Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/161

* PLUMBING. 129 PLUMBING. be of lead or wrouylit ii on ; or if the building be large, the main piping may be of cast iron. In highly finished, expensive work, brass or niekel-plated pipe is sometimes used, and copper may be employed for hot-water piping. As some waters attack and decompose lead and give rise to lead poisoning, the materials for service and house piping should be chosen accordingly. (See Sanitary Laws; Water-Wohk.s.) A valve at the sidewalk enables the water department to turn on or shut off the water to the consumer at will, and another valve, just inside the cellar wall, permits the householder to control the house sujjpl}' from that point also. The water butler's pantry, and, in large houses and serai- public and public buildings, in various other places, ilost counuonly the^' are of iron, and have hot and cold water. Laundry tubs are placed in a separate room or in the kitchen, and consist of two or more rectangular compart- ments, with the front side sloping, provided with hot and cold water, and composed of soapstone, artificial stone, cement, iron, or other material, with or without hinged wooden covers. The' cliief essential in the material for laundry tubs is lack of porosity, on which account wood, with its high absorbing quality, is unsuitable. Set icash bowls are provided in bathrooms and lav- Cold Water- ^ Hat Water-' I ] ■ A<^.-:-T-.vv.-AW.vv n "^iVater- Meter ^^— ' WATER SUPPLY AND DRAINAGE OF A DWELLING meter, if employed, is generally placed just in- side the latter shut-off valve. Except in the smaller and cheaper houses the water piping is mostly in duplicate, one set of pipes being for hot and one for cold water. The water is heated by circulating through a pipe or a water back at the rear of the kitchen range, from which it goes for storage to the kitchen or range boiler. These boilers are made of wrought iron, steel, or cop- per, with riveted joints, and should be tested to withstand a high pressure. When the water sup- ply is liable to be inadequate at times, or when the direct pressure is too heavy for safety to the plumbing, a tank is provided in the upper part of the building. Great care is necessary to secure and maintain water-tightness. Tanks must be provided with automatic valves to in- sure a constant supply therein, and to prevent water going to the tanks when full : also with overflow or waste pipes. Fixtures. The various faucets, sinks, and other similar appliances connected with a plumb- ing system are called fixtures. Faucets, cocks, or valves are provided at each place where water is to be drawn. (See Valves.) It is important that these should be of high grade to prevent leakage. Sinks are provided in the kitchen, the atories, in the private rooms of hotels, and some- times, but less frequently than formerly, in the sleeping rooms of private dwellings. Probably they are most commonly of marble, but cast iron and steel, both painted and enameled, and por- celain are also emplo.ved. Bathtubs are of pol- islied sheet copper, formed on wood, of sqjid cop- per, of painted or enameled cast iron, and of porcelain. Shaver baths, sitz baths, and foot baths are for the special purj^oses indicated. Water-closets, so called because matter deposited into them is flushed out by a discharge of water, are most commonly of glazed earthenware, al- though in cheap work east iron is sometimes used. The old-fashioned pan water-closet was one of the most unsanitary of all plumbing fix- tures, and thousands are still in use. It con- sisted of a metal pan. hinged so as to drop down- ward and discharge its contents into the pipe with which it was connected. It was a centre for filth and bad odors, and is no longer tolerated where sanitary principles are understood. The valve and plunger closets, operated as indicatefl by their names, were but little better, and are also out of date. Most of the approved forms of water-closets now in use depend for their ac- tion upon the sudden discharge of a few gallons