Plumb line

“ The Light Infantry, likewise, broke up their encampment at Bedford, and separated to join their respective regiments in the line. On our march to join our regiment, some of our gentlemen officers happening to stop at a tavern, or rather a sort of grog-shop, took such a seasoning, that two or three of them became "quite frisky," as the old Indian said of his young squaw. They kept running and chasing each other backward and forward by the troops, as they walked along the road, acting rediculously. ”

“ We were immediately ordered from our old detachment and joined another, the whole composing a corps of about five hundred men. We instantly marched towards the enemy's right wing, which was in the orchard, and kept concealed from them as long as possible, by keeping behind the bushes. When we could no longer keep ourselves concealed, we marched into the open fields and formed our line. The British immediately formed and began to retreat to the main body of their army. ”

“ Other fixtures such as the urinal, lavatory, and bath, can be connected with a short piece of lead wiped on a solder nipple, or the trimmings for the fixture can be had with brass having iron pipe size threads, and the connection can then be made directly with the outlet on the waste line. This is a very general way to describe the connections, but space will not allow a detailed description of these connections. It is always well to allow for short lead connections for fixtures so that the lead will give if the stack settles. ”

“ Hangers on the vertical lines should be placed at every joint and under each fitting. To have the pipe in true alignment, the hangers must be hung and placed in line. Every riser line must have an extra support at the base to avoid any settling of the stack which will crack the fittings and break fixture connections.
MEASUREMENTS
The proper installation of screw pipe work requires getting correct and accurate measurements. Every plumber is or should be able to get correct center to center, center to end, end to end, center to back, and end to back measurements. ”

“ CONSTRUCTION DETAILS OF CALORIMETER TABLES
The plumbing includes separate lines of pipe to each hood and table; one each for cold water, steam at from 5 to 10 lb. pressure, compressed air, natural gas, and, in some cases, live steam at a pressure of 60 lb.
On each table is an exposed drainage system of 21⁄2-in. galvanized-iron pipe, in the upper surface of which holes have been bored, through which the various apparatus drain by means of flexible connections of glass or rubber. ”

“ A force-pump is set near the iron sink, and arranged to supply water from the cistern to the tank, when the rain supply is exhausted. It will be observed that all the plumbing apparatus is placed [177] in close proximity, thus insuring economy in the cost of their introduction, and also that their location prevents any serious injury that might arise from a chance bursting, or through carelessness. No windows are shown at the rear of the summer kitchen, or bath-room, this space being reserved for any additions that may be desired for fuel, etc.... ”

“ The plumbing in the house is akin to the alimentary canal in the human body, and is as complicated a system as the alimentary canal. The system of plumbing in the house is a series of pipes which carries water to the house, and eliminates it as it carries with it various forms of waste, connecting the house with the main sources of water, gas and with the sewage system. The best plumbing is that which effects these things with the least deterioration and with the least mixture of sewer gas and foreign matter.
Every community has its own plumbing laws and regulations. ”

“ The boy who works continually on this kind of work soon comes to think that lead pipes are no longer in use. The writer has found that a boy who has learned to do nothing but screw-pipe work is absolutely lost and cannot perform the duties of a plumber, other than screw-pipe work. It must be borne in mind that lead pipe and cast-iron pipe work are being used today in all parts of the country and in some parts more than in others. Therefore, the boy must grasp all branches of the trade that he has chosen to follow and not be a one-sided man. Joint wiping belongs to the plumber alone. ”

“ If placed outside the house or below the cellar floor the clean-outs must extend to surface with brass screw cap ferrules caulked in. If outside the house, it must never be placed less than 4 feet below the surface of the ground.
Sec. 6. Fresh-air Inlet.—A fresh-air inlet pipe must be connected with the house drain just inside of the house trap and extended to the outer air, terminating with a return bend, or a vent cap or a grating with an open end 1 foot above grade at the most available point to be determined by the building department. ”

“ The plumber must lay these trenches out and in doing so he must have in mind all connections and the fittings he can use so that the trenches can be dug at the right angle. The trenches must be dug allowing a pitch for the pipe. The height of the cellar is 8 feet below the joists. A stick is cut 8 feet long which can be used to get the trenches below the cement floor at the right depth. After the digging is completed, the house trap, which is a 6-inch running trap, is caulked into a length of 6-inch cast-iron pipe. ”

“ It would be infinitely better to run the pipes at once through the wall to the outside. Few persons have any idea of the carelessness of plumbers’ work—of the bad junctions, and of the rapidity with which pipes get out of order and decay. When a leaden pipe carrying water is led into a water-closet discharge pipe, it is frequently simply puttied in, and very soon the dried putty breaks away, and there is a complete leakage of gas into the house. Even if well joined the lead pipe will, it is said, contract and expand, and thus openings are at last formed. ”

“ All the fittings in the pipe system of a plant should be of the best quality, and the piping for high pressures should be extra heavy to withstand the test of time and usage. Water pipes, when of commercial wrought iron, should be galvanized.
In laying out a line of piping or in replacing a portion of an existing line the measurements should be taken from center to center of the various fittings; the allowance for the threaded part of the pipe can be made after the center-to-center and over-all measurements have been made and before the pipe is cut. ”

“ The hot-water flow pipe close to a water back or coil frequently becomes thickly covered with scale. If the pipe is brass, it may be disconnected and treated with acid and then washed out with hot water. If the pipe is galvanized iron and in bad condition, it will probably be more satisfactory to replace it with new pipe. ”

“ When water is pumped by an engine and stored for use in a tank to be delivered under pressure in the house, then the additional cost of hot and cold water and the necessary sink and bath room fixtures is comparatively small. Modern plumbing fixtures fit so perfectly and go together so easily that the cost of installing house plumbing in the country has been materially reduced, while the dangers from noxious gases have been entirely eliminated. ”

“ When hunting for the seat of trouble look at the spot where the pipe comes through the floor. A crack between flooring and baseboard may be the air leak that has caused the trouble. Next examine the pipe along an exterior wall or in the direct range of a window. Frozen pipes concealed in partition walls, unless they are accessible through a panel of removable woodwork, are not for the amateur. They are for a plumber who will know how to reach the trouble without doing other damage.
Many are the expedients that life in the country and friendly chats with your own handy man can teach you. ”

“ The platforms and treads of urinal stalls must be connected independently of the plumbing system, nor can they be connected with any safe-waste pipe.
The copper lining of water closet and urinal cisterns must not be lighter than 12 ounces copper, and must be stamped on lining with maker's name. Where lead is used it must not weigh less than 4 pounds to the square foot. All other materials are prohibited.
Sec. 34. Fixtures Prohibited.—Wooden wash trays, sinks, or bath tubs are prohibited inside buildings. Such fixtures must be constructed of non-absorbent materials. ”

“ E and F is a soil pipe 3, 4, 5, or 6 inches in diameter. Note, pipes draining water closets are called “soil pipes”; those draining other fixtures “waste pipes.” N and O represent water-closet flanges; F and H are roof connections; L exhibits double and single Y branches to receive waste-pipes from baths, bowls, or sinks. The plumber makes this connection, always trapping the lead waste-pipe and then soldering it to a brass nipple.
LEAD PIPE JOINTS.
Fig. 160.
It has been remarked that after learning how to make “a wipe joint,” everything is easy relating to the plumber’s trade ”

“ Spindle packing for a Fuller faucet (see fig. 4) is shown in figure 5, D, and consists of three collars or rings obtainable from plumbing dealers for a few cents. A lead ring or packing about one-eighth of an inch long goes first (lowest) on the spindle; then a rubber-and-fabric composition packing about one-fourth of an inch long; then a brass packing about one-fourth of an inch long. Screwing down the cap nut compresses the composition packing, and the metal packings take up friction and wear. ”

“ Sometimes a hole is closed by driving in a tapered steel pin to turn the metal inward, forming a surface which can be tapped for an ordinary screw plug. A hole in the wall of a tank or pipe having considerable thickness can be easily and quickly closed by screwing in a tapered steel tap plug which cuts and threads its way through the wall. These plugs in different sizes are obtainable of dealers and a monkey wrench is the only tool required to insert them; it is unnecessary to shut off or drain the water from the tank or pipe. ”

“ A good plumber, before screwing up a piece of pipe, always stands the pipe on end and raps it with a hammer to clear the bore.
Figure 4, A, shows an ordinary half-inch lever-handle Fuller faucet which closes with the pressure. As shown in figure 4, B, the bottom of the spindle is eccentric, so that slight turning of the handle moves the rubber ball to and from the beveled seat. To replace the ball shut off the water to the faucet. Unscrew the body from the tailpiece with the hands or with a monkey wrench on the hexagonal part of the body of the faucet. ”

“ David nodded. He was thinking about those pipes.
"Will the men keep on putting those pipes together until they come to the house?" he asked. "And how will they get the pipe into the house? They'll have to put it through a window."
"No," the foreman answered, "they won't have to put it through a window. They'll lay the pipes straight past the house, and they'll plug up the end until there are some more houses built on this road.
56"Then they'll fit a little pipe into the side of the big pipe and run it through a hole in the cellar wall. ”

“ If the job is a large one, a pump may be employed to insure the proper circulation. After this the pipe sizes and connections can be worked out. The one great enemy of hot-water circulation is air. Therefore, no traps or air pockets should ever appear in the piping system. The boiler, as it is often referred to, is the hot-water storage tank. A copper or iron tank holding sufficient water to supply all fixtures, even when every fixture demands a supply at the same time, is installed in a convenient place and the heating arrangement connected with it. ”

“ To avoid these conditions, the piping should be of brass or lead and the storage tank should be of copper. The installation cost of brass and copper is greater than steel, but they will not have to be replaced in two or three years, as is the case with other material. A valve should be placed on the cold-water supply to control the entire hot-water piping system. A pipe with a stop cock should be placed underneath the boiler and should extend [129] into a sink in the basement so that the boiler can be drained at any time for cleaning or repairs. ”

“ Avoid multiplicity of fixtures or pipes; cut off all fixtures not used at least twice a week, lest their traps dry out; have all plumbing as simple as possible, and try and get it all located so that outside air can be got directly into all closets and bath-rooms. As far as possible, set your fixtures in glass rather than tiles or wood. Carry the lower end of the main drain at least five feet beyond the cellar walls of the building, of cast iron.
Let us now look at the outside work. The main drain (carrying everything except the kitchen and pantry sinks) goes through a ventilated running trap. ”

“ But the teachings of experience are all in favour of four-inch pipes for all ordinary purposes, and of two-inch or three-inch pipes for any part of a system where the heat has simply to be conveyed and not diffused, as in the intervals between houses that are heated from the same boiler. In the fitting of the pipes there is nothing so good and cheap as rings of india rubber, which are placed over the end of each length, and then driven with it into the socket. ”

“ The problem of supplying hot water to plumbing fixtures is one that has required years of study. Each job today demands considerable thought to make it a perfect and satisfactory hot-water system. We will find installations today where the water is red from rust, where there is water pounding and cracking. There are also jobs where the fixtures get practically no hot water. As each job or individual building has its own peculiar conditions, they must be solved by the designer or the mechanic, using the fundamental principles of hot-water circulation. ”