residential weekend course introduction to plumbing

venue: Redfield Community, Bucks

If you're thinking of installing solar hot water, a wood stove with a back boiler, or rainwater harvesting, you're going to need some basic plumbing skills. And even if you're not planning to do those things, those skills will still be very useful.

How do I learn the basics? Can I fix a leaky tap? How do you change a washer? What about a blocked U-bend? A loo that doesn't flush? What would I do if there were a plumbing emergency? What controls should I have in my home, what should they look like and where might they be? If I am going to have a go, where do I start? What do I need? What can I do myself, what do I need qualified plumbers and heating engineers to do, and what certificates should they have? What's the difference between a combi boiler and one with a storage cylinder? What about vented and unvented cylinders? What's the most energy efficient? What are the options for renewables?

While there are a few plumbing jobs that only qualified people are supposed to do, there are many common jobs we can learn to do ourselves safely and economically. If you want to learn the basics, to get to know the tools and materials, and understand what goes where and why, this course will be a great help. If you want to have a better idea of what is in your home, to plan a project, or to learn more about what different options there are for water and space heating and storage, there's lots on this course for you.

We will get to grips with the basic theory and you’ll also get plenty of practice. You’ll get know the materials and tools that are used for different tasks, how to assess problems and work safely, and to understand what it is legal and sensible to do by ourselves, and when & how to look for professional help. You need no previous understanding or experience.

Over the weekend you’ll learn about:

• cold and hot water supply and controls
• pipes: materials and sizes
• joints: solder fittings, compression fittings and push-fit connections
• valves, controls and taps - what they are & what goes wrong with them
• soldering and pipe bending - learn how to do it all properly
• waste, traps and drainage above ground
• gutters, drains and sewers outside and below ground
• boilers, water storage, space heating and controls
• whole-house layout of all standard plumbing and heating systems, & how to identify what is in your home
• how to handle plumbing emergencies
• how common problems occur and how to diagnose them
• saving water and energy: water butts, rainwater harvesting and greywater recycling
• introduction to renewables options and further courses
• regulations and laws: water regs & building regs and local authority notification

more on plumbing

you can't learn how to use a pipe-bender from a book; but we guarantee that you will (probably) be able to use one after this course

fitting pipework and twin-coil cylinder for a solar hot water installation; if you want to install solar hot water, a back-boiler on a wood stove, rainwater harvesting or greywater recycling, then basic plumbing skills are essential

you will learn how to connect pipes in various ways - compression fittings, push fittings, and soldering (above)