Have you ever had a tradie come in and they start talking tradie terms. Saying things like we will just rough this in or yeah I’ll checkout your I.O, or perhaps yes we will return and do that at fit off. You think to yourself what on earth do they mean? But feeling slightly embarrassed and not wanting to lead on that you have no clue you just nod and smile politely and say no worries thank you.
So I wanted to breakdown some Tradie/Plumbing terms for you.
Rough in or roughing in is a term that is used in particularly by plumbers and electricians. It means this is the stage where water pipes, drainage and electrical wires are ran or secured within the internal walls before the walls are sheeted with gyprock or your choice of sheeting. Roughing in is like the preparation for what will become fit off.
Fit off is a term used by tradies such as plumbers and electricians when they go to install the fittings & fixtures that you will use. These include mixers, sinks, showers taps, baths lighting switches and light fittings. This stage is known as the finishing stage. After this stage is complete you will be able to use what has been installed.
Some plumbing terms that are used by plumbers that may seem a little foreign to some people are as follows:
I.O – An I.O is short for an inspection opening. This is where plumbers can access you’re sewer and storm water lines if they should become blocked.
Lines – are just another word for Pipes.
Mini Cocks & Hose Cocks – I know, when I first heard these terms I almost wanted to have a little giggle but this terms translate into two types of taps the first one being a small tap hence the word mini! These are usually located under your basin sinks, under your kitchen sinks, and your laundry sinks. They may also be found by your toilet or inside the toilet cistern. The idea of the small taps is that if your mixer tap should spring a leak you can turn off the water line with the small taps, rather than having to turn off the water at your water main and have no access to water until the problem can be fixed by a plumber. The next word hose cock simply put is a hose tap. So in essence the word cock in plumbing terms means tap.
Female and Male fittings – I remember when I was a little girl and my dad would say that fitting won’t work because it’s male and we need a female. Being obviously young and naive I would just go along with what he told me because he’s Dad. Then I became an adult and learned about the birds and the bees, but it wasn’t until I started working as a plumber that I understood what was meant by male and female fittings. So to keep this PG, I will leave the rest to your imagination.
Plumbers lingo is a bit like when we as Gold Coasters might say “oh I am heading down to Tully” this meaning “Tallebudgera” or “I am heading out to the Alley at Currumbin”, to someone who doesn’t surf or live on the coast, they wouldn’t know this is a surf break down at Currumbin. But once you know this info and have understanding, it just creates confidence in knowing what someone is talking about.
So if you’re a bit unsure about a plumbing term contact me through the contact form and I’ll be happy to answer your question, as wise person said to me once no question is a dumb question if you don’t know.
Related Tag : Plumber Gold Coast
