Plumbing Works

Plumbing is the practice of installation of pipes, fixtures, and other equipment that distribute water supply in a
building and dispose of wastewater in a safe way. The purpose of plumbing is to get water to a structure for the use of the
occupants and to remove sewage and used or unwanted water from the building and its surrounding areas. This is achieved
by means of plumbing fixtures, pipes and fittings.
There are many types of pipe materials available in the market. In the Philippines, the most widely used pipe
materials are plastic pipes such as PVC, CPVC, etc. This report focuses on the estimation of plastic pipes since it’s the
practical material to estimate in the practice of plumbing in the Philippines.
Plastic pipes have been widely accepted for its advantages such as its rust and corrosion resistance, ease of
installation, no pipe after taste, minimum resistance to flow, among others.

Description and Functions of the Sanitary Pipes and Fittings

Soil pipe – a pipe thru which the sewage discharged from the water closet passes.
Waste pipe – a pipe which carries liquid waste but not the toilet sewage. The pipes for draining used water from
the shower, bath tub, lavatory, and kitchen sink are waste pipes.
Vent pipe – provides air within the installation to prevent suction-looking in a fixture drain, thus allowing water
and waste to flow freely thru the pipes; helps prevent waste from upper floor receptacles from backing up into
lower floor fixtures by releasing back pressure within the pipes.
Trap – retains water at its curved section to block obnoxious sewer gasses and prevent them from coming into
the room.
Stack – vertical sanitary pipes extending from floor to floor or floor to roof of the building that may serve as a
soil, vent or waste installation.
Vent pipe thru roof – directs the harmful gasses in the sanitary system up above the building roof instead of
allowing them to leak inside the rooms.
Coupling/Socket – for joining two pieces of pipes without altering the direction of the conduits.
Bend/Elbow – facilitates the change of direction of the piping installation.
Clean–out with plug fitting attached to the dead-end in a pipe draining waste from one or more fixtures, which
has a removable plug making it possible to clean the system if it gets clogged.
Tee, Sanitary Tee and Sanitary Wye – fittings that allow a branch to be connected to the longitudinal or main
pipe line.

The Sanitary Piping Installation

A soil pipe (SP) with branches to the different plumbing fixtures and receptacles like the water closet, lavatory,
floor drains and kitchen sink runs through the building to where the toilet-bathroom is located. One end is a clean-out with
a removable cap to allow cleaning if the pipe gets clogged. Its other extremity terminates inside the septic vault, a receptacle
where the wastes from the different fixtures are deposited and rendered into harmless liquid to be eventually drained off
thru the house drainage system to the street sewer or canal, or percolate deep down the soil.
A pipe vent through the roof (VTR) provides air inside the pipes to facilitate the easy flow of the wastes and to
dispel the obnoxious gasses inside the system above the roof instead of leaking inside the building.
The Water Distribution System
The building water entrance pipe (WEP) is connected to the water main along the street by means of a corporation
cock. The amount of water passing thru the water service is measured by the water meter. The meter shut-off and the gate
valve located just before, and after, the meter respectively, serve to control the entire building water service. From these,
the water pipes branch out to the different fixtures requiring water.
The House Drainage System
Concrete or CHB catch basins serve as receptacles for water deposited by downspouts connected to the roof
gutters or from ground water overflows. Inter-connected concrete drainage pipes empty the water from the catch basins
into the street gutter/canal or public sewer system.
Plumbing Fixtures and Accessories
Choosing high quality plumbing fixtures assures satisfactory lifetime performance, beauty and adds elegance to
the bathroom. On this spread are representative models if premium water closets, lavatories, urinal and bathtub that meet
local and international standards.
Estimation of Plastic Pipes:

Pipe Length Available in the market are 3m and 6m. 3m pipes are hubless meaning its 3m length is its effective length.

Engagement length is length allocated for pipe to pipe connection

Table 2. Quantity of Solvent Cement per Joint

Size of Pipe (mm) 20 25 32 40 50 63 90 115
Grams per Joint 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.5 5.0 10 16

Table 1. Engagement Length of 6 m pipe

Pipe Size Engagement Length in cm Effective Length in meter Weight per meter in kg
mm in
63 2.5 7.5 5.925 0.75
75 3 12 5.880 1.51
90 3.5 13 5.880 1.90
100 4.5 14 5.870 2.85
160 6.5 16 5.840 6.03
225 9 18 5.820 11.87
280 11.5 20.5 5.795 18.51

How to Estimate the Number of Pipes?

Example: Solve for the number of pipes for the illustration below using:
a. 63 mm x 3 m plastic pipe
b. 100 mm x 6 m plastic pipe

Computation:
a. For 63 mm x 3m plastic pipe
1. Divide the face to face distance by the length of pipe.
No of Pipes = 44.40 m / 3m = 14.8 pcs
2. Multiply the value of decimal only obtained from step 1 by the length of pipe to be used.
0.8 x 3 m = 2.4 m
3. Solve the engagement length. Refer to table 1.
2 x 7.5 cm = 15 cm or 0.15 m
4. Add the values of step 2 and 3.
2.4 m + 0.15 m = 2.55 m
5. Summary of Order:
* 14 pcs 63 mm x 3 meter pipe
* 1 cut at 2.55 meters long

6. Solve for the Solvent Cement

No of Joints = No. of pipes x 2
No of Joints = 14 x 2 = 28 joints
Solvent Cement = No. of Joints x Multiplier (Refer to Table 2)
Solvent Cement = 28 x 5 = 140 grams

b. For 100 mm x 6 m plastic pipe

1. Divide the face to face distance by the effective length. Refer to Table 1.
No. of Pipes = 44.40 m/ 5.870 m = 7.56 pipes
2. Multiply the value of decimal only obtained from step 1 by the length of pipe to be used.
0.56 m x 6 m = 3.36 m
3. Solve the engagement length. Refer to table 2.
14 cm x 2 = 28 cm or 0.28 m
4. Add the value of step 2 and step 3.
3.36 m + 0.28 m = 3.64 m
5. Summary of Order:
* 7 pieces 100 mm x 6 meter pipe
* 1 cut at 3.64 meters long

Determining Length of Pipes with Offset Angle

Table 3. Ratio of Offset Measurements
Offset Angle Ratio of Travel to Offset Ratio of Run to Offset
60 degrees 1.555 0.577
45 degrees 1.414 1.000
30 degrees 3.000 1.732
22.50 degrees 2.613 2.414
11.25 degrees 5.126 5.027
56.25 degrees 10.217 10.158

Example: Find the travel distance of the pipe if the offset angle is 45 degrees and the offset length is 30 cm

Computation:
Travel Length = Offset Length x Multiplier (Refer to Table 3)
Travel Length = 30 cm x 1.414 = 42.42 cm or 4.242 m
Plastic Pipe Fittings
Plastic Pipe Fittings are used to connect pipes with one another. There are also types of pipe fittings that can
change the direction of the flow or increase/decrease the rate of flow. The type of fitting to be used depends on the
factors such as elevation, pipe diameter size, change of direction, change of slope, etc.

1. 90 degree Threaded Tee 2. Reducing Tees

3. 90 degree Tees 4. 90 degree Threaded Elbows

5. 90 degree Elbow 6. Male Threaded Adaptors

7. Female Threaded Adaptors 8. Unions

9. Sockets 10. Reducing Sockets

11. Caps 12. Reducing Adaptors

Cast Iron Pipe

For hundreds of years, cast iron piping has been used successfully for plumbing systems. With the existence of
PVC, cast iron is still made and it’s better than ever. Thousands of miles of municipal water and sewer system use cast iron
pipe. The reason? Cast iron is time-tested, durable and quiet.
However, the use of cast iron is limited was limited by the code to less than 25- storey buildings where constant
vibration is present.
The commercial length of cast iron pipe is 150cm long with diameters ranging from 50mm to 150mm with the
following types.

 Standard Pipe- for well fitted hub and spigot connections

 Single Hub Pipe- suitable when the length of pipe needed is more than 150 cm long wherein cutting is not
necessary.
 Double Hub Pipe- preferred when the length of pipe needed is shorter than 150 cm long. When the pipe is cut,
both ends has a hub to serve as joint connector.
 Hubless Pipe- use instead of single hub, it is cheaper and easily connected using a neoprene rubber sleeves.
Measuring Length of Cast Iron Pipe
In measuring length of cast iron pipe, the end portion that will enter into the hub is added to the face length of
the effective distance.
Table 1. Effective Length of Cast Iron Pipe Table 2. Additional Length in Cutting Cut Iron
Pipe Size Laying Length in centimeter
Pipe
Pipe Diameter Engagement Length
mm in Pipe with Hub Hubless Pipe mm in mm cm
50 2 143 150 50 2 62 6.2
75 3 143 150 75 3 68 6.8
100 4 142 150 100 4 75 7.5
125 5 142 150 125 5 75 7.5
150 6 142 150 150 6 75 7.5

EXAMPLE 1:
From Figure 1, find the length of the cast iron pipe required using 75mm (3”) diameter.
Illustration:

Solution:

 The length of the face distance is 120 cm. From Table 1, the additional length for a 75mm (3”) pipe is 6.8 cm
120 + 6.8 = 126.8 cm

Example 2:
From Figure 2, find the length of the cast iron pipe required using 125mm (5”) diameter.

Solution:

 The face to face distance is 360cm. From table 2, the additional engagement length of a 125mm (5”) pipe is 7.5
cm, thus, the two end engagement length is:
7.5 +7.5 =15 cm
 The total length required is:
360 + 15 = 375 cm
 Divide the total length by effective length of one pipe. From Table 1, then under pipe with hub (given is double
hub pipe) the effective length is 142 cm.
375/142 = 2.64 pipes
 The whole number 2 means two pipes at 150 cm long. The amount 0.64 means the fractional cut to be cut or
taken from one pipe. In short, this is less than 1 pipe length.
 Therefore the pipes required are:
2 pcs 125mm at 150cm =3.00 meters
1 pcs 125mm at 93cm = 0.93 meters
Total length = 3.93 meters
 Order: 3pcs-125mm at 150 cm cast iron pipe.
Cutting and Connecting Pipes
The procedures in cutting cast iron pipe:
1. Use chalk to mark cut lines on the pipe.
2. The pipe is laid on sand or flat wood.
3. Using hammer and cold chisel, the mark line in the pipe is struck gently at first round, then continue striking
harder and harder all around, until the pipe is cut.

Caulking Joints
Quantity of Oakum and Lead in pipe joints for cast iron.

Table 3. Quantity of Oakum in Pipe Joints Table 4. Quantity of Lead in Pipe Joints

Pipe Diameter Weight of Oakum per Pipe Diameter Weight of Lead in

cm in joint in kilograms (mm) kilograms
50 2 0.05 50 0.50
75 3 0.08 75 0.80
100 4 0.15 100 1.00
125 5 0.23 125 1.50
150 6 0.35 150 2.00

Example 3:
Determine the quantity of oakum and lead in kilograms required for a drainage installation with the following
joints.
6 joints of 50 mm pipe
10 joints of 125 mm pipe having 20mm lead packing.

Solution:

 Refer to Table 3 and Table 4

Oakum:
6 joints x 0.05 = 0.30 kg.
10 joints x 0.23= 2.30 kg.
Lead:
6 joints x 0.50= 3.00 kg.
10 joints x 1.50= 15.00 kg
 Order:
2.60 kilograms oakum
18.00 kilograms peg lead
Sewage Disposal System
Sewage Disposal Systems are systems with the purpose of collecting, treating, and disposing of wastewater in a
building. Four Types of Sewage Disposal System:
1. Cesspool
2. Privy
3. Septic Tank
4. Public Sewer Line

Among these four, the most commonly built sewage disposal system her in the Philippines is the septic tank. A septic tank
is a receptacle for waste and wastewater. In the septic tank, the solid wastes suspend at the bottom. In it, anaerobic bacteria
processes the wastes stored in the septic tank and decomposes it.