Explore the intricacies of plumbing plans, with detailed explanations about common symbols and abbreviations, their relevance to construction, and their practical application. This article provides an in-depth look at how plumbing lines, connections, and ventilation systems are depicted on architectural plans.
Key Insights
- The article presents a comprehensive breakdown of plumbing plans, including general notes, standard symbols, accessories' program, and mandatory notes that must be fulfilled during construction.
- It delves into specifics like sink and toilet connections, and the ventilation system behind the tub, emphasizing the importance of accurate measures such as a 1.5-inch diameter pipe for efficient functioning.
- The article also explains the legend in the plumbing plan, demonstrating how different symbols and letters denote varying plumbing lines, thereby providing an insight into the intricacies of planning and implementation.
Our Plumbing plans are very similar to our Mechanical and Electrical plans, in which we start with a cover sheet. You can see that we have some general notes, a standard symbol key, a schedule of fixtures, mandatory notes that must be strictly followed during construction, and also the symbol and legend of abbreviations. So, let's look at this detailed schematic.
Again, you can see that this area is where you might have a sink. So, they are referring to the sink and the connections that are coming from it. We have the trap, and then it is vented to the ceiling.
You can see how the pipe line becomes dashed—this indicates a vent going up to the ceiling, using a 1½-inch diameter pipe. Then, the line continues downward to the rest of the system within the building.
In our fixture schedule, we list the number of items. Item 1 would be the toilet. If I zoom in a little more, you can see that we are referencing the rough-in connections.
This includes the pipe size needed for the drain line, the vent, and the cold water lines that supply the toilet. You can also see the description of that specific toilet model.
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The same specifications apply to the bathtub—labeled BT-1—which requires a 1½-inch rough-in connection for the drain and a 1½-inch trap. The ventilation for the bathtub is also 1½ inches.
Again, when you have a tub and you’re going to drain it, there must be a vent pipe that goes up behind the wall. This allows air to enter the system and help the system drain water efficiently. You can see we show a 1½-inch diameter cold water line and a 1½-inch diameter hot water line entering the tub.
We have our legend, and in the legend, you can see a variety of plumbing symbols. What usually happens is that we have a line, and that line includes letter codes describing the system.
For a gas line, the line contains a “G.” For a plumbing drain, an “SD.” For a condensate drain, a “CD.” So again, plumbing line types usually include letters that identify the type of system being shown.
This concludes our review of the cover sheet.