One year my husband and I decided to be ambitious and alter the plumbing in the Phoenix home we had recently bought. We discovered, however, that when it comes to drainage systems, you really need to know what you're doing or you could end up with a big mess on your hands. If you're thinking about doing your own plumbing, make sure you learn about plotting the route, laying the trench and piping, filling and protecting the trench, making the pipes accessible, and conforming to local regulations.
The first thing we learned was that we needed to plan a route for our waste pipes--one that would be as short and straight as possible without any steep runs. We also learned how to use both a surveyor's level and a datum point (with a hose pipe filled with water) to calculate the fall of the pipe.
A general guideline when laying soil pipe to a fall of 1:40 is that the bubble in the spirit level should barely rise to the higher end, with part of it is still contained between the two lines. You want your measurements to be exact, however, so make sure you learn how to use the necessary tools to calculate the fall accurately.
We also learned that we needed to be careful as we installed the drain trench so that we wouldn't compromise the foundation of the house. The trick is to lay the pipes as quickly as possible. You don't want an open trench sitting out for too long. Keep the trench clear of protrusions and make it no wider than six inches from either side of the pipe. You may also need to add extra support to keep it from collapsing.
Don't use hard materials like bricks, as they will damage the pipe. You will need to learn the proper way to support the piping and backfill the trench--usually with 10 mm shingle. Any part of the drain system that sits closer than 600 mm beneath a garden needs to be protected against garden activity (e.g. hoeing, raking, watering, etc.) with concrete.
The drainage system should allow for all parts of the pipe work to be easily accessible to drain rods--another reason to lay the drains as straight as possible. We had to learn about adding inspection chambers when the pipes changed direction or size. We also had to make sure we followed building code regulations and had our plans approved.
It's a lot of work to do your own plumbing and drainage, and you may want to simply hire your own plumber. Our Phoenix home survived the project and we did save some money by doing the work ourselves, but we'll certainly think twice about undertaking something like this again.
Author Resource:
COOL BLEW PLUMBING (http://www.coolblew.com/) is a heating and A/C has been in the business since 2002 and plumbing in Phoenix . Art Gib is a freelance writer.Distributed by Content Crooner
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