pressure-limiting valve a valve which limits the outlet pressure to the set pressure, within specified limits

only, at inlet pressures above the set pressure

pressure-reducing valve a valve which automatically reduces the pressure to below a predetermined value
on the downstream side of the valve

pressure-relief valve a spring-loaded valve for automatically controlling the build-up of excessive
pressure in pipework or fittings by means of a discharge to the atmosphere

reflux valve a valve which prevents the reversal of flow by means of a flap or other mechanism

relief valve a valve which will open to release excess pressure from a system

safety valve a pressure-relief valve fitted on, or close to, a boiler or unfired pressure vessel

stop valve a valve which can be operated to stop the flow in a pipeline

temperature-pressure-relief a spring-loaded automatic valve limiting the pressure and temperature by means
(TPR) valve of discharge, and designed for installation on the hot side of a storage water heater

temperature-relief valve a temperature-actuated valve which automatically discharges fluid at a specified

set temperature. It is fitted to a water heater to prevent the temperature in the
container exceeding a predetermined level, in the event that energy input controls
fail to function

tempering valve a mixing valve which is temperature actuated and is used to temper a hot water
supply with cold water to provide hot water at a lower temperature, e.g. 50°C, at
one or more outlet fixtures

thermostatic mixing valve a mixing valve in which the temperature from the mixed water outlet is
automatically controlled by a thermostatic element/ sensor to a preselected
temperah1re

vacuum-relief valve a pressure-actuated valve which automatically opens to relieve vacuum conditions

vent a pipe provided to limit the pressure fluctuations within the discharge pipe system
or to encourage the passage of gases

branch vent a graded vent at any one floor level, interconnecting two or more individual trap
vents or group vents

common vent a vent for venting the traps of not more than two fixtures

cross-vent a vent interconnecting a stack and its relief vent

downstream vent a drainage vent located on, or connected to, a drain discharging to a boundary trap

group vent a vent connected to a branch to which unvented fixture discharge pipes are
cmmected

header vent a vent interconnecting the tops of two or more relief vents or stack vents

250
 INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE) 8

Section A:
DESIGNING BUILDINGS TO ALLOW FOR PLUMBING 11
Drains 13
Discharge pipes within floor depths 13
Floor waste gullies within floor depths 13
Checking or drilling through timber structures 14

Section B:
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF SANITARY PLUMBING AND DRAINAGE 17
Excluding foul air 20
Trap failure 21
Code requirements 24

Section C: NEW ZEALAND ONLY

EXPLANATORY GUIDE TO NEW ZEALAND BUILDING CODE

CLAUSE 613 FOUL WATER - ACCEPTABLE SOLUTION ASl
SANITARY PLUMBING 25
Plumbing systems 27
Water traps and single discharge pipes 31
Water traps serving more than one outlet 33
Combined discharge pipes 35
Access points 36
Limitations on connection to a discharge stack 37
Sizing of vents 39
Vent pipes 40
Air admittance valves 44
Discharge pipes and venting of water closet pans 46
Waste water fixture vent pipe connections 48
Termination of vent pipes 51
Pipe materials and support 53
Floor wastes 54

4
 This guide explains, using graphics and simple explanations, the general
principles and requirements of the building codes and standards applicable to
sanitary plumbing and drainage in Australia and New Zealand. The guide is
intended as an aid and quick reference for designers, builders, students,
plumbers and drainlayers and building officials or surveyors.

The information it contains will meet the overall requirements of AS/NZS

3500 for both Australia and New Zealand and the requirements of New
Zealand Building Code (NZBC) Clause G13 Foul water. Where individual states
have modified AS / NZS 3500, these modifications should be referred to. The
original standards or code clauses also need to be referred to, but this guide is
invaluable as a quick reference and aid to understanding these documents. The
easy to follow diagrams, with minimal but clear text, are an essential tool for
understanding the complexity of plumbing systems and the regulatory
documents surrounding them.

I I

3
 gully trap see trap

head the total energy possessed by a wut weight of water due to its elevation, pressure
and velocity. It is expressed as a height in meh·es of fluid

header vent see vent

heat exchanger an apparahis for use in transferring heat from a heat source to wate1~ contained
within a coil or storage cylinder

heat trap an arrangement of water piping constructed to cow1teract the heat loss due to
convection of the hot water

height of stack (in floor levels) the number of floor levels through which the stack passes, counted from the base of
the stack up to, but not including, the floor level on which the highest fixture is
connected. Where the distance between the base of the stack and the lowest floor
exceeds 2.4 m, this interval shall be cow1ted as an additional floor level

horizontal branch that part of a soil pipe or waste pipe extending laterally from a soil stack or waste
stack, with or without vertical section or branches, which receives the discharge
from one or more waste pipes or soil pipes and conducts it to the soil stack or
(
waste stack

hose tap see tap

hot water reticulation other than the actual water heate1~ all parts of an installation providing a supply of
hot water at the specified outlets

hot water system all parts of an installation, including the water heate1~ necessary to provide a
supply of hot water at specified outlets
direct system - a hot water supply system in which the water supplied to the draw-
off points is heated by a primary source of heat such as solid fuel, gas, electricity or
oil
indirect system - a hot water supply system in which the water supplied to the
draw-off points is heated by means of a heat exchanger

induced siphonage the loss of water from a h·ap by siphonage, caused by a reduction in pressure at the
outlet of the trap

inspection cap a removable airtight cap fitted over a boundary trap riser or inspection shaft

inspection chamber see chamber

inspection junction see jtmction

inspection opening (IO) an access opening in a pipe or pipe fitting, arranged to facilitate inspection testing
or the clearing of obstructions, and fitted with a threaded cap or plug or an access
cover

inspection opening bend see bend

inspection shaft a shaft consh·ucted in the line of a sanitary drain for the purpose of inspection and
furore access for locating and clearing the drain

240
 Section D: )
EXPLANATORY GUIDE TO AS/ NZS 3500 PART 2
SANITARY PLUMBING AND DRAINAGE 55
General requirements 59
Fixture discharge units 59
Discharge pipe sizes and gradients 60
Water traps 60
Water traps serving more than one outlet 61
Floor waste gully traps 62
Junctions in discharge pipes 63
Connections to stacks 64
Connection of fixtures 69
Vent pipes 70
Air admittance valves 72
Ground floor plumbing 74
Single stack systems 79
Single stack systems - residential buildings 80
Single stack systems - commercial and industrial buildings
(non-residential buildings) 82
Single stack modified systems 84
Single stack modified systems - residential buildings 84
Single stack modified systems - commercial and industrial buildings
(non-residential buildings) 86
Ranges of fixtures in commercial buildings 88
Connection of fixtures without trap vents to all single stack systems 91
Waste water stacks 93
Offsets in single stack systems 95
Steep offsets in 100 mm single stacks 95
Graded offsets in 100 mm single stacks 98
Offsets in single stack waste water systems 99
) Steep offsets in waste water stacks 99
Graded offsets in waste water stacks 99
Variations to single stack systems 102
DN 80 straight stack in a residential building 102
DN 80 stack with graded section at the upper floor of a tlu·ee-storey residential
building 103
DN 100 stack with graded section at the upper floor of a three-storey
residential building 104
DN 100 stack with graded section at the upper floor of a two-storey
residential building 105
Cmmection of multiple fixtures into or below a graded offset 106

5
 Fully vented systems 107
Discharge pipe size 107

~
Stack size 107
Trap vents 110
Branch vents 116
Relief vents and stack vents 117
Relief vents on offset stacks 121
Cross-relief vents 123
Header vents 124
Group vents 125
Group vented branches 127
Systems using drainage principles 129

Section E: NEW ZEALAND ONLY

EXPLANATORY GUIDE TO THE NEW ZEALAND BUILDING CODE

ACCEPTABLE SOLUTION CLAUSE G13/ AS2 DRAINAGE 133
Junctions 135
Gully traps 136
Pipe size and gradient 137
Ventilation of drains 138
Materials for drains 139
Drain installation 140
Access for maintenance 142
Drains under buildings 147

Section F:
EXPLANATORY GUIDE TO AS/NZS 3500 PART 2 SANITARY
(
PLUMBING AND DRAINAGE 149 '
Pipe size and gradient 151
Junctions 154
Ventilation drains 155
Gullies 156
Reflux valves 158
Access for maintenance 159
Boundary traps 162
Inspection shafts 163
Drain installation 163

6
 Section G~
WATER SUPPLY 169
Water supply 171
Water piping 173
Water pressure 174
Protection of potable water 174
Non-potable water 180
Water storage tanks 181
Flushing of sanitary fixtures 182
Equipotential bonding 184
Materials and installation 185
Provision of isolating valves 188
Noise in water supplies 188
Hot water installations 190
Water temperature and safety from scalding 190
Water heaters 193
Hot water storage heater installation systems 200
A typical domestic water installation 208

J_ection ];)
DOMESTIC SANITARY FIXTURES AND TAPS 213

Section I: )

EXPANSION JOINTS 227

Basic rules for expansion joints 229
)
Section J: )
GLOSSARY OF TERMS 233

7
dropper vertical or near vertical water supply or sanitary plumbing pipework

duct an enclosed area to accommodate pipework

elbow a pipe fitting for providing a sharp change of direction in a pipeline

elbow action tap see tap

expansion joint see joint

fall the difference in level between two points in the direction of flow

fill (a) ordinary fill - earth, removed from the excavation or imported, used to refill a
trench or form an embankment
(b) selected fill - specified material chosen for a particular application

fire hose reel a length of firefighting hose which is connected to a valved water supply and is
wotmd on a reel

fitting an item placed in a pipeline for jointing, connecting or changing the direction or
internal diameter of the pipeline
(
fixture a receptacle (such as a basin or a WC), the use of which results in a discharge into
the sanitary plumbing or sanitary drainage installation

soil fixture a water closet pan, urinal, slop hopper or bed pan washer

waste water fixture any fixture other than a soil fixture

fixture discharge pipe see pipe

fixture discharge unit a tmit, based on the rate of discharge, that expresses the hydraulic load imposed by
that fixture on the sanitary plumbing installation

fixture pair two adjacent waste fixh1res of the same type which have their outlets connected to
the same fixhire trap

fixture trap see trap

float a buoyant device (often spherical), used to activate a mechanism by its response to
a rise or fall of the surface of a fluid

float valve see valve

floor level when determining the height of a stack in floor levels, a floor level represents the
vertical distance between two adjacent floor struch1res

flood level rim the lowest part of the top edge of any fixture from which water will spill when full

floor waste see waste

238
 spa bath a bath with the facility for injecting air and jets of turbulent water into water
contained in the bath

bedding material placed beneath a pipe to provide support

bend a length of pipe or a manufactured fitting used to make a change in direction in

pipework

inspection opening bend a sanitary drainage bend which incorporates an inspection opening

bidet a sanitary fixture pan equipped with a spray device which can be applied to the
body

boiling water unit an apparatus for providing a continuous supply of boiling water

boundary trap riser a vertical shaft which extends the inlet leg of a boundary trap to ground surface
level to provide access to the drain for inspection, cleaning and maintenance
purposes

chamber a compartment or enclosed space for air or water usage

access chamber a below-ground structure with a sealed cover constructed in the line of a sanitary (
drain, to allow access for maintenance of the drain

inspection chamber a chamber consh·ucted in a drainage system to facilitate inspecting, testing or the
clearance of obstructions

precast chamber a pre-consh·ucted component to provide for access, inspection or the clearance of
obsh·uctions in a drain

channel an open graded passage for the conveyance of liquids

charge pipe see pipe

cistern a tank in which water is stored, the water normally entering through a float control
valve set at a predetermined level and incorporating an air gap

flushing cistern a cistern which is capable of discharging a measmed quantity of watei~ either
automatically at intervals regulated by the rate at which water is fed to the cistern,
or by manual operation of the flushing mechanism

water closet (WC) cistern a flushing cistern designed to be installed in conjunction with a WC pan, which
incorporates a mechanism, normally a float-control valve, to control the water level

cleaner's sink see sink

cleaning eye a small access opening in a pipe for cleaning out obstructions, and fitted with a I
removable and resealing cap or plug \

close-coupled water closet pan see water closet pan

236
 [ I

I.

l.

(
I.

I I
'

I i

234 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _...:__j
Expansion joints are required in copper vertical stacks of more than two
floors (Figure 14) at:
• the base of the stack
• alternate floors - at a point above the jtmction of the highest discharge pipe
on that floor
• every floor if the stack is subjected to discharge above 60°C.

roof

fixture disc harging

' - . expansion j oint is not required .J
at top fl oor unless t he pipe is
water at 60°C or
restrained at the roof penetration
higher (e.g . dishwasher)

expan sion joi nt at

alternate f loors

every fl oor ~

expansion j oint
/ at base of stack ~
ground floor

hot discharge st ack cold discha rge stack

Figure 14. Basic rnles for expa11sio11 joi11ts ill copper vertical stacks of more tl,a11 two floors.

232
 elbow-action tap a tap with a lever handle which can be operated by the elbow

electronic tap a tap activated by a sensor beam and solenoid valve (the temperature of the water
is normally preset)

hose tap a tap with an external screw thread on the outlet for attaching the coupling of a
flexible hose

lever-handled tap a quick-action tap which is operated by a lever handle attached to the spindle
L
I

mixing tap a tap into which hot and cold wate1~ entering through separate pipes, are mixed in
a chamber and then delivered through a common outlet, the temperature of the
mixed water being conh·olled by the operation of a control handle

pillar tap a screwdown pattern draw-off tap, with vertical inlet and free water outlet

stop tap a screwdown pattern tap with horizontal inlet and outlet connections permitting
flow in one direction only

Territorial Authority a city council or district council (NZ)

temperature-pressure-relief see valve (

(TPR) valve

temperature-relief valve see valve

tempering valve see valve

test pressure the pressure applied internally to pipes and fittings when being tested for strength
and watertightness

thermostatic mixing valve see valve

toxic any substance which would normally have detrimental health effects if consumed

trap any fitting designed to retain a water seal for the purpose of preventing the passage
of gases

boundary trap a trap used to aerially disconnect the house drain from the sewer

fixture trap a trap connected directly beneath the outlet of a fixture

gully trap a trap used external to the building to receive the discharge of waste water before
discharging to the drain and to maintain a water seal between the drain and the
waste lines

integral trap a trap incorporated as part of a manufactured fixture

'P' trap a trap constructed with the inlet leg vertical and the outlet leg horizontal

'S' trap a trap in which the outlet leg is parallel to the inlet leg

248