CHAPTER XXXIII.
PRACTICAL PLUMBING.—WOOD-WORK FOR PLUMBER.—EXCAVATING FOR PLUMBER.—WATER DISTRIBUTION.—OUTSIDE FIXTURES.—HYDRANTS.—STREET-WASHERS.—SOFT-WATER SUPPLY.—HOT-WATER SUPPLY.—SOIL PIPE.—INSIDE FIXTURES.—KITCHEN SINK.—CELLAR SINK.
In a previous chapter plumbing was considered from a sanitary standpoint, and the conditions of safety set forth. In this chapter it remains to consider plumbing work in a more practical way; to consider it with reference to its execution, assuming that it is desired to reach the best results. This means, primarily, good work; then good work with the least expenditure of money.
The carpenter usually provides all necessary wood-work for the plumber. This means boards and runs on which pipes are to be placed, the pipe duct and other wood finish. It is best that the carpenter should do this in order that it may be well done. There should be specified in the carpenter’s contract exactly what he is to do, so that he may calculate on a definite basis. All of the cutting work, where cutting is necessary, should be done by the carpenter. The plumber is not usually supplied with tools of the right kind for doing this, and is as liable to botch carpenter work as a carpenter would be to botch the plumbing work.
The plumber should do all of his own excavating. This includes trenches for pipes of all kinds to and from the house. After the pipes and drains have been placed therein, he should make fills and thoroughly tamp the earth so as to restore the surface to its original condition. This may be best done by putting in a small quantity of earth at a time, ramming it down and then pouring water on it. Even after this the drain space should be left with a slight crown, as the earth will settle a little more than it is possible to make it by artificial means. Superfluous earth should be removed from the building and lot.
Plumber’s excavating is not included in the general contract. If there is any superfluous earth in connection with his work, he, and not the general contractor, should remove it. Contracting methods are explained in another section of the book.
WATER DISTRIBUTION.
Lead should be used for all purposes where pipes are exposed to view and where they come in contact with the earth. This is common practice. Sometimes, however, brass or planished copper pipes and fittings are used where they are exposed to view. Brass makes very beautiful and satisfactory work. Iron pipe, galvanized inside and out, is occasionally used for exposed work. It does not look as well, however, as lead pipe. Galvanized iron pipe is also frequently used where not exposed to view, and where it does not come in contact with the earth. Objections will be made to this by plumbers who are used to doing lead work. In all hospitals where the best work is done iron or brass pipe is used, and lead pipe and connections are entirely dispensed with. However, the use of lead pipe where exposed to view and where in contact with the earth, and iron pipe galvanized for other places, makes most excellent and beautiful work for dwelling-houses. The connections between iron and lead pipe should be of brass.
The water works of many cities and towns are from direct-pressure mains. It is common for such pressure to be forty pounds to the square inch under ordinary conditions. A fire pressure is much greater. Therefore, all direct-pressure pipes of lead should be extra strong. Tank-pressure pipes, those which connect with a tank in the attic or above a water-closet, may be medium strong. The terms “extra strong” and “medium strong,” as here used, are definite in their meaning, and apply to regular grades of pipe. The interior fixtures of an ordinary dwelling-house are supplied with lead pipe five-eighths of an inch in diameter, or iron pipe three-quarters of an inch in diameter. In the above will be found all that applies in general terms to an ordinary specification for water distribution. Special mention will be made later.
Stop-cocks should be provided sufficient entirely to disconnect and drain all pipes, fixtures, and connections. “Stop-and-waste” cocks should be provided at the bottom of all main risers where they cannot otherwise be drained. A “stop-and-waste” cock is one which shuts off the supply from its source, and drains the water from pipes above, so that it passes out to a receptacle provided for that purpose. In some instances it is allowed to run to a sink on the cellar floor, or it may be taken in a bucket.
The city water-supply for an ordinary dwelling-house is generally through five-eighths-inch extra strong lead pipe, and is provided with a stop-box so that the water can be turned off from the house at the street.
OUTSIDE FIXTURES.
Outside fixtures which connect with the city water are a street-washer and a hydrant. The street-washer is usually placed in front, so that a hose may be attached to it for sprinkling purposes. There are many standard grades of street-washers carried in stock by all plumbers. The hydrant has about the same lower connections as the street-washer. The hose connection and opening stand well above the lot grade. It is usually placed in the back yard or stable. The outlet may have a hose coupling, and thus be used for sprinkling purposes in the back part of the lot or otherwise, as desired. Where there are no hydrants, it is common to run an iron pipe along the ground to connect the front and back yard. Thus it is not necessary to have so large a supply of hose. The pipe thus used is three-quarters of an inch in diameter. It is less expensive than rubber hose, and does not deteriorate. It should have a short hose connection in front, and hose coupling at the back.
SOFT-WATER SUPPLY.
In many cities the water from the public pipes contains too much lime to be used for bathing or washing. In such a case it is necessary to supply cistern water for that purpose. This is done by connecting the cistern in the yard with a tank in the attic, or some place above the highest fixture. To do this a force pump is placed in the kitchen. The best kind to use are those known as double-acting, horizontal, brass-cylinder force pumps. They may be screwed to the floor, and the handle come up next to the sink or between the drain-board and the dry-board. When not in use, this handle can be next to the wall and out of the way. A motor may be used in lieu of a pump. It is placed over the kitchen sink, and has connection with city water works. When it is desired to pump water to the attic, one can turn on the city water at the cock and let it run. Thus the city pressure is exerted through the motor to pump water to the attic, and the labor of pumping entirely done away with. The cost is about fifteen dollars more than a good pump. The suction of such a pump or motor should be one-and-one-half-inch strong lead pipe, and the supply to tank in attic one-and-one-quarter-inch lead or iron pipe where not exposed to view. Where the pump or motor is placed as indicated, it may be used to pump water directly to the kitchen sink, and it is generally best that such an arrangement be made. Of course, water may be drawn from the tank in the attic to this sink, if it is desired to so arrange it; but where this is done, it is necessary to pump all of the cold water used in the kitchen to the attic. This is unnecessary. The sink may have a direct pump connection by means of a five-eighths-inch strong lead pipe which connects with the tank supply. On the end of this lead pipe may be a brass or nickel compression cock over the sink. When it is desired to pump water into the tank this cock is closed, and the only connection is with the tank above.
The common size for tank is eight barrels capacity. It should be constructed of inch-and-three-quarters ploughed and tongued material with two three-eighths inch rods, with bolts and nuts at each end, and cleats across top and bottom in middle. The inside should be lined with four-pound sheet lead; that is, sheet lead which weighs four pounds to the foot. There should be an inch tell-tale pipe of galvanized iron which connects with the sink nearest the pump. Sometimes an overflow which runs to the roof is used, in which case a smaller tell-tale, say one-half inch in diameter, will serve. There are instances where the tank in the attic is connected with a special gutter on the roof, above the line of the tank. Then the tank is provided with a large overflow so that it may not cause trouble. However, this is a little risky. The tank is connected with the hot and cold water system and fixtures subsequently named.
The hot-water system is as simple as it is efficient. Usually a heavy-pressure galvanized-iron boiler, of from twenty-four to sixty-two gallons capacity, is located in the kitchen. It is connected with the tank by means of five-eighths-inch lead or three-quarters-inch iron pipe, and with fixtures subsequently named as being supplied with hot water in the same manner. The water is heated in the range by means of a water back or water front placed in the fire-box of the range. It is connected with the boiler by means of five-eighths-inch lead and three-quarters-inch iron pipe. One pipe from the lower part of the boiler takes the water to the back. The other carries it to the top of the boiler, the cold water naturally going to the bottom and the hot water passing to the top. The hot-water supply for fixtures is drawn from the top of the boiler. Any one may notice, by passing the hand up and down a boiler of this kind, that the top is always warmer than the bottom. Sometimes a wrought-iron pipe is used in a stove in lieu of a water back. It usually answers the same purpose, though its heating surface is not so great. It is best to use a pipe back where the boiler is not connected with soft water. The incrustation from the lime is such that the back soon becomes filled, and it is much more expensive to replace than one made of pipe. When the hot water is from the city water works, the supply is usually directly therefrom rather than from a tank in the attic. However, it is not uncommon to have a tank supply in the house where public-water supply is taken to the exclusion of all other, and it is a better system, though a little more expensive. The hot-water reservoir is usually placed on an iron stand near the stove. It should be provided with a draining connection for the purpose of drawing out all the water when desired. A vent connection from the reservoir to the tank in attic, or, in the event of no tank being used, to the roof above, is common as a guard against extra steam pressure.
SOIL PIPE.
Before considering other inside fixtures and fittings, the soil pipe should be mentioned. It is of cast-iron, light weight, and, when it is connected with a water-closet, should be four inches in diameter on the inside, and japanned inside and out. Joints are made at the hubs, and should be leaded and well calked. Connections with this pipe should be made by means of Y’s of proper size, depending on the size of the drain which connects therewith. The soil pipe should continue upward and through the roof to a point at least four feet above the nearest ridge. Below, it should continue outside of the foundation wall to connect with the drain. Where there is a sink in the cellar, the soil pipe should be below the cellar floor. Vitrified or earthenware drain pipe should never be used inside the walls of a house.
INSIDE FIXTURES.
The kitchen sink may be considered first. They are usually of light cast-iron. Sometimes they are of pressed steel; again, they are of cast-iron with an interior porcelain finish. If a common cast-iron sink is painted, the paint soon wears off. The ideal sink, the one which is the best in every way, is of porcelain. It has the white, glazed surface of a fine dish, and is easily cleaned. Any kitchen sink should be eighteen inches wide, six inches deep, and from twenty-four to thirty-six inches in length. Thirty or thirty-six is the best. They are provided with a strainer in the bottom, and have one-and-one-half-inch light lead “S” trap connection with soil pipe or grease sink, subsequently considered. Where city water is at hand, the sink should be supplied through a five-eighths-inch brass or nickel-plated self-closing cock. Where the city water is hard, hot and cold cistern water in addition to city water should be supplied through five-eighths-inch brass or nickel-plated compression cocks. If the hot water is from the public water works, a self-closing cock should be used. All cocks should be screwed to a soldered nipple, and not “wiped” or joined directly to the lead pipe. In this way, it is not necessary to wipe a joint every time the cock gives out. A smaller sink, size as desired, may be used in the china-closet or butler’s pantry. Such a sink is not in common use excepting in the more expensive houses.
The cellar sink should be sixteen by sixteen inches, ten inches deep, and should be provided with strainer, and an inch-and-a-half light lead “S” trap connection with soil pipe. If city supply only is desired, it may be had through five-eighths-inch brass self-closing cock. Where connection is made with cistern, it may be by means of one-and-one-half inch pipe and a cast-iron pitcher pump; if not this, a well, driven or otherwise, may be similarly connected by means of a pitcher or lift pump. This cellar sink is the kind that may be used in connection with the laundry previously described. Where stationary tubs are used, this sink is not necessary.