Mark,
Whilst I was a "London" trained plumber (and at the time us London trained plumbers reckoned we were the best), I think that I have been lucky and had the opportunity to work in the Trucial Oman as it was then, its the United Arab Emirates now, also Saudi Arabia working with American equipment, then for the last 20 years in France
I like to be a bit of a devils advocate at times, and say how I find things on the other side of the channel, if it makes people think outside of the UK only box, and see how others in other countries do the job, it might help them some time in the future, whilst plumbing is plumbing, there is a hell of a difference of doing the same job in different countries
My work has covered just about all there is in plumbing over the 50 odd years of being in the trade
Sheet lead, copper, zinc and aluminium
Copper tube from 6 mm to 150 mm, including sand bending of it, hand forming branches, soft and hard soldering, bronze welding, with just a touch of copper to copper autogenous sheet welding without a filler rod
Black and galvanised iron from 3/8 to 4" cutting it with a hacksaw, screwing it with hand stocks which were not geared down
Cast Iron drain and water main from 2" to 12" both run lead joints and rubber ring joints, including the use of temporary and permanent "thrust blocks" to restrain the forces generated by the flowing water in a pipeline
Lead pipe from 1/2" to 4" wiping joints and bobbin bending it
Plastic PVC and polyethylene 3/8" to 150 mm, solvent welding the PVC, and electro fusion welding the poly
Plus a spell in the drawing office
I admit that I am not up to speed with the UK regs (but from over here it looks like there are a load of jobworths getting in the way of people working properly)
Here its you know it, and if you don't and make a muck up of the job, your assurance goes through the roof
Nobody can just get a set of tools and call themselves a trades person, before they can get registered they have to do a weeks "schooling" book-keeping, the law on how it affects you and your work, VAT, etc, then you have to get a 10 years assurance for new work, and a 2 years assurance for repairs, (this will set you back a few thousand euros,) [also the "fisc" (the tax office) will be putting in an independent book keeper to check that you are keeping the books right (cost to you 100€/month)] new electrical and gas work has to be inspected and signed off, either by an independent inspector or for gas only by an operative if the firm is registered
[on a side note, I once signed of a bulk propane installation, and the boss stressed if there was an accident it would not be just me in prison, but he would be joining me as well ]
Some of my work is down your way, Looe secondary school sports hall, Saltash College of Further Education, and Liskeard Magistrates Court, unless they have been altered in the last 25 years are my jobs, plumbing and lead work
Another note on thrust blocks, a mate of mine was doing a 2" galvanised pipeline, he had a 100 yards run in the ground open, without any covering to hold the pipe down, for the inspector to inspect it, it was all jointed with PTFE tape, with a plug in the end of the run, without a stop block, the inspector said I want to see 200 lbs/sq inch, so my mate started to pump it up, he got to about 130 lbs/sq inch, when the pipes all spun themselves apart, because there was no restraint to stop them from doing so
Taylor Woodrow M&E division run a new 12" Tyton jointed cast iron fire main around the Ford Autolight works in Enfield, last week end of the fortnight shut down, with all the trenches back filled it was to be the first and last test on the fire main 200 lbs/sq inch for an hour, it never got to above 170 lbs/sq inch, the design engineers was summoned to explain on the saturday, he could not understand why it would not hold, I asked have you got any thrust blocks on the line ??, thrust blocks ? what are they when I explained what they were and why they were used, he went white and said no, two weeks later the job was finished but it cost TW a fortnights extra shut down of the works
Sorry if the post is a long read, but if it helps some one to not make a mistake in some way or another from reading what I post at times in answer to other posters, my job is done I have passed on the knowledge that I was taught by my elders
