Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
Imgn wht lf would b lk without a mdrn lumbng tm. Hw wuld u wthut runnng water or fluhng tlt? Water the mt ntl nutrnt fr lf n rth; t frm th basis f a hlth diet nd lftl. Th world td wth t large, high-density population wuld nt utn life we knw without a mdrn lumbng tm tht provides clean drnkng wtr nd wg systems tht remove ntmntd used wtr.
The past is rlt with historical vnt that hw th u and failures f lumbng. On of th most rnt examples th Nw Zlnd rthuk in Chrthurh n Fbrur 2011. Bth water nd sewage tm were dtrd. Th l wr tld nt t drnk, shower r u th tlt du t th lk and ult f a wtr supply. Mn hd t rrt t digging a hl n th bkrd t dt wg.
Understanding the fundmntl f a lumbng system llw u t better undrtnd th t f rblm that occur r, if youre lnnng a remodel r new hm, t helps you dgn a tm tht will wrk rrl and pass plumbing codes.
CHAPTER ONE
Hdrul
The wrd hdrul based n the Grk word for wtr, nd originally vrd the tud f the hl behavior f wtr t rt nd n mtn. Use has brdnd t meaning to include th bhvr f ll lud, although t rmrl nrnd wth the mtn of lud. Hdrul nlud th manner n whh lud act in tnk and , dl wth their properties, nd xlr w t take dvntg f th rrt.
Hdrul a brnh of ngnrng nrnd mnl wth moving liquids. The trm is ld commonly t the study f th mechanical rrt f water, other liquids, and vn gases whn th effects of mrblt are small. Hdrul n be dvdd nt tw r, hdrtt and hdrknt. Hdrtt, the consideration f lud at rt, nvlv rblm f bun and flttn, rur n dams nd ubmrgd devices, nd hydraulic presses.
Hdrdnm
Th relative nmrblt f lud n of its basic rnl. Hydrodynamics, th study f liquids n mtn, nrnd wth uh mttr friction nd turbulence gnrtd n pipes b flowing liquids, the flow f water vr wr and thrugh nzzl, nd th u f hdrul rur in mhnr.
PLUMBING
Plumbng m from th Ltn word for lead, which lumbum. Plumbng b dfntn is a utlt tht we use n ur buildings consisting f th pipes nd fxtur fr th dtrbutn f water r g and fr the dl f wg. Th wrd sewer m from th Frnh word ur, meaning "t drn."
But hw dd plumbing systems come tgthr? Surl it didn't hn at n, rght? Of course not.
Lt Thr Be Wtr Fountains
Th mdrn drinking funtn w nvntd nd thn mnufturd in th early 1900 b tw mn nd the respective company h mn founded. Hl Willard Taylor and the Hl Tlr Company along with Luthr Hw nd the Hw Sanitary Drinking Faucet C were th tw mn tht changed hw water w served n ubl l.
Tlr' ntrt n dvlng a funtn fr drnkng wtr bgn whn h fthr dd f thd fever ud b ntmntd ubl drnkng wtr. His fthr' dth w trumt nd mtvtd him to nvnt a water funtn t provide safer drnkng wtr.
Mnwhl, Hw w a rt-tm plumber, ht mtl contractor nd th ntr ntr for th t f Brkl n Clfrn. Whl inspecting a public school, Haws w hldrn drnkng water ut f a common tn cup tht was tied to th fut. Because f th, he feared that there was a hlth hzrd in the making bu f th w th ubl w sharing their water ul.
Haws nvntd th first faucet dgnd fr drnkng. H used r plumbing rt, uh as tkng the bll from a br bdtd nd a self-closing rabbit r vlv. Th Berkeley hl drtmnt ntlld th first model drnkng fut.
Tlt Wr Seats Meant for Kng
A tlt a plumbing fxtur ud fr dftn nd urntn. Mdrn tlt consist of a bowl fttd wth a hngd t tht' connected t a wt pipe whr wt is flushed. Tlt are l lld rv, latrine, wtr lt, or lvtr. Cntrr t urbn lgnd, Sr Thm Crapper dd not nvnt th tlt. Here's a brf timeline f toilets:
Kng Minos f Crt had th frt fluhng wtr lt recorded n htr nd tht was vr 2,800 r g.
A toilet w discovered n the tmb f a Chn kng f th Western Hn Dynasty tht dt bk to somewhere between 206 BC t 24 AD.
Th ancient Rmn hd a tm f wr. Th bult ml uthu r ltrn directly over th running waters f the wr that urd into the Tbr River.
Chmbr t were used during the middle g. A hmbr pot a l mtl r rm bwl tht u ud nd then td the contents ut (ftn ut th wndw).
In 1596, a fluh tlt w nvntd and bult fr Qun Elizabeth I by hr godson, Sir Jhn Hrrngtn.
The frt tnt fr the flushing tlt w ud to Alxndr Cummings n 1775.
During th 1800s, l wuld m t rlz that poor ntr ndtn caused d. Thu having tlt and wr tm tht uld ntrl humn waste bm a rrt t lawmakers, mdl experts, inventors wll th general ubl.
In 1829, th Trmnt Htl f Boston became th frt hotel t hv ndr lumbng with ght wtr closets built b Isaiah Rgr. Untl 1840, ndr plumbing could be fund nl in the hm f th rh nd th bttr htl.
Bgnnng n 1910, tlt designs started moving w frm th elevated wtr tnk tm nd mr twrd a modern tlt wth a ld tnk nd bowl tu.
Tlt Pr nd Bruh
The frt kgd tlt r was nvntd n 1857 b n Amrn named Jh Gtt. It w lld Gayetty's Mdtd Pr. In 1880, th British Prfrtd Paper Company rtd a r rdut t be ud fr wiping after ung th tlt that came in bx f mll pre-cut ur. In 1879, the Stt Pr Company bgn llng th first tlt r n a roll, thugh rll tlt r dd nt bm common until 1907. In 1942, St. Andrw' Pr Mill in Grt Britain ntrdud the frt tw-l tlt r.
In th 1930s, the Add Bruh Cmn rtd th frt rtfl Chrtm brush tr, ung th same machinery fr mkng thr toilet bruh. In gnrl, the type of material ud t make a brush nd its dgn was dictated by t ntndd u. Th hr f nml uh as hr, xn, urrl, nd badgers w ud in huhld nd tlt-bruh. Vru t f plant fbr hv l bn used, uh as the piassava btnd from a Brzln palm and lmr bassine derived from the lmr lm of Africa nd Sr Lanka. Brush bristles were jnd t hndl nd backs f wd, plastic r metal. Mn huhld nd tlt-bruh wr rdud by inserting tuft of fbr nt hl drlld n bruh backs.
One f th rlt nd mt lbrt f showers w the Englh Regency Shwr developed rund 1810.
Althugh mdrn lumbng systems r muh mr u t dt thn th n nnt times, th Nw Zlnd rthuk can tll serve as a lrnng xrn on hw t dvl better lumbng tm. By tudng th historical events f lumbng, w are l likely to repeat th rrr, unf dgn r ntlltn tht ld t th uncontrollable fires nd lgu of th t. Check ut our hrnlgl lt of th top 27 most nfluntl htrl vnt tht hd todays plumbing systems! It vr hvmnt frm nnt through modern times. Fl fr t dd your vnt t th list. Wed lv t rd ur mmnt t!
Annt lumbng tm dt bk t 4,000 B.C.
1. Arhlgt discovered r water n the l ruins f th Indus Rvr Vll in Ind. (4,000 to 3,000 B.C.)
2. Egtn dvld r pipes that were used t buld elaborate bthrm inside th pyramids and ntrt irrigation nd sewages tm. (2500 B.C.)
3. Th Cd of Hammurabi, wrttn b Hmmurb, the 6th kng of Old Babylon, w th frt knwn code f ancient Bbln. On f the lu of th code lld for l to be ut t dth f a hu tht w not ntrutd rrl fell and killed n owner. (1700 B.C.)
4. Rainwater trn wr dvld n the lnd f Crt whh llwd for storage of rnwtr untl it w ndd for drnkng, whng, bthng nd kng uses. (1500 B.C.)
5. Archeologists dvrd th rmn of an nnt lumbng tm (t lt 3,000 r ld) on th island of Crete at the t of an ancient l of Knossos. Th nnt plumbing tm nludd a bthtub md out of hrd ttr tht looked mlr t th shape of a t-rn bthtub of late 19th-Cntur America. Thr w l evidence f a wtr closet wth a t and crude flushing dv. (1000 B.C.)
6. The Romans wr some of the most dvnd n ancient lumbng tm. Out of th Roman Emr udut wr dvld wll undrgrund wr tm, ubl nd rvt bth, ld nd bronze wtr ng systems, nd mrbl fxtur wth gold nd lvr fttng. Th Rmn utlzd lead , whh at the tm md vast improvements n ntr ndtn. (500 B.C. t A.D. 455)
7. For the first tm, rn pipe w ntlld n Sgrlnd, Germany. Grmn craftsmen had learned hw t buld fires ht nugh to mlt rn nd ur it nt tng t make hllw . (1455)
8. Sr Jhn Harington, gdn to Queen Elzbth, invented th first flushing wtr closet. (1596)
9. In Vrll, Frn, Kng Lu XIV rdrd construction f a cast-iron mn lumbng ln. Th was to rr wtr but 15 ml from a umng station t the l funtn and urrundng r. (1664)
