Measuring the Wall Thickness of a Pipe

For someone who is doing some basic plumbing, or home remodeling, there are easy ways to measure the thickness of a pipe. There are instances where this is important. Finding out the thickness of a pipe will help determine if it will be strong enough for the pressure involved in water or drainage delivery.

Measuring Thickness of Pipe
Measure the overall diameter with a tape measure and record this number on a pad of paper. This is the measurement completely across the top of the pipe from outside to outside. Next, measure the inside diameter of the pipe with the same measuring instrument. This is from the inside wall across to the other inside wall. Subtract the inside measurement from the outside measurement and you have the total wall thickness. For example, if the outside diameter is 2", and the inside diameter is 1.5", the wall thickness is one half of the difference of 0.5" making it 0.25".

You could also use a set of measuring calipers that will give you a measurement down to hundredths of an inch if you need to be that precise. However, the above system will work for most applications that you will need piping for.