10 Vital Plumbing Tools You May Need For Your Bathroom Renovation

The first thing that comes to mind when someone says bathroom renovation is ‘plumbing’! A regular bathroom has 3 major plumbing fixtures: sink, shower and toilet. Besides these three you can add more plumbing fixtures such as a bathtub, a bidet sprayer, small faucets for multiple uses etc. For any type of plumbing fixtures, you will need solid tools to ensure there are no leaks or broken faucets. Here is a list of 10 vital plumbing tools you may need for your bathroom renovation project…

1. Drain Openers

K-45 Sink Machine Excellent for small line cleaning. Opens clogg

Before installing a new sink, shower, toilet or bathtub, a plumber will have to clean the drainage system. Removing debris trapped in the drain is important to ensure a good and long-lasting drainage system. A drain opener can be helpful to access twists and turns in the drain and get it cleaned thoroughly for new fixture installation.

2. Drop Cloth

Realistic image of paint pan and roller on drop cloth during interior painting project

Plumbing work involves a lot of water spills and leakage management. We highly recommend you keep a good quality drop cloth handy that can soak up water quickly. Based on the size of plumbing work you will be doing, you may need sheets of drop cloth.

3. Electrical Plumbing Tools

With technological advancements in the plumbing industry, you can get powerful electrical plumbing tools that will get many tedious jobs done in a jiffy. You can get pipe and water pressure inspection tools, water meters, PVC cutters, ring press tools, tubing clamp tools, pipe locators or special drainage inspection tools with a camera to make your work easy, fast and efficient.

4. Pipe and Tube Bender

Tube bender isolated on white background

Pipe and tube benders are essentially hand tools that help you bend pipes and tube materials just as their name suggests. You can use these benders to change the shapes of PVC pipes as well as copper, plastic or metal tubes. They come in different sizes with adjustable grip functions.

5. Pipe and Tube Cutter

Plumber cutting a copper pipe with a pipe cutter.

If you’re doing major plumbing installations along with re-routing the plumbing structure or replacing the pipes, then a pipe and tube cutter is essential. You will need to cut the big rolls of PVC pipes and tubes to suit the design of your bathroom. A sharp cutter can cut through plastic, aluminum or copper material pipes with large diameters.

6. Pipe Fitting Tool

This is a very simple but extremely important tool in any plumbing project. If the pipes are not fitted properly, they can result in leakages, bursts and can accumulate mold and mildew. A pipe fitting tool helps to connect pipes with tubes and fixtures for better drainage and a water flow system.

7. Pipe Threader

Hands hold or using steel pipe cutter tool for fast and clean pipe cutting. Industrial skill.

A pipe threader is a very common plumbing tool used by professional plumbers. Using this tool you can get precise cuts on various ends of the pipe for male and female fittings. You can measure either end and get your pipes threaded for better functionality and fitting.

8. Valves

A valve is a type of plumbing fitting that helps with the regulation, control and direction of fluids from one pipe to another. Valves are very important for performing repairs, installations and monitoring water flows. There are 5 major types of plumbing valves you can choose from as per your requirements: gate valve, butterfly valve, ball valve, globe valve and relief valve.

9. Water Meter Key

The counter of hot water and sliding the key on a concrete background. The concept of energy accounting.

A water meter key, a water shut-off tool or a curb key is a simple small tool used to shut off the main water supply to your entire house. You can use it on the water meter box located outside the house. Before doing any type of plumbing work, it’s important to shut down the water supply to prevent any flooding or major water loss.

10. Wrench

The first tool to buy for any type of plumbing project is a wrench. There are various types of wrenches you can use based on your task. Wrenches are popularly used to grip, fasten, turn, tighten or loose pipe, pipe fittings, nuts and bolts.

In addition to these 10 vital tools, you may need a trunk full of tools based on the size of your bathroom renovation project. Hire a plumber or a bathroom renovation contractor who owns these tools instead of spending a pile of dollars on tools that you may never use again.