In the plumbing industry, specialised plumbing tools are not only needed by professionals. If you want to carry out basic installation or repair work, it's worth having analogous tools to the professionals. What should be in every home plumber's toolbox?

Basic hand tools

Basic hand tools must not be missing from every toolbox. Without them, it is virtually impossible to carry out even minor repairs. They are characterised above all by their low weight. Hand tools include:

• hammers - elementary tools for driving and pulling nails, mostly used in basic construction operations and contact with wood (e.g. when assembling furniture),
• Nails - required to obtain adequate protection and shaping of the wooden surfaces, and for comfort purposes, it is best to stock nail sets of different lengths and widths,
• pliers - useful for loosening bolts, but also helpful for cutting wires or stripping insulation from electrical cables,
• screwdrivers (ordinary and Phillips screwdrivers) - extremely useful when renovating electrical installations,
• Measuring sticks and spirit levels - indispensable mainly for interior design and finishing, when precise measurement of furniture is needed,
• spanners - essential tools for screwing and unscrewing screws. They are used in both building installations and plumbing, and are useful in every situation thanks to their countless sizes and applications. We distinguish between open-end spanners, socket spanners, ring spanners and combination spanners (suitable for all applications where spanners cannot do the job) for unscrewing, screwing on valves, fitting siphons and tightening nuts.

Power tools

Power tools include those that require electricity (usually 230V) - drills and screwdrivers. They make renovation or finishing work much easier. Drills (e.g. impact drills) are useful wherever it is difficult to drive a normal nail. A screwdriver works best when screwing together furniture. Nowadays, we can find hybrids of these two tools on the market - drill/drivers. These allow you to save space in your toolbox and reduce your purchase costs.

Hydraulic tools

Plumbing installations (e.g. water mains, gas mains, sewer mains) could not be realised without the right instruments. Most of these are handy. However, some plumbing tools are considerably larger in size and will not fit into a typical toolbox.

Hydraulic tools

Hydraulic tools used extensively in hydraulic installations are:

• threading machines - We use them in situations where we need to efficiently and accurately make threaded joints in steel pipes. We can find both electric tapping dies, which are often additionally equipped with an oiler or vice, among other things, as well as manual tapping dies, which usually consist of threading dies, threading heads and a handwheel. Threading dies can be found in various sets (with different sizes), so it is quite easy to match the correct tapping tools to the diameter of the chosen pipe.
• pipe cutters and pipe shears - ultimately deal with the cutting and chamfering of tubes. They can be selected according to the relevant diameter and type of pipe (e.g. aluminium, copper). Among the wide range of these tools, you will find electric cutters, which enable much faster and easier work. Hand tools, on the other hand, are lightweight, easy to handle and allow work even without the presence of electricity. If we want to chamfer a pipe (create a smooth surface), we need to use a deburring tool (e.g. Deburring device for PE pipes 20 - 63 mm). Instead of cutters, it is also possible to use ready-made machines that specialise in precise cutting and chamfering of tubes, but these are expensive and less handy. Among the cutters we can find such as Copper tube cutter 3-28 mm,, Pipe shears for pipes up to 16 - 63 mm N or Tube cutter TU-75 (6-76mm) FOX.
• welders - simple to operate devices that are ideal for district heating and water supply systems. They can regulate the temperature. They differ from each other in the wattage and maximum temperatures they are able to reach during operation. They come with useful extras: sets of heating sockets that allow the welders to be adapted to the size of the pipe and fitting in question, ratchet scissors for cutting through pipes, and measuring gauges to facilitate precise connections. Before welding, it is a good idea to chamfer some types of pipe (using a deburring tool) and to mark on the pipe the depth to which you will insert the welder. Excessive pressure during the welding process can lead to constrictions.
• sewage coils (adders) - simple to use and ideal for properly taking care of sewer patency. The difference in the thickness and length of the wire allows a good fit in different locations and the removal of significant obstructions.
•  hydraulic accessories for sealing threads, such as packings and Teflon. You can read more about this in a separate article.

Spanners - plumbing tools for installation

Spanners are versatile and essential plumbing tools. They are used not only during renovation and construction, but also during plumbing operations. The latter group includes:

• standard pipe spanners (it is worth noting the type of adjustment when purchasing),
• steel plumber's spanners (for fitting fittings and adjusting bathroom connections),
• chain spanners (for bolted connections, allows work in both directions without the need for translation),
• strap spanners (for unscrewing, among other things, PVC pipes and ideal for hard-to-reach areas),
• hexagonal - hexagonal - hexagonal (also for hard-to-reach places),
• adjustable (for loosening and tightening a bolt or nut, many of which are self-adjusting, allowing the tool to adapt perfectly to any nut),
• frog spanners (multi-purpose spanners that can loosen stubborn screws with little force).

Our toolbox should contain hydraulic tools, handy and versatile instruments. It is worth storing tools not in bulk, but in fixed and portable locations. This makes them easier to transport, tidier among accessories and, most importantly, protects our tools from corrosion.