plastic or copper pipes

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I am just about to lay the domestic cold and hot water pipes for my new kitchen and bathroom. I am intending to use copper pipe as they are strong, last longer and most importantly I can weld the joines and forget about them. however the plastice pipes are easy to lay. but I do not like the push fit connection. are they reliable? any recomendation for pipe to use including fittings.
 
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I prefer to use copper where I can, whether visible or not. You could use compression fittings with the push fit pipe. The thing with push fit, it requires 300mm clipping distances (hep20 does) when laying horizontally.
 
Plastic fittings are reliable (when properly installed-inserts used, pipe cut square, pushed all the way home, locking rings tight) but I prefer them where I can get at them. Big advantage of plastic tube is you can thread it through inaccessible areas in continuous lengths and just put couplers where you need them. One disadvantage of plastic fittings- they are big (so if visible tend to be rather obtrusive)
 
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Plastic is usually quicker. I used a mix with compression joints on plastic where needed recently. Plastic made some parts a lot easier to do. Main makers push fit are probably fine but I installed some early plastic pipe that took compression with an insert rather a long time ago with very hot water running through it. 20+ years and no problems at all. The pipe was a bit stiffer than what is about now.
 
If you can use tge push fit without any fittings under floor would be a way to go if you could.. I do prefer copper
 
Used in the right way plastic can be better than copper.
Needs to be clipped regularly.
Never use where can't get to again.
Use as less fittings as possible.

Let's not forget copper is not as good as it used to be.
 

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