Abstract: This pipe joint for connecting pipes made of non shrinkable plastics, preferably polybutene, comprises a sleeve body which has a tapered inside surface facing the pipe end and mating the outside surface of the pipe end. The joint is made by the action of heat on the joint-forming region, e.g., by means of a heating element, which is embedded in the sleeve body. This causes a homogeneous joint to be formed between the sleeve body (3) and the pipe ends (1 and 2). To make the joint, the sleeve body is made to have a defined taper on its inside surface. The pipe end to be inserted is made to have a corresponding taper and is inserted into the sleeve body (3) until no clearance has been left between them and an interference fit has been achieved. The heat source is then energized for a defined time so that the inside surface portions of the sleeve and the outside surface portions of the pipe end melt and the materials forming the sleeve body (3) and the pipe ends (1 and 2) form an intimate, homogeneous joint.