by Robert Brown Butler

When it comes to plumbing, many architects would prefer to leave the details to the experts: the mechanical engineers and contractors. And yet there's a certain amount of engineering that even mathematically challenged architects can do themselves if given an understanding of general principles and rule-of-thumb formulas. Robert Brown Butler has bridged the architecture and engineering disciplines by devising rules that demystify mechanical design for architectural practitioners. — Editor

In today's buildings, all occupancies must be provided with a supply of drinkable water that has enough volume and pressure to make it easily available. Supply plumbing includes all piping and related components from the water source to the fixtures.

The components running from source to building must be laid below the local frost line. The water supply piping is often exposed to the following additional subsoil conditions which could cause it to leak or rupture:

Seasonal expansion/contraction due to temperature changes in the surrounding earth. You have to go about 21 feet (6.4 meters) down before temperatures become uniform year-round.   >>>

 
This article is excerpted from Architectural Engineering Design: Mechanical Systems by Robert Brown Butler, with permission of the publisher, McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing.

 

No-touch controls for plumbing fixtures. Image: Robert Brown Butler Typical plumbing symbols. Image: Robert Brown Butler   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.