[19] Tiling, linoleum, concrete, etc., as opposed to wood or carpets.—Editor.
CHAPTER IX
Defects in Plumbing
The materials used in house plumbing are many and various, the parts are very numerous, the joints and connections are frequent, the position and location of pipes, etc., are often inaccessible and hidden, and the whole system quite complicated. Moreover, no part of the house construction is subjected to so many strains and uses, as well as abuses, as the plumbing of the house. Hence, in no part of house construction can there be as much bad work and "scamping" done as in the plumbing; and no part of the house is liable to have so many defects in construction, maintenance, and condition as the plumbing. At the same time, the plumbing of a house is of very great importance and influence on the health of the tenants, for defective materials, bad workmanship, and improper condition of the plumbing of a house may endanger the lives of its inhabitants by causing various diseases.
Defects in Plumbing.—The defects usually found in plumbing are so many that they cannot all be enumerated here. Among the principal and most common defects, however, are the following:
Materials.—Light-weight iron pipes; these crack easily and cannot stand the strain of calking. Sand-holes made during casting; these cannot always be detected, especially when the pipes are tar-coated. Thin lead pipe; not heavy enough to withstand the bending and drawing it is subjected to.
Location and Position.—Pipes may be located within the walls and built in, in which case they are inaccessible, and may be defective without anyone being able to discover the defects. Pipes may be laid with a wrong or an insufficient fall, thus leaving them unflushed, or retarding the proper velocity of the flow in the pipes. Pipes may be put underground and have no support underneath, when some parts or lengths may sink, get out of joint, and the sewage run into the ground instead of through the pipes. The pipes may be so located as to require sharp bends and curves, which will retard the flow in them.
Joints.—Joints in pipes may be defective, leaking, and not gas-tight because of imperfect calking, insufficient lead having been used; or, no oakum having been used and the lead running into the lumen of the pipe; or, not sufficient care and time being taken for the work. Joints may be defective because of iron ferrules being used instead of brass ferrules; through improperly wiped joints; through bad workmanship, bad material, or ignorance of the plumber. Plumbers often use T branches instead of Y branches; sharp bends instead of bends of forty-five degrees or more; slip joints instead of lead-calked ones; also, they often connect a pipe of larger diameter with a pipe of small diameter, etc.
Traps.—The traps may be bad in principle and in construction; they may be badly situated or connected, or they may be easily unsealed, frequently obstructed, inaccessible, foul, etc.