ARCHITECTURAL SCIENCE

(PLUMBING)
SANITARY SYSTEM:
• Sanitary Sewage – The sewage containing human
excrement or household wastes which originates in a
water closet.
• Sanitary Sewer – a sewer intended to receive sanitary
sewage with or without pre-treated industrial wastes and
without admixture of rain or ground water.

Three types of Waste Water:

a. Storm Water – from the rain.
b. Grey Water – waste from laundries, wash basins, sinks,
showers, bathtubs etc.
c. Black Water – water plus human waste solid and liquid,
urine that is flushed out of toilets and urinals.
Elements of Sanitary System:

a. Soil pipe – any pipe which conveys the discharge of water

closets, urinals, or fixtures having similar functions.
b. Stack – a general term used for any vertical line of soil,
waste, or vent piping.
c. Soil stack – a vertical soil pipe conveying fecal matter and
liquid waste.
d. Stack vent – an extension of a soil or waste stack above
the highest horizontal drain connected to the stack.
e. Vent – a pipe or opening used for ensuring the circulation
of air in a plumbing system.
f. Unit vent – an arrangement of venting so installed that
one vent pipe will serve two traps.
g. Wet vent – the portion of a vent pipe through where
wastewater also flows through.
h. Branch – any part of a piping system other than the main,
raiser or stack.
i. Main – the main of any system of continuous piping is the
principal artery of the system to which branches maybe
connected.
j. Branch vent – a horizontal vent connecting one or more
individual vertical back vents with the vent stack or stack
vent.
k. Waste pipe – a pipe, which conveys only wastewater or liquid
waste, free of fecal matter.
l. Sewer – a pipe conduit for carrying sewage and wastewater.
m. Sewerage – a comprehensive, including all construction for
collection, transportation, pumping, treatment and final
disposition of waste.
n. Trap – a fitting or device designed and constructed to provide,
when properly vented, a liquid seal which prevents the backflow
of foul air or methane gas without materially affecting the flow
of sewage or wastewater through it.
p. House drain – part of the lowest horizontal piping of a plumbing
system which receives the discharges from soil, waste and other
drainage pipes inside of a building and conveys it to the house
sewer outside of the building.
q. Relief vent - A branch from the vent stack, connected to a
horizontal branch between the first fixture branch and the soil or
waste stack, whose primary function is to provide for circulation
of air between the vent stack and the soil or waste stack.
r. Public sewer - a common sewer directly controlled by public
authority to which all abutters have equal rights of connection.
s. Pipe chase - an opening or space to accommodate a group of
pipes.
t. Cleanout - A pipe fitting with a removable plug which provides
access for inspection or cleaning of the pipe run.
Common Sanitary Fittings:
• Sanitary Wye 4x4, 2x2, 4x2,
• Sanitary Tee 4x4, 2x2, 4x2,
• Sanitary bend ¼, 1/8, 1/16, 1/5
• 1/8 bend offset
• ¼ bend longsweep
• Tapped tee 4x2, 2x2,
• Cross tee (tapped) 4x2, 2x2
• Sanitary cross tee 4x4, 4x2
• Sanitary double wye branch 4x4, 4x2
• Sanitary inverted wye 4x2
• Double hub fitting 4x4, 2x2
• Cleanout ferrule
• Reducer 4x2
• Traps
• Crow foot
Sanitary Wye 1/8 Bend

Sanitary Tee Sanitary Tee (Tapped)

 Offset

Double Wye

Long sweep

Cross Tee
Traps

Cleanout
Traps and Vents
• Traps - A device to maintain a water seal against sewer gases, air, and
odors.
Rule: 1. A minimum depth of 2” and a maximum of 4” are common
standards for water seal. 2. An exception to the rule that each fixture
should have its own trap. Common exceptions include two laundry trays
and kitchen sink connected to a single trap (not more than 3).
• Trap seal loss
Trap seal – a vertical distance between the dip and the crown weir of a
trap. Also it is the water in the trap between the dip and the crown weir.
Causes of trap seal loss:
1. Siphonage
a. direct or self-siphonage
b. indirect or momentum
2. Back pressure
3. Evaporation
4. Capillary action
• Siphonage (Direct) - the result of a minus pressure in the drainage
system.( Pressure is a force required to move gas or liquid) when a
large amount of water flow rapidly through the trap, self siphoning
is automatically developed and the water content of the trap (seal)
is absolutely discharged. This is known as a trap seal loss. When the
seal is lost, back flow of gasses from the sewer line or septic tank
will pass into the trap, funds its way to the fixture drain outlet and
spread into the room.
Indirect or momentum siphonage - This type is the result of a
minus pressure in the pipe created by heavy discharge of water
from a fixture installed on a line serving another fixture at lower
floor.
• Back pressure- this condition is caused by a plus pressure which
blows the water out of the pressure. It happens usually when a large
flow of water drop and form as slug and compress the air inside the
pipe. The compressed air will find its way out through a weather
point. The trap seal will give way and blow out of the fixture.
• Evaporation- this process is a minor problem
and less probable to drain the water inside the
trap. Evaporation happens only on floor drains
not regularly used to admit water but exposed
to extreme temperature.
• Capillary action- this kind of trap seal loss
seldom happens and is rarely experienced by
homeowners. The condition is caused by a
suspension of a foreign object such as string,
rags, strands of hair extended over the outlet
arm of the trap.
Vents - A pipe installed to provide a flow of air to or from a drainage
system or to provide a circulation of air within such system to protect
trap seals from siphonage and back pressure.

Different types of vent: 

a. Main soil and waste vent - This is the portion of the soil pipe stack
above the highest installed fixture branch extended through the roof. It
serves as the terminal for the main vent and other vents of the
plumbing installation.

b. Main vent - Is that portion of the vent pipe system which serves as a
terminal of smallest form of units and grouped fixtures trap ventilation.
The main vent is connected full size at their base to the main soil or
waste pipe at or below the lowest fixture branch and should extend
undiminished in size above the roof or should be reconnected with the
main soil vent at least 1.00 meter above the highest fixture branch.
The main vent also serves as a relief vent for many back pressures. It
must be free from form offsets to allow free movement of air.
d. Unit vent - This is that portion of the vent pipe which ventilates two fixture
traps. Usually used in apartments arranged back to back.
In plumbing, a single vent, 1 connected at the junction of two fixture
drains, which serves as a vent for both.
. Individual vent - Sometimes referred to as back vent. It is that portion of the
vent pipe which serves a single trap. It should be connected close to the
fixture trap as possible. It should be located under path and back of the
fixture and it must be connected t the main vent above the overflow line of
the fixture.
 
e. Circuit or loop vent - This is employed where two or more fixture traps are
installed on a horizontal soil or waste branch. The use of circuit vent generally
reduces the cost of the plumbing installation.
 
f. Relief vent - Is installed to ventilate the soil and waste pipe and the
connecting branches other than the fixture traps.
Relief vent is provided when waste branches are circuit vented.
The base of the soil pipe stack on tall building installations is susceptible to
back pressure due to the large volume of water rushing down inside the pipe,
therefore, a relief vent in this portion is necessary.
g. or by-pass ventilation - On a long vertical soil
pipe, a relief vent is installed at 3 to 5 floor
intervals. In this case, the relief vent is referred
to as yoke or by-pass ventilation.

h. Wet ventilation - Refers to the vertical pipe of

the plumbing system used as ventilation of the
plumbing installation and fixture traps which at
the same time receives and convey liquid waste
discharge from the fixtures. Widely used for
small groups of bathroom fixtures particularly
on a one or two-storey residential houses.
General Regulations for Installations:
• Grades of horizontal piping – Horizontal drainage pipes shall be run
in practical alignments and at a uniform slope between manholes of
not less than 20mm/m or 2% toward the point of disposal, provided
that, where it is impracticable to obtain a 2% slope due to the
following constraints in: 1. Excessive depth drainage line; 2.
Structural and/or geological features of the terrain; and 3. Existing
adverse in arrangements of building or structure; any such pipe or
piping 102mm or larger in diameter may have a slope of 10mm/m or
1% provided it is first approved by the administrative authority.
• Change in directions - All changes in direction shall be made by the
appropriate use of 45deg. Wyes, half wyes, long sweep quarter
bends, except that single sanitary tees may be used on vertical
stacks, and short quarter bends may be used in soil and wastes lines
where the change in the direction of flow is from the horizontal to
the vertical. Tees and crosses may be used in vent pipes.
• Prohibited fittings - No double hub, double T
branch shall be used on horizontal soil or waste line.
The drilling and tapping of house drains, soil (waste,
or vent pipes and the use of saddle hubs and bends
are prohibited.
• Traps where required - Each fixture shall be
separately trapped by a water-seal trap placed as
near to the fixture as possible except that a set of
similar fixtures consisting of not more than three
wash bins, or a set of three sinks may connect with
singe one and one half inches trap. In no case shall
waste from a bath tub or other fixture discharge in
to a water closet trap. No fixture shall be double
trap.
• Trap clean outs - Each trap, except those in combination with
fixtures in which the trap seal is plainly visible and
inaccessible, shall be provided with an accessible brass tap
screw of ample size.

• Pipe cleanouts where required - A clean out easily accessible

shall be provided at the upper end of every horizontal waste
soil pipe. Also at every change of horizontal direction, unless
said change of directions is made at an angle of not more than
twenty two and a half (22.5) deg. and is easily reached
conveniently with sewer rod wire.
There shall be clean out within five feet inside the property
line before the house sewer connection, connected from a full
sized branch, except for the latter, cleanouts shall be of the
same nominal size as the pipes. The distance between clean
out in horizontal waste or soil lines shall not exceed fifty feet.
• Grease traps - Grease traps of adequate capacity must be installed
wherever greasy wastes from hotels, restaurants, club houses, or
similar public eating places are discharged into the sewer, or septic
vault. The said grease traps shall be placed as near as possible to the
fixture from which it receives the discharge and shall have an airtight
cover, easily removable to permit it cleaning.

• Soil and waste stacks fixtures connection - All soil and waste stacks
and branches shall be provided with correctly faced inlets for fixture
connection.
 
• Distance of vent from trap seal - Not trap shall be placed more than
five feet, (horizontally developed length) from its vent.
 
• Garage traps - Garages, auto repair shops and greasing rack drains
shall be intercepted. Force entering the sewer or septic vault by
suitable garage trap. Similar establishments shall also be provided with
such trap when so required by the proper authority.