Cottages; or, Hints on Economical Building

by Unknown

Cottages or suburban dwellings of moderate cost should have as few plumbing fixtures as possible, especially if water is scarce, and must be pumped to a distributing tank by hand labor. Where there is a system of service pipes, tanks and fixtures, there will be more or less outlay for annual repairs, besides the frequent annoyance of apparatus getting out of order, or refusing to work, or freezing up and bursting. It is certainly much cheaper to have a properly managed earth-closet and to confine the plumbing in the house to a kitchen sink, a force-pump, a tank and a kitchen boiler. Certain advantages, however, of an indoor water-closet, as regards comfort, convenience and health, must be conceded. A bath-room with a plain bath-tub is also a great convenience and an important aid to bodily cleanliness. It pays well to arrange for it, even where one must forego the luxury of a good water-closet. If means are not available for a system of hot and cold water pipes, the bath tub may be filled by pails. A small slop sink or slop hopper for removing chamber slops is also useful and facilitates the work of servants. Both sink and tub may be arranged in one room, which should have plenty of ventilation and direct light by large windows to the outer air. Even the smallest cottage must have a plain kitchen sink. Where the kitchen is large, a set of laundry tubs may be arranged close by the sink; in larger dwellings a special room is generally set aside for laundry purposes, next to the kitchen, or below the kitchen, in the basement, and hot water from the kitchen boiler is generally available. If a bath-room is wanted, with a water-closet and a bath-tub, and all necessary amount of hot and cold water pipes, waste and vent pipes, let the arrangement be as plain and as open—which does not necessarily mean unsightly—as possible. Keep all pipes outside of walls or partitions, have them where you can constantly see them and lay your hands on any stopcock or other plumbing detail, if necessary. Dispense with woodwork as much as possible. Arrange every fixture, especially the sink and the water-closet, open to inspection and accessible to the dust-brush and wiping cloth of the servants. It is important—for the sake of economy as well as on account of plain and straight arrangement of pipes—that the bath-room should be as nearly as possible directly over the kitchen, so that one waste pipe and one line of vent pipe may answer for both. A little skill and foresight in planning will usually accomplish this desirable feature.

Let the kitchen sink be of plain cast-iron, the laundry tubs of wood, or better, of slate; the bath-tub of wood, lined with 14 oz. copper, and select a good earthen-ware flushing rim hopper with supply-cistern. Of course, there is more expensive, more durable and handsomer plumbing apparatus sold, but the above fixtures, if well set, answer all practical requirements of a small home. The water-closet should be arranged with so little woodwork as only a seat resting on cleats; the closet itself standing on all sides free on the floor. This may be finished in hard wood or covered with oil-cloth, or with slate slabs. A closet thus arranged answers well for pouring out chamber slops and for use as a urinal. For further details on plumbing fixtures see the author’s books on the subject.

Here are a few approved rules on house sewerage, so far as they relate to plain cottages.

The main house sewer outside the building to be of strong well-burnt, and glazed vitrified pipe, circular in section, four inches in diameter, laid in straight lines, or with curves of large radius at changes of direction. Joints to be made with pure Portland cement. It is important that no cement remains on the inside of the joint. The bottom part of each pipe should be tightened with particular care. The drain to be firmly laid at the bottom of the trench, if necessary, on a bed of concrete. Grooves should be cut for the pipe-sockets. The depth of the drain should be about 3 feet. Junctions to be made with Y branches. Inclination to be, if possible, ½ inch to the foot. Wherever grades are very flat provide some simple and inexpensive flushing apparatus at the head of the house sewer.

All the pipes inside the house to be thoroughly gas and water-tight, and well flushed and ventilated. The house sewer inside the dwelling, to a point five feet outside of the house walls, to be of heavy iron pipe; of cast iron, if kept below the floor; of wrought iron or cast iron, if run along the cellar wall or ceiling. Provide a sufficient number of access-holes for inspection and for removing stoppages.

The soil pipe or waste pipe to be of heavy tarred cast iron with well caulked lead joints, or of asphalted wrought iron with steam-tight screw-joints. Pipes to run as straight as possible from the cellar to the roof, and to be continued full-size at least two feet above the roof. Mouth to be left wide open. Size of soil pipe 4 inches; of waste pipe 2 inches.

Provide a running trap on line of main house sewer, inside or outside of the house. Arrange a 4-inch fresh air pipe, at the house side of such trap, run preferably some distance away from the house and hidden from sight by shrubbery.

Branch waste pipes from fixtures to be of heavy lead pipe, 1½ inches diameter. Joints between lead and iron pipe to be made with brass ferrules or brass screw nipples.

Each fixture to be separately trapped near its outlet by a self-cleansing and secure trap. Overflow pipes to be dispensed with as much as possible; if used to join the waste pipe between the fixture and the trap. Traps to be either the siphon (S or running traps), in which case siphonage should be prevented by an air pipe, or else to be anti-siphoning or mechanical or mercury-seal traps.