Might I suggest gold plated...

No, if you aren't going to see it go with PVC. It's quieter, cheap, easy and will last a long time.

The noise in a drain is not much in any case, and I think you really want "quiet" in the sense that it won't go "plop, plop, plip, plip, plip, .... plip ....... plip .... ..... plip .... .... .... plip ..... ....... ...... ...... plip... ...... ...... plip... ...... ...... plip... ...... ...... plip " for a minute or two after water slides down the drain.

Chrome (chromed brass tubular) is quiet in my opinion. Your plumber is old-school; that is all. There ain't much extra money involved, and even less "additional" profit on having parts made of metal tubular. It's available in different gauges too. This means it can be thin or thicker. It's a good option. In my experience, it lasts 35 or 40 years and even longer. My family and I don't put "products" down the drain so this may be a factor. My grandparents were chemists.

I think from the point of view of servicing A Hundred Apartment units, one must plan that, around 15 years after the building is built, these drains will need to be included on the check list, and before 20 years have gone by some of them will best be replaced. A few out of a hundred. With plastic this is not the case.

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".... I want minimal noise. Is one quieter than the other? ...."

To get the least noise, you can configure your drain, to Code, as follows:
1. under the sink tailpiece, a tight elbow.
2. send the drain on a horizontal plane to the back wall (with a slope of 1/4" - 3/8" over 12 or 18 inches).
3. another tight elbow, sends the drain water down to the P trap.
4. your P trap is at the appropriate height to connect to the stack (this is important).

I did this, with thick copper pipe. Because I wanted the quietest possible drain. At first I considered the two most commonly sold products: plastic (PVC) or shiny metal (chrome, i.e. chromed brass). ! Then (!!) I realized that copper is OK to use too (but nobody ever says so, on internet forums....) . I used K or L type cooper, thicker walled than M type which is the thinnest. Everybody loves it.

HTH
-david

Wow, I had no idea...

Really, if we are just talking a residential installation that isn't going to be visible, use PVC. I've run into way too many chrome plated brass traps that crumble in my hands after being in place for a number of years. Never had that problem with PVC.

Copper could work, but it would be expensive. PVC is cheap and effective... I like cheap and effective as long as it doesn't show.

It turns out that it was actually ABS, not PVC.
What about ABS vs metal?

ABS and PVC are similar, made from the same source material.
Almost no difference except the glue-solvent.

I'll let the pros here correct me on this if it's not code but a seperate P-trap for each bowl will make the disposer much quieter. It keeps the grinder sound going down the drain from poping up on the other side.

Okay, the advantage of pvc is cheap and non-corrosive, but I have a problem with pvc drain fittings. Anyone have the unfortunate experience of having to take a plunger to a clogged sink and then have the rubber gasketed pressure fittings of their pvc drain pipe give way allowing all of the water from the sink to leak under the sink. There is a moment of joy when one thinks they have cleared the clogged drain, immediately followed by the "argh, son of a !@@#$$$", when they look under the sink.

Wouldn't that be the case for metal and ABS as well? I mean...they all use slip joint fittings right? Just wondering :)

For those who read this post, I would recommend chrome plated brass. It's almost the same price as pvc, but it's a lot more sturdy. The metal threads make a tighter connection with the metal drains. Just be careful which drain cleaners you use.

I like all metal I'm not a Blumer I'm having trouble finding trap adapter in chrome can aney one help

Melvin Rosado,

You can buy it on the interwebs. You can buy anything on the interwebs.

I know what you are saying about metal - but PVC actually holds up better. Acids form in the stuff that builds up in the trap and it rots through the chrome plated brass.

My experience as a non-pro, most of the the chrome-plated brass pipes (bathroom & kitchen) used in my Chicago condo corroded and leaked within 10 years of installation, and now all the chrome/brass pipes in my home kitchen are in various states of corroding. The cp brass wall tube from my disposal just crumbled when I bumped it during an RO filter servicing, and ripped apart when trying to separate it from the J-trap.

I have not had any issues with the PVC replacements, and they a third to a fifth of the price of a comparable chrome plated brass piece at Home Depot.

Seems like replacement with PVC/ABS is a no-brainer if it's not visible and not a code violation.