BUILDING UTILITIES 01 [ PLUMBING AND SANITARY SYSTEMS ]
Classification of Sanitary Sewer:
a. Intercepting or trunk line sewer – a sanitary
sewer usually constructed of concrete pipes
of sizes that varies from 60 to 300
centimeters in diameter which directly run
through the dispersal plant. Laid underground
to a minimum depth of about 3.0 meters
depending upon the natural contour of the
ground.
b. Tributary or Contributing Sewer – classified
as an intercepting sewer branch made of
either vitrified clay or concrete pipe laid in an
open trench. Generally, this is smaller in
diameter and is installed not more than 3.0
meters below the street grade and terminate
at the intercepting sewer.
Manhole
- Considered as a device of a main and storm
sewer and serves as access for: (1)
inspection, (2) cleanout and (3) repair.
- Constructed out of either bricks, stone,
adobe and concrete installed in public sewer
lines at an interval distance from 75 to 150
meters
- Diameter of this ranges from 90 to 120
centimeters; provided with iron rungs that
serves as a ladder for the maintenance crew
to reach the bottom
- Manhole’s cover is well-fitted and provided
on the top level with the road surface.
SEWAGE TREATMENT IN THE FRONT YARD
Private on-site treatment of sewage
from residences is a valid procedure in
suburban areas, where sewers and treatment
plants have yet been built.
1st Semester/A.Y. 2019-2020_bsarchre2A&B_arjgdgrulla
Methods of Treating the Sewage
and Returning the Partially Purified Effluent
to the Ground:
1. Septic Tank and Seepage Pit – not the best
way to clean and recycle water
2. Septic Tank and Tile Drain Field – better
method but more expensive to install
3. Cesspools – fast becoming illegal because it
puts raw sewage in direct contact with the
earth
4. Filter System – used in low and marshy
ground adjacent to a stream, requires careful
design and frequent inspection and servicing
A trickling filter which biologically
purifies sewage of organic matter treatment.
This process is also known as aerobic
purification, because aerobic or air breathing
bacteria destroys the organic wastes. Hence,
sewage passes in a spray through opening in
four arms, thus becoming mixed with air. The
sewage then trickles slowly through a filter of
coarsely crushed rock, where bacteria-carrying
slimes break down the organic material into
harmless substances.
THE WASTE PIPE
The drainage installation of a plumbing
system is subdivided into three component
parts namely: drainage, waste & vent tor simply
called DWV.
Drainage Pipe – refers to the installation which
receives and conveys water closet
discharges with or without waste coming
from other fixtures.
Waste Pipe – refers to that installation which
conveys discharges of fixtures other than
water closet such as lavatories, slop sink,
urinals, bath tubs, and other similar fixtures
to soil, branch, soil stack or house drain.
Vent Pipe – functions as air passage or conduit
to ventilate the drainage and waste pipe
installation
Solid human waste is discharged by water
closet to either:
1. Soil Pipe – any pipe which receives and
convey human waste
2. Soil Branch – refers to horizontal pipe
installed which receives discharges from
water closet. Called waste pipe if does not
receive water closet discharges
3. Soil Stack – a vertical pipe installation where
the soil branch terminates. Called waste
stack if not receiving human waste
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BUILDING UTILITIES 01 [ PLUMBING AND SANITARY SYSTEMS ]
4. House Drain – that portion of the plumbing
system which receive discharges of all soil
and waste pipe lines within the building and
conveys the same to the house sewer.
GENERAL CONDITIONS FOR A
GOOD WASTE PIPE INSTALLATION
C. Location of Cleanout
A. The right choice of materials
The materials intend for waste pipe
installation could be well selected from the
enumerated kind of pipes
The character of the waste to be drained
and the service for which it is intended for
dictates the kind of materials to be used. For
instance, any waste line that conveys large
quantities of acid must specify acid resistant
materials.
Refuse from domestic and commercial
kitchen contain acid of various kinds but
considerably in small and negligible quantities
and therefore does not require the use of an
acid resistant pipe.
D. The Right Slope of the Pipe
B. Conservative Use of Fittings
Refers to the proper choice of the right kind
of fittings for a particular change of directions,
turns or offsets.
The smooth flow of the waste inside the
pipe is a primary consideration in all plumbing
installations. Since most of the failure in the
waste pipe line system are the result of
unwarranted use of fittings.
Fittings are designed to make smooth
changes in directions, turns or offsets but their
use may not be in accordance with the purpose
for which they are designed.
Injudicious use of fittings should not be
allowed in plumbing installations. Short cuts
that will not allow smooth passage of waste
should not be permitted.
Pipe installations that fail or break too
soon may have been due to any of the
following causes:
1. The use of too many fittings
2. The use of wrong type of fittings in a
particular location
Recommendations:
1. Do not use fittings of short radius on
vertical to horizontal directions or
horizontal to horizontal changes
2. Use long sweep fittings on horizontal
changes
3. For vertical to horizontal direction of
changes, the Y and 45° fittings are the
most appropriate
1st Semester/A.Y. 2019-2020_bsarchre2A&B_arjgdgrulla
4. The T fittings are designed for use on
vertical run with lateral branches only.
Their use on horizontal installation will
produce tilted or crooked joint
connections which is called “premature
line defects”.
Cleanout – a pipe fitting with a removable
plug which provides access for inspection or
cleaning of the pipe run. A receptacle of the
plumbing system which should be accessible
to the floor, walls or ceilings
Intended to be opened in case of pipe
trouble
Equipped with a plug or flush plate, so
designed so as not to impair the aesthetic
view of the room
Location must be located properly in the
plan
Must be extended and readily accessible
to the plumber in case of waste line stoppage
The ideal position of the horizontal waste
pipe lines are those installed at 2% slope
(meaning: the pipe is installed with an
inclination ratio of 2 centimeters per meter
run)
Scientific tests and experiments
conducted revealed that trap seal loss occurs
when the grade or slope is increased from 2%
to 4%.
Trap seal – the maximum vertical depth
of liquid that a trap will retain measured
between the crown weir and the top of the
dip of the trap
Trap seal loss – means the loss of the
water seal inside the trap. Caused by
siphonage induced by rapid flow of waste
inside the pipe. Also referred to as water seal
escape due to the suction of waste rapidly
flowing inside the pipe.
Siphonage – the result of minus pressure
in the drainage system. If the trap of a
common seal is open and exposed to the
atmosphere, the inlet and the outlet orifices
will be under atmospheric pressure. Under
such condition, the tendency of the water
seal to move is remote because of the
balanced atmospheric pressure on both ends
of the seal. Thus, the water seal will be in a
steady or neutral position.
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BUILDING UTILITIES 01 [ PLUMBING AND SANITARY SYSTEMS ]

E. The Right Size of the Pipe One fixture unit = 1ft3 or 30 liters of
The size of the pipe intended to receive waste discharge in one minute interval
fixture wastes must be of sufficient diameter
to accommodate velocity of flow making
them as nearly as scouring as necessary to
prevent siltation of waste inside the pipe.

Scouring – to flush or wash to remove dirt

and grease by flowing through

Uniform Plumbing Code Committee

conclusions enumerates that:

1. increasing the size of drainage pipe does

not guarantee effective scouring action
2. Water flow in a larger pipe is relatively
shallow. Solid waste do not flow on
shallow water but tend to remain at the
bottom of the pipe which usually is the
common cause of clogging.
3. Drainage pipe must be of proper size to
have a liquid flow of about 50% of the pipe
diameter. Meaning, the water flowing
inside the pipe must have a depth equal to
½ the diameter of the pipe
i.e. if the pipe is 4” in diameter the
water flow inside the pipe must have a
depth of 2” to attain scouring action.
4. On the other hand, installations which are
too small in size is subject to overtax by
the flow. The tendency is to create back
pressure, siphonage and floor flooding

Back pressure – caused by a plus

pressure. When a large amount of water- Sample problem:
flow drops downward the installation
forming like a slug, the air inside the pipe Determine the size of a horizontal waste pipe
will be compressed. In the absence of required to serve 5 urinals, 3 lavatories, 8
adequate ventilation, the compressed air showers and 2 slop sinks.
will be forced to find its way out through a
weaker point. The trap seal being the
weakest point will give way and blow out
of the fixture.

The Fixture Unit

The National Plumbing Code of the
Philippines strongly endorsed the use of
fixture unit value as waste load in
determining the size of the waste pipe and Based on the 2nd table. Under the
the manner of its installation. column of one horizontal branch, 50 units could
The basis of the so-called “fixture be served by 4”ø pipe. The result seem to be
unit” was the wash basin or the lavatory, too big since it can serve up to 160 fixture units,
chosen being one of the smallest fixture. however, this was what NPCP had formulated
Through a test, it showed that a wash basin so it has to be followed without question.
discharges waste at approximately 1ft3 of
water per minute interval.

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BUILDING UTILITIES 01 [ PLUMBING AND SANITARY SYSTEMS ]
F. Manner of Joining Pipes
Injudicious connection of fittings should
not be permitted in any plumbing installation.
Each kind of pipe has its own manner of
joining as recommended and specified by the
manufacturers.
Deviation from the manufacturer’s
specifications will endanger the effectiveness
of the pipe.
i.e. Plastic pipes: use of solvent plastic
cement
caulking – a type of joint used for cast-iron
pipe having hub and spigot ends.
After the spigot end of one pipe is placed
inside the hub-end of the other, rope of oakum
or hemp is packed into the annular space;
around the spigot end until the packing is about
1” below the top.
Then molten lead is poured into the annular
space on top of the rope.
Finally, the lead is poured farther into the
joint with a caulking iron.
Classification of Waste Pipe Depending Upon
the Kind of Fixtures it Will Serve:
1. Direct Waste – one with terminal
directly connected to the plumbing
system.
Different type of fixtures served by
direct waste:
Sink, shower, lavatory, urinal,
bathtub, laundry, and laboratory &
hospital fixtures
2. Indirect Waste – one with a terminal
not directly connected to the plumbing
system
Fixtures served by indirect waste
Soda fountain, bar waste, drinking
fountain, & refrigerator
THE SOIL PIPE
Any pipe which receives and conveys
discharges of water closet with or without the
discharge from other fixtures to the house
drain; sometimes referred to as soil stack
The National Plumbing Code of the
Philippines provides that:
1. At least one of the stacks of the
plumbing system must extend full size
through the roof for the following
purposes:
a. To ventilate and dispose of the
sewer gas above the roof
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b. To prevent siphonage of the traps
by suction
c. To prevent the possibility of a back
pressure which may force the water
seal off the fixture trap
2. Any structure on which a house drain is
installed must have at least one soil
stack vent or vent stack extended full
size through the roof for at least 30
centimeters and should not be less than
75 millimeters (3”) diameter or the size
of the house drain whichever is smaller.
3. When the roof is to be used other than
weather protection, the soil or vent
pipe should be extended not less than 2
meters above the roof.
** As the general rule, the soil pipe must be
extended and terminated through the roof of
the building
As to installation:
Shall be installed prior to construction of
the building structures
Shall be installed in a manner that the soil
branches which will directly serve the water
closet shall be short and direct as possible
(water closet uses 90° elbow because it
already has its own trap)
Soil pipe which are not embedded in
concrete wall, columns or partitions should be
rapidly anchored by metal hanger (fabricated
G.I. strap)
Changes from vertical to horizontal
directions should be done by using: (1) 90°
bend (short – for WC only), long sweep 90°
bend, 2 - 45° bend, or combination of Y and
45° bend
Size of Soil Pipe:
4”ø soil pipe could serve up to 140 water
closets without being overloaded
Basis of computation: same table (under
total-in-stack column)
Instead of increasing the diameter of the
pipe, the ventilation of fixture traps
should be looked into because it
promotes efficiency of the entire
plumbing system
THE SOIL BRANCH
A soil pipe installed horizontally with lateral
or vertical connections that receives the
discharges of water closet with or without
additional plumbing fixtures
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