Explore the intricate aspects of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing drawings in both residential and commercial projects. Delve into the specifics of drain line sizes, ventilation techniques, and the application of these drawings in planning the layout of bathrooms, kitchens, and other areas of a house or building.
Key Insights
- The article provides a detailed look at the requirements and planning involved in mechanical, electrical, and plumbing drawings. These include specific size requirements for waste lines from different utilities such as the bathtub, toilet, and sink.
- The author further explains the strategic placement of ventilation to meet the homeowner's preference of having no ventilated bathrooms visible in the front of the house. This involves running the ventilation up and hiding it behind the roof crest.
- While these drawings are generally consistent across residential and commercial projects, they become significantly more extensive in facilities like hospitals and biotechnology facilities. However, the general rules remain applicable across different projects.
Now, these are the waste line drawings, so let's get closer to this bathroom. What I have here are the waste lines from the bathtub, the toilet, and the sink. You can see that there are size requirements—for example, a 1½-inch waste line for the sink, a 3-inch waste line for the toilet, and a 2-inch waste line for the bathtub.
Take a look at this similar situation. There is a 3-inch waste line that branches off to the sink, the bathtub, and then to the additional sinks in that area. If I look at the isometric views, we have something similar to what we saw before.
Now, what's happening is that when the line is solid, it goes down, and when it is dashed, it goes up. One of the requirements for this house was that the owner did not want any bathroom vents visible at the front of the house. So, for example, the reason why the bathroom vent rises and loops back again is to keep the bathroom ventilation hidden behind the roof crest.
So again, I have my sink. This is the Main Bathroom. This is the Jack and Jill Bathroom.
This is the bathroom we just saw, and the Kitchen is here on the right. You can see that it says “W” for sink, cold water supply, and so on. It's also showing the sizes of the different drain lines as they exit the house.
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This is where I have a cleanout located. But again, let's go back to the Main Bathroom where we have the WC1 toilet and the bathtub.
We have a wall cleanout (WCO). Between the toilet and the bathtub, there is a vent line that rises, crosses over, and then vents through the ceiling. This is because that area is the front of the house.
And you can understand that the rooftop would be right in that location. So, what's happening is that in the Jack and Jill Bathroom, the toilet and the bathtub vent upward. The ventilation line continues across and ultimately terminates or becomes visible at the back of the roof.
I think these drawings are very informative and also fun to work with digitally. So, this has been a general yet relatively detailed review of the Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) drawings. These drawings tend to be very similar in both Residential and Commercial projects.
Now, once you begin working on projects like hospitals or biotechnology facilities, the drawings become significantly more complex and extensive. But the general rules still apply.
We have a summary sheet that will list the symbols, abbreviations, applicable code requirements, and, in general, the list of components to be used. These lists typically include symbols, abbreviations, manufacturers, and components shown in the relevant drawings. So first, we give a general overview, and then we proceed to the floor plans.
Depending on the professional discipline, the work will be presented in a coordination plan. Or more commonly, for greater clarity during installation, we will also include isometrics.