Preface
It is more than a decade since the book Plumbing Practices was published in April 2006. By now, many developments have taken place in the field of plumbing; new technologies have evolved and a variety of modern plumbing items have come up in the market, in both the country and other parts of the globe. Incorporation of these new developments, and introduction of new items and technologies, in a book has become a need of the times. Plumbing Practices, as the first attempt to write a self-published technical book undoubtedly could not satisfy the multidimensional queries of its valued readers. Furthermore, many errors, minor to major, and printing mistakes, along with other obvious issues, appeared in the book, which is not desirable at all and therefore needed to be rectified. Above all, many pertinent topics of plumbing are missing, and thus they have remained unnoticed in the book. Regardless, a good number of readers appreciated the book, and many institutions have referred to the book in support of their respective curricula.
To me, the first edition of the book was, to some extent, in high enough demand that I was encouraged to attempt a second edition. Furthermore, rectification of the errors and mistakes found in the book made me realize that updating the preceding book, as a second edition, was an obligatory task to perform. Publication of my second book, Harvesting Rainwater from Buildings, by Springer International Publishing boosted my confidence in this regard and motivated me to query other exotic publishers for publishing the second edition of Plumbing Practices. At this time, I also proposed that if the publishers didn’t want to publish the proposed book as a second edition, I would agree to publish it under a new title; and so, this book is the outcome of those intentions and efforts, with a new title proposed by the publisher.
In this effort, I have taken the opportunity to provide new plumbing elements, technologies and practices that were not provided in the first one, or were not well illustrated or described. So, this book includes those elaborations for better understanding that were most demanded, as well as necessary corrections for the authenticity of previous descriptions. Since the publication of the first book, much advice and suggestions have been received from peers, well-wishers and readers, with a view to improving and updating the book; this feedback was highly valued, and I have tried to incorporate these into this book.
As this book is the outcome of readers experiencing the previous one, the chapters are kept almost the same, with the same titles and in chronology as in the previous one, focusing on respective subjects of discussion; the exception is Chapter 11, which has purposefully been thematically changed. In the previous book, the last chapter was “Rainwater Management”, in which basic concepts of rainwater harvesting and rainwater drainage were described. But in this book, this chapter focuses exclusively on rainwater drainage, and so the chapter is named “Rainwater Drainage”. The reason for is that readers interested in rainwater harvesting can now go through the writer’s second book on rainwater harvesting, as mentioned earlier, in which they will find almost all the information related to rainwater harvesting in any type of building elaborately detailed. In Chapter 12, building sewer systems is discussed separately and exclusively. In addition, a new chapter, on special but very pertinent plumbing concerns, is included to give readers a holistic understanding of plumbing principles and practices. The first chapter has been rewritten, after accepting the title of the book as Plumbing Principles and Practice, especially to focus on principles of plumbing. Last, but not the least, all the art-works are drawn by me to bring a sort of uniqueness and harmony in the figures.
The book is bound together by 13 chapters, as introduced below.
- Chapter 1 – Introduction. An exclusive introduction of plumbing technology is given first, and its history of development is considered. The scope of plumbing along with its objectives also discussed. Most importantly, the principles of plumbing are thoughtfully identified. The academic qualifications, experience and skill of plumbing practitioners, including professionals, plumbers, trade groups and related business, are discussed and their respective roles in this field identified.
- Chapter 2 – Hydraulics in Plumbing. Fluid flow is subject to hydraulic principles and plumbing is subject to fluid flow. So, in this chapter related aspects of hydraulics, very important and related to plumbing, are discussed. Pressure, friction loss etc., as related to the fluid flow through a pipe, are the main subjects of discussion in this chapter.
- Chapter 3 – Pipe and Fittings. Pipes are the main and major element of plumbing, and fittings are their important items. So, the properties and characteristics of all sorts of piping and fittings, mostly used in plumbing, are discussed elaborately in this chapter with respect to material, strength etc.
- Chapter 4 – Piping Installation and Testing. Jointing of pipes and fittings and the installation of piping systems are the basic and major jobs of plumbing. So, in this chapter, all the practices of joining pipes and fittings, their installation and testing of jobs, are elaborately illustrated and described as well.
- Chapter 5 – Pump and Pumping System. Pumps, and especially centrifugal pumps, are major and very important machines used in plumbing, particularly in water supply systems. So, various types of centrifugal pumps used in water supply and drainage and their characteristics, usefulness, capacity sizing, installation, maintenance etc. are discussed in this chapter.
- Chapter 6 – Plumbing Accessories and Appurtenances. Various accessories and appurtenances are indispensable items in plumbing, to some extent, used for handling controlled flow of fluids and developing better functioning systems. So, common and widely used accessories and appurtenances, such as valves, faucets, meters and water tanks, are illustrated and discussed in this chapter.
- Chapter 7 – Water Supply Systems. Water supply is the primary and major purpose of plumbing. So, this chapter illustrates and discusses the planning, design, installation and maintenance aspects of water supply systems. Special considerations around developing water supply systems for skyscrapers are also discussed.
- Chapter 8 – Hot Water Supply Systems. Hot water supply is another important branch of water supply systems in buildings and has some special requirements other than required in normal water supply. This chapter is exclusively dedicated to illustrating and describing various aspects of hot water supply systems in buildings of all sizes, including skyscrapers.
- Chapter 9 – Plumbing Fixtures and Appliances. Plumbing fixtures are very important elements in plumbing, particularly for sanitary drainage systems. Plumbing fixtures are available in different shapes, styles, materials and sizes, each with different implication in usage. All the pros and cons of various natures and different types of fixtures and their installation, along with trims, are illustrated and discussed in this chapter. Some special fixtures and appliances, such as emergency fixtures, various interceptors etc., are also considered.
- Chapter 10 – Sanitary Drainage Systems. Sanitary drainage is another major job of plumbing. So, in this chapter the planning, design, installation and maintenance aspects of all types of sanitary drainage along with venting systems are illustrated and described. Special considerations for developing sanitary drainage systems for skyscrapers are also discussed.
- Chapter 11 – Rainwater Drainage Systems. Rainwater drainage is also another vital job of plumbing. So, in this chapter all of the planning, design, installation and maintenance aspects of rainwater drainage systems are illustrated and described. Special rainwater drainage designed for buildings with very large footprints are also discussed.
- Chapter 12 – Building Sewer Systems. Some books on plumbing do not address building sewer systems as being a subject of the outside of the building. This chapter is dedicated to the subjects describing and illustrating all aspects of building sewer systems, in...