| Inside Bathroom Walls |
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No matter what you do to change the look or function of your home’s bathroom there are some basic things you need to know. Coming sections will give you the details. For now, let’s look inside your home’s walls to see what’s going on. First, the bathroom needs fresh water. Actually, there are two fresh water systems in your home: hot and cold. You knew that. Water from a public water system or a private well or spring system is delivered under pressure to your residence in a single pipe. Part of it is diverted to one or more water heaters. It then flows through pipes to fixtures such as faucets and toilets. The pipes that carry the water are installed in the walls, their location depending on the shortest path. Remodeling Tips Most homes use common plumbing walls. That is, bathrooms often are located next to or near each other, sharing a common wall that includes pipes for both rooms. It cuts construction costs. Second, waste water from the sink or tub and from the toilet must be removed from the residence. So bathrooms have waste removal systems as well, located in the walls and in the floor. Eventually, it all winds up in a waste pipe that allows it to dump into a sewer or septic system. Sewers are public utilities with large pipes located under the road in front of your house. Septic systems are private disposal systems, typically a septic tank and drain fields located in your yard. Third, there’s a ventilation system that allows gases to escape from the waste plumbing. Together, the waste system is called drain-waste-vent or DWV. You’ll learn much more about these systems in coming sections. Also in the walls is the electrical system: wires that bring the electricity to receptacles (outlets or plugs), fixtures (such as lighting), and switches that control the fixtures. Most wiring runs along and through vertical wooden wall supports called studs, typically located 16-inches apart. Above and below the studs are other horizontal wooden components called plates. Covering the studs are sheets of plaster called drywall or wooden slats (lath) covered with dried plaster.
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