Andy Burns wrote:
F Murtz wrote:

Do British plumbers use silver solder (copper silver phosphor alloy)for
joining copper pipe in the uk

IANAP, but I'll answer anyway; for water, gas, and heating in domestic
installations it would be unheard of to use silver solder.

If using copper, a "real" plumber would be more likely to use end-feed
solder fittings, rather than "yorkshire" solder-ring fittings.

There has been a rise in plastic pipe with push fittings, for ease of
use by amateur plumbers and for speed of installation on lower-end new
builds. These have probably displaced use of compression fittings by
amateurs.

There are also copper push-fit fittings for use on copper pipe, I can't
see a real plumber using those except to avoid redecoration on existing
installations, an amateur could use them to avoid soldering if working
on an existing copper installation.

Leaving apart specialised installations (refrigeration, oxygen supplies
etc) What advantages does silver solder have for domestic use?

You loaded your question (are they stuck with the old fashioned
methods) so I'll load my answer - I suspect it's a job protection
measure pushed into legislature by industry bodies to keep Joe Bloggs
from DIYing his own plumbing ...

Don't know but we have been using hard silver solder for years and years
and am truly flummoxed if there were a country not using it and
tradesmen still using soft solder.
It is not in legislature as such but architects and powers that be
specify it in their new building and it is normal practice elsewhere.
soft solder is still used but usually because it is easier to do than
lug the oxy acetylene about.