PVC vs PPR vs Galvanised: Which Pipe for Which Job in Africa
Three pipe types dominate African build sites — PVC, PPR, and galvanised steel — and each one has jobs it was designed for and jobs it will fail at. Using the wrong pipe, or substituting one for another because it was cheaper or available on the day, is one of the most common sources of plumbing callbacks and concealed failures in African construction.
The post breaks down each pipe type in plain language, covers the one rule most builders get wrong (never use PVC on hot water lines), and provides a quick-reference table mapping every common application — cold supply, hot supply, drainage, underground burial, exposed industrial use — to the right pipe choice.
There's also a section on how Africa's water conditions affect pipe selection, from the hard water of East and Southern Africa to the salt air of coastal cities like Lagos, Mombasa, and Accra. It closes with the four most common plumbing mistakes on site and what to check when ordering pipe online.
