Plumbing aspects – Choosing material for plumbing

It is a daunting task to think of all the materials you need to purchase for your house. While a plumber just needs to worry about his work you need to worry about all aspects of your building. That is almost like a CEO managing all business units of a company.

You will notice that some of the terminology used by plumbers are new and you struggle to repeat the terms to the shopkeeper. So here is a list of the most common types of plumbing items. Also plumbing is probably one of the items you can DIY[ Do it Yourself]. At a later point in time if you want to add a stop valve to stop a leaking water connection you can do it yourself. It is quite simple. So observe when you plumber is at work!

Now what are the basic items in plumbing and let us see if we can familiarise ourselves with these items before we do the actual work!!!!

Water Connection

1. Pipes and fittings

   1. CPVC pipes [ normally sold in 16 ft/5 mtr length ] – diameter 1/2 inch, 1 inch, 2inch
   2. CPVC elbows [ to join two pipe sections to form a perpendicular – 90% angle]
   3. CPVC coupler [ to extend a pipe length wise. To join two pipe sections in same line ]
   4. CPVC Reducer [ to join a higher diameter pipe to lower diameter pipe]
   5. CPVC TEE [ a T shape connector to split a connection into two ]
   6. MTA [ Male Thread Adaptor connector with thread on one side and a regular smooth side on other for cpvc pipes ] [ Threaded side can be in plastic or brass ]
   7. FTA [ Female Thread Adaptor connector with a female threading on one side and smooth side on other for cpvc pipes ] [ Threaded side can be in plastic or brass ]
   8. Step Over Bend [ to join two pipes by curving over another intersecting pipe ] [ Also used in place of elbows when you want to avoid a drop in flow pressure  ]
   9.  Union [ join two pipe sections by threading two sides of the connector. Works like a detachable coupler ] [ Used when you want a certain section of the pipeline to be removable and is subject to wear and tear. ] [ Used for borewell start point ] [Can also be used for the float valve in sump to control cauvery[corporation] water.]
   10. Tank Nipple [ Overhead tank has a hole at bottom for water to flow to your house. Before a pipe can be attached to the water tank bottom, a hole is made and a tank nipple is screwed by keeping one part of it within tank and one part outside. They can be screwed into one another such that they fasten to the tank and also water does not leak at this junction. ]
   11. CPVC Ball Valve [ Every bathroom at the start of the piping for both cold and hot water should have a ball valve on the exterior side the wall where piping in visible. This allows you to stop the water into just that problematic bathroom. Just remember that once in a while you will need to repair something and you may not want to turn off the entire water supply for your house but just a part of it for repairs. So do not worry about a few extra money that you spend on this, it is very much worth it.
       1. So a simple calculation is there is one main ball valve  near the overhead tank.
       2. A ball valve at the start of solar water connection.
       3.  Two ball valves for each bathroom [ One for Hot and One for cold ]
       4.  Two for kitchen [ One for Hot and One for Cold ]
       5. Two for utility [  One for Hot and One for Cold ]

2. Geysers

   1. Instant geyser without a tank.
   2. Regular geyser with 10 or more litre capacity.

3. Solar Water Heater

   1. Evacuated Tube Solar Heater [ glass tubes 20 or more in number ] [Newer technology][quicker heating][works well even with less sunlight]
   2. Flat plate collector [ Oldest method ] [ tried and tested ]

4. Faucets

   1. Cold water faucet.
   2. Cold and Hot water – regular mixer [ 2 separate knobs ]
   3. C & H water – single lever mixer
   4. Health Faucet [ Commode Spray gun ]

5. Wash Basins

   1. Designer wash basin
      1. Glass wash basin [ Cheaper ]
      2. Stone Wash Basin  [ Costlier ]
   2.  Ceramic wash basin  [ White/Ivory ]

6. Sinks

   1. Granite [ Black/Green ] [ Heavy as hell ]
   2. Metallic [ Stainless Steel ] [ Looks cool ]
   3. Metallic Granite [ Black, Beige][ Looks best for modern houses ]

7. Showers

   1. Over Head Showers
      1. Rain Showers
      2. Regular square or circular showers
      3. Spiral Showers
      4. Adjustable pattern showers
      5. LED light showers/Mood showers
   2. Hand showers
      1. Adjustable showers
      2. Regular showers

8. Stop Cock

   1. Old Style – keep turning for it to stop until one day you need to replace it!
   2. Quarter turn – Latest and in trend. It is quicker to turn off or on
9. Angle Cock
   1. Used for Toiled Hand Shower. It allows you to turn off the hand shower if there is some leakage in hand shower.
   2. Sink mixer connection.  One for Hot and One for Cold. Again to allow to stop the water in case of leakage.

10. Mixers and Diverter

    1. Old Style – [Tried and tested] [2 knobs H & C ] [ A central knob to divert water to overhead shower or tap ]
    2. Single lever [ push down or lift up to control the flow of water ] [Turn left for more hot and right for more cold with same lever ] [ Here diverter is a simple press and release button which diverts water to overhead shower or to tap]
    3. Thermostat [ A thermostat automatically mixes water to reach 32 degrees temperature] [ Turn the thermostat towards left for higher temperature and right for lower temperatures] [Prevents burning when sudden hot water comes by cutting off water ] [Thermostat mixes accordingly to achieve required temperature ] [No need to worry about how hot your solar or geyser water is, thermostat automatically controls the hot and cold water flow to ensure constant temperature. It will ensure temperature does not cross the temperature set by you ] [Here the diverter action is a separate knob which can be turned to over head shower or tap or hand shower  based on the model]. [To summarize, just set temperature once and from then on you just need to turn diverter to shower or tap as per your requirement without worrying how much hot or cold] [ Too convenient but on expensive side]

11. Accessories

    1. Hand Towel – Stainless Steel or Chrome Plated
    2. Tower Hanger – Horizontal rod of 1.5 to 2 ft to hang towels/clothes.
    3. Soap tray
    4. Soap dispenser
    5. Shower Corner Glass Tray [ for placing shampoo, etc ]

12. Commode Flush Tank[For Wall mount commodes]

    1. Indian Squatting [ Best position for squatting scientifically but spoils the look of bathroom ]
    2. Wall Mounted [ Most modern looking but requires wall mounted flush tank and some extra wall work ] [ Easy to clean ]
    3. Floor Mounted [ Does have some good looking models but is normally a second preference after wall mounted in a modern home ]

13. Overhead Tank

    1. Toughed Plastic Tank with double layer
    2. Toughened Plastic Tank with Triple layer
    3. Colour options of black, yellow [ currently people go for this colour instead of black ]
    4. RCC tanks and metal tanks are very rarely used as of 2017.

14. CPVC Solvent/Gum

    1. CPVC solvent in a Tube. It is used for small scale operations. Just Squeeze the tube generously if you do not want water leaks once you fix it. Spread it using finger or small stick ]
    2. CPVC solvent in a small metal bottle. This comes with a small stick and roll attached to the cap. So remove the cap and glue is already stuck to the roll. Just spread the glue on both sides of the joint. Job done. Its more like applying nail polish and is clean on your hands. A professionals’ preference.

Sewage and Waste water Connection

1. PVC pipes and fittings

   1. PVC pipe [ 2inch, 4inch, 6inch ]
   2. PVC Elbow [ 90 degree bend connector]
   3. PVC Trap [ depth 2inch, etc ]
      1. A layer of water remains after draining to prevent smell from the chamber to fill the room. So if bathroom smells normally this trap water retention capacity is to be blamed.

2. Floor Traps – Metal

   1. Water from shower and floor washing in bathroom needs a outlet. Normally people separate the waste water such as washing/bath and commode to prevent mixing or smell. But remember that it is water retained in traps which prevents the odour problem!

3. Bottle Traps – Metal

   1. The wash basin waste flows down into a bottle trap and the bottom portion of this trap can be unscrewed by hand and cleaned ocassionally.
   2. This bottom portion of this trap traps the earrings/finger rings or any such items which can accentally drop into the wash basin. The heavy items drops to the bottom container.

4. Hose pipes

   1. The wash basin can be connected to the floor trap using a hose pipe as well.

5. Chamber plate

   1. Cast Iron [ Subject to rusting. Can be painted ] [ Has chequered markings to strenghten]  [ Oldest options available and still widely used cost wise] [ can be painted to match flooring ]
   2. Galvanised Chequered plates [ Most used for its modern touch and resistance to rust ] [ Good strength] [Good looking] [ paint not required since its coated ]
   3. PVC plates [Latest option as people discover the long life of plastic products] [ Not sure if it can be painted ] [ Only concern is load it can sustain when used in parking places and your car runs over it, but supports good load as per shop keeper claims! ]

6. PVC Solvent

   1. [Since PVC pipes are of larger dimensions this solvent is a pourable solvent. Just spread the solution and stick it] [ PVC work is normally difficult for a DIY since it requires considerable strength and you need more than one person to hold these huge pipes ]

Hope you have familiarised with some plumbing terms and feel more confident communicating with your plumber or best even gained terms to do your own work. DIY!!!!

Do read about how to get your plumbing work done during construction

For a complete list of topics please check “House Construction in Bengaluru” section