drainage repair London Pipes, Tubes... The things we use for plumbing
Water systems in ancient times used gravity to move water. They used pipes or channels usually made of clay, lead, bamboo or stone. Today, water-supply systems use a network of high-pressure pumps, and pipes are now made of copper, brass, plastic, or other nontoxic material. Drain and vent lines are made of plastic, steel, cast-iron, and lead. Lead is not used in pipes today because it can be poisonous.
The 'straight' sections of plumbing systems are of pipe or tube. A pipe is usually made by casting or welding, where a tube is made through extrusion. Pipe usually has thicker walls and may be threaded or welded, where tubes have thinner walls, and needs special joining techniques such as 'brazing', 'compression fitting', 'crimping', or for plastics, 'solvent welding'.
As well as the straight pipe or tubing, many fittings are required in plumbing systems, such as valves, elbows, tees, and unions.
Plumbing fixtures are designed for the people who use the water. Some examples of fixtures include water closets (also known as toilets), urinals, bidets, showers, bathtubs, utility and kitchen sinks, drinking fountains, ice makers, humidifiers, air washers, fountains, and eye wash stations.
Źródło: https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plumbing
Worth to know
A plumber's snake is a slender, flexible auger used to dislodge clogs in plumbing. The plumber's snake is often reserved for difficult clogs that cannot be loosened with a plunger. It is also sometimes called a toilet jack or electric eel.
Plumber's snakes have a coiled (helix-shaped) metal wire with a broader gap between the coils at the terminal end. The operator turns a crank to rotate the helix as it moves through the pipe.
If the clog is caused by a dense, but shreddable obstacle, such as tree roots or glass wool, the auger might break it up enough to enable flow. A small, lightweight obstruction might be snagged or corkscrewed by the auger, enabling the operator to pull it away. As the auger rotates, it also flails against the interior walls of the pipe, scraping off minerals and oil.
Źródło: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plumber%27s_snake
History of the plumbers - Wikipedia
Quick look in to the history of the plumbers, thanks to Wikipedia:
The word "plumber" dates from the Roman Empire. The Latin for lead is plumbum. Roman roofs used lead in conduits and drain pipes and some were also covered with lead, lead was also used for piping and for making baths. In medieval times anyone who worked with lead was referred to as a plumber as can be seen from an extract of workmen fixing a roof in Westminster Palace and were referred to as plumbers "To Gilbert de Westminster, plumber, working about the roof of the pantry of the little hall, covering it with lead, and about various defects in the roof of the little hall". Thus a person with expertise in working with lead was first known as a Plumbarius which was later shortened to plumber.
Źródło: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plumber