Nov
08

Most people are familiar with , who come to their home to unclog a drain or install an appliance. In addition to these activities, however, pipelayers, , pipefitters, and steamfitters install, maintain, and repair many types of pipe systems. For example, some systems move water to a municipal water treatment plant and then to residential, commercial, and public buildings. Other systems dispose of waste, gas to stoves and furnaces, or for heating and cooling needs. Pipe systems in powerplants carry the steam that powers huge turbines. Pipes also are used in manufacturing plants to move material through the production process. Specialized piping systems are very important in both pharmaceutical and computer-chip manufacturing.

Pipelayers, , pipefitters, and steamfitters use many materials and techniques, depending on the type of . Residential water systems, for example, incorporate copper, steel, and that can be handled and installed by one or two . Municipal sewerage systems, on the other hand, are made of large cast-iron pipes; installation normally requires crews of pipefitters. Despite these differences, all pipelayers, , pipefitters, and steamfitters must be able to follow plans or blueprints and instructions from supervisors, lay out the job, and work efficiently with the materials and tools of their trade. and specialized software are used to create blueprints and plan layouts.

Sometimes, have to cut holes in walls, ceilings, and floors of a house. For some systems, they may hang steel supports from ceiling joists to hold the pipe in place. To assemble a system, —using saws, pipe cutters, and pipe-bending machines—cut and bend lengths of pipe. They connect lengths of pipe with fittings, using methods that depend on the type of pipe used. For , connect the sections and fittings with adhesives. For copper pipe, they slide a fitting over the end of the pipe and solder it in place with a torch.

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