spanners, water pump pliers, long nose pliers, a basin wrench, screwdrivers, a tape, two spirit levels and a head torch cover most of a working day. The specialist tools come out of the van when a specific job needs them.

Is it worth buying a plumbing tools kit or individual tools?

Individual tools, in nearly every case. Kits are priced on piece count, so most of the contents are sizes and types you will not use, and the quality of the pieces you will use is lower than buying those few properly. Graduated sets such as hex keys are the exception.