| Plumbing a Half Bath |
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How much you’ll need to know about plumbing depends on what type of remodel you’re doing. A facelift may not require much more than replacing a faucet or two while an addition will require that you install pipes in walls. Bathroom Plumbing will cover plumbing in more detail, but as you plan your half bath remodel job you need to know some of the fundamentals of plumbing. Here’s a summary of plumbing basics, selecting fixtures and cabinets, and other elements as they relate to the half bath. Plumbing or the plumbing system is made up of components that distribute the water supply. In residences it includes the pipes, valves, fixtures, traps, vents, drain, and other components. It gets water from the city water utility or a well or spring on the property and delivers the waste to a city sewer utility or a septic system on the property. The plumbing system for a half bath is relatively simple because the fixtures typically are a toilet and a lavatory or sink for washing. Both of these fixtures require water and waste lines. In addition, the lavatory needs both a hot water and a cold water line. Toilets only require cold water lines. A bidet typically has both a hot and cold water source. Half baths often have both primary fixtures on a common wall; that is, they are side by side. This arrangement is more efficient (and less costly to build) because the supply and drain pipes are in a single wall. The lavatory’s drain pipe takes water away from the basin and dumps it in to the main vent stack. The toilet dumps waste into the main vent stack as well.
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