The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
How To Design And Install Plumbing
This practice eliminates extra time and trouble and over- , comes the danger of property damage and the expense of making repairs within the building should it have runs of trapped piping. If it is impossible to grade the piping to one point, all portions of the system that cannot be centrally drained should be provided with separate drain cocks.
Water piping does not require the amount of grade that waste lines do. Just off level, or up to 1/4-inch pitch per foot, is sufficient to produce a well working installation.
Supports and Hangers. The water distribution system may be suspended from the basement ceiling in various ways. In large concrete buildings iron inserts are placed on the rough floor sheathing and slushed into the concrete slab. This method of pipe suspension, Fig. 201, is very satisfactory.
Hangers can also be fastened to concrete ceilings and brick walls where no provision has been made for inserts. This is accomplished by drilling a hole and inserting an expanding shield and lag bolt. The practice of using wooden plugs or similar material for fastening pipe hangers is impractical and should be avoided.
In buildings of wood construction the hangers can be screwed or spiked to the wood joists of the building. Eye lag bolts may also be used for this purpose, Fig. 202.
The fixture supply riser, too, must be well supported on each floor. The device generally used for this purpose is known as a pipe rest or clamp. It consists of two pieces of heavy band iron made to fit tightly around the vertical pipe. The two halves are drawn together by bolts that pass through drilled holes on each side of the clamp.
A vertical riser should never depend on support of its horizontal branches. Installations of this kind usually result in a breaking off of the branch at its connection into the riser. All horizontal runs of the fixture riser must be well suspended and given even grade to the fixture riser.
Use of Valves on Water Systems. The water system must be equipped with an adequate number of valves, placed at locations where they are of most use. Very often mechanics feel that the installation of valves is an unnecessary expense. This is not true, and a system which has an insufficient number of valves is usually inefficient.
Plumbing installations are subject to breakdowns because of their numerous working parts. A valve installed at a point where breakdown has occurred makes it possible to control the water supply and avert serious damage. Valves also provide water control for portions of the installation and, in this way, localize the inconvenience caused by repair.
