NATIONAL PLUMBING CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES

ABS

•  Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene

ACCESSIBLE

• When applied to a fixture, connection, appliance or equipment, shall mean having access thereto, but which may require prior removal of an access panel, door or similar obstruction.

READILY ACCESSIBLE

• shall mean direct access without necessity of removing any panel, door or similar obstruction

AIRBREAK

• a physical separation, which may be a low inlet into the indirect waste receptor from the fixture, appliance or device indirectly connected.

AIR GAP, DRAINAGE

• the unobstructed vertical distance through the free atmosphere between the lowest opening from any pipe, plumbing fixture, appliance or appurtenance conveying waste to the flood level rim of the receptor.

AIR GAP, WATER DISTRIBUTION

• an unobstructed vertical distance through the free atmosphere between the lowest opening from any pipe or faucet conveying potable water to the flood-level rim of any tank, vat or fixture.

APPROVED TESTING AGENCY

• an organization primarily established for purposes of testing to approve standards and approved by the Administrative Authority.

BACKFLOW

• the flow of water or other liquids, mixtures or substances into the distributing pipes of a potable supply of water from any source other than from its intended source.

BACKFLOW CONNECTION

•  condition or any arrangement whereby reverse flow can occur.

BACKPRESSURE BACKFLOW

• occurs due to an increased reverse pressure above the supply pressure. This may be due to pumps, boilers, gravity or other sources of pressure.

BACKFLOW PREVENTER

• device or means to prevent flow of liquid from returning to the source of supply. Also called “Vacuum Breaker”

BACK-SIPHONAGE

•  the flowing back of used, contaminated or polluted water from a plumbing fixture or vessel into a water supply pipe due to a negative pressure in such pipe.

BACKWATER VALVE

•  a device installed in the drainage system to prevent reverse flow.

BACKVENT PIPE

• the part of the vent line, which connects directly with an individual trap underneath or behind the fixture and extends to the branch or main vent pipe at any point higher than the fixture or fixture traps it serves. This is sometimes called an “Individual Vent”

BALL COCK

• a valve opened & closed by the fall & rise, respectively of an attached ball floating on the surface of the liquid.

BALL JOINT

a type of pipe connection in which a ball-shaped end is held in a cuplike shell and allows movements in every direction.

BATTERY OF FIXTURES

 any of two or more similar adjacent fixture which discharge into a common horizontal soil or waste branch.

BELL OR HUB

• that portion of a pipe which, for a short distance, is sufficiently enlarged to receive the end of another pipe of the same diameter for the purpose of making a caulked or push-on joint.

BENDING PIN (or IRON)

• a tool for straightening or bending lead pipe.

BIDET

• Also called a “stiz” bath.

BLANK FLANGE

• a pipe flange that is not drilled for bolt holes.

BLIND FLANGE

• a flange that closes the end of the pipe. There is no opening for the passage of liquid & gas.

BLOW-OFF

•  a controlled outlet of a pipeline to discharge liquid or detritus.

BOILER BLOW-OFF

•  a valve outlet of a boiler that permits discharge of accumulated sediment.

BRANCH

any part of piping system other than the main, riser or stack

BRANCH INTERVAL

• a length of soil or waste stack corresponding in the general to a storey height, but in no case less than 2.43m within which the horizontal branches from one floor or storey of a building are connected to the stack.

BRANCH VENT

• a horizontal vent connecting one or more individual vertical back vents with the vent stack or stack vent.

BRAZED JOINT

• any joint obtained by joining of metal parts with alloys which melt at temperatures higher than 499 degrees centigrade, but lower than the melting temperature of the parts to be joined.

B & S

Brown & Sharpe (Specification) or Bell & Spigot (Ends of Pipes)

BUILDING DRAIN

that part of the lowest horizontal piping of a drainage system which receives the discharge from soil, waste & other drainage pipes inside the walls of the building & conveys it to the building sewer beginning 0.6m outside the building wall.

BUILDING SEWER

• that part of the horizontal piping of a drainage system which starts from the end drain & conveys it to a public sewer, private sewer, individual sewage disposal system or other point of disposal.

BUILDING SUBDRAIN

•  that portion of an underground system, which cannot drain by gravity into the building sewer.

BUILDING SUPPLY

• the pipe carrying potable water from the water meter or other source of water supply to a building or other point of use or distribution on the lot. Building supply shall also mean water service connection.

CAULKING

• plugging an opening with oakum, lead or other materials that are pounded into the annular space. Also, the material pounded into the annular opening.

CATCH BASIN

 a receptacle in which liquids are retained for a sufficient period of time to allow settable material to deposit.

CERTIFIED BACKFLOW ASSEMBLY TESTER

a person who has shown competence to test and maintain backflow assemblies to the satisfaction of the Administrative Authority having jurisdiction.

CESSPOOL

 a non-watertight lined excavation in the ground which relieves the discharge of a sanitary drainage system or part thereof, designed to retain the organic matter & solids discharging therefrom, but permitting the liquid to seep through the bottom & sides of the cesspool.

CHASE

• a vertical shaft for installation of different pipe stacks.

CHECK VALVE

• a valve that automatically closes to prevent the flow of liquid or gas in a reverse direction.

CIRCUIT VENT

• a group vent pipe which starts in front of the extreme fixture connection on a horizontal branch and connects to the vent stack. A.k.a. “Loop Vent”.

COMMON VENT

• A.k.a. “Loop Vent or Unit Vent”.

COMBINATION WASTE & VENT SYSTEM

•  a specially designed system of waste piping embodying the horizontal wet venting of one or more sink or floor drains by means of a common horizontal waste & vent pipe, adequately sized to provide free movement of air above the flow line of the drain.

COMBUSTIBLE CONSTRUCTION

•  a structure which any part of its structural framework will ignite & burn at a temperature of 756 degrees centigrade or less.

COMMON

•  that part of plumbing system designed & installed to serve more than (1) appliance, fixture, building or system.

CONFINED SPACE

•  a room or space having a volume less than 1.4 m³ with 250 kilogram calorie of the aggregate input rating of all fuel-burning appliances installed in that space.

CONTINUOUS VENT

• vertical vent that is a continuation of the drain to which the vent connects.

CONTINUOUS WASTE

• a drain connecting the compartments of a set of fixtures to trap or connecting other permitted fixtures to a common trap.

CONDUCTOR OR DOWNSPOUT

•  a vertical pipe to convey rainwater.

CORPORATION COCK

• a stop valve placed at the connection of the water service pipe to the water main.

CRITICAL LEVEL

• C-L or C/L marking on a backflow prevention device or vacuum breaker is a point conforming to approved standards & established by the testing laboratory (usually stamped on the device by the manufacturer) which determines the minimum elevation above the flood level rim of the fixture or receptacle served where the device may be installed. When a backflow prevention devices does not bear a critical level marking, the bottom of the vacuum breaker, combination valve or the bottom of any such approved device shall constitute the critical level.

CROSS-CONNECTION

any connection or arrangement, physical or otherwise, between a potable water supply system and any plumbing fixture or any tank, receptacle, equipment or device, through which enables non-potable, used, unclean, polluted, contaminated water or other substances to enter into any part of such potable water system under any condition.

DEAD-END

• the extended portion of a pipe that is closed at one end to which no connections are made on the extended portion, thus permitting the stagnation of liquid or air therein.

DEVELOPED LENGTH

 the length of a pipe along its centerline & fittings

DOMESTIC SEWAGE

• the liquid & water-borne wastes derived from the ordinary living processes, free from industrial wastes & of such character that permit satisfactory disposal without special treatment. It is discharged into the public sewer or into a private sewage disposal system.

DOUBLE-BEND FITTING

a pipe fitting with adjacent reverse bends and shaped like letter “S”.

DOUBLE OFFSET

• two offsets in succession or in series such that the centerlines of the outside ends are in the same straight line.

DOWNSPOUT

• the vertical portion of a rainwater conductor

DRAIN

• a pipe, which carries ground surface waters, storm water or wastewater into a building drainage system.

DRAINAGE SYSTEM

 includes all the pipings within public or private premises which convey sewage or other liquid wastes to a legal point of disposal but does not include the mains of a public sewer system or a public sewage system or disposal plant.

DURHAM SYSTEM

• a term used to describe soil or waste system where all pipings are of threaded pipe, tubing or other such rigid construction using recessed drainage fittings to correspond to the types of piping.

EFFECTIVE OPENING

•  is the minimum cross-sectional area at the point of water supply discharged measured or expressed in terms of: (also applicable to air gap installation)

EXISTING WORK

•  the on-going installation of the plumbing installation of the plumbing system or any part thereof which has been installed prior to the effectivity of the National Plumbing Code.

FERRULE

• a metallic sleeve, caulked or joined to an opening in a pipe, into which a plug is screwed that can be removed for cleaning or examining the interior of the pipe.

FIXTURE

• a receptacle other than a trap attached into a plumbing system in which water or wastes may be collected or retained for ultimate discharge into the plumbing system.

FIXTURE BRANCH

• the water supply pipe between the fixture supply pipe & the water-distributing pipe.

FIXTURE DRAIN

• the drainpipe from the trap of a fixture to the junction of that drain with any other drainpipe.

FIXTURE SUPPLY

• a water supply pipe connecting the fixture with the fixture branch.

FIXTURE UNIT

• is an arbitrary quantity in terms of which the load producing effects of water requirements on the plumbing system of different kinds of plumbing fixtures are expressed in some arbitrary chosen scale.

FLOOD LEVEL

•  the level in a fixture at which water begins to overflow over the top of rim of the fixture.

FLOOD LEVEL RIM

is the top edge of the receptacle from where water overflows.

FLOODED

• when the liquid therein rises to the flood level rim.

FLUSH TANK

•  a tank located above or integral with water closet, urinal or similar fixtures for flushing or removing excrements in the fixture.

FLUSH VALVE

• is a device located at the bottom of the tank for the purpose of flushing water closet or similar fixtures.

FLUSHOMETER TANK

• is integrated within an air accumulator vessel which is designed to discharge a predetermined quantity of water into fixtures for flushing purposes.

FLUSHOMETER VALVE

• is a device, which discharges a predetermined quantity of water into fixtures for flushing purposes & is actuated by direct water pressure.

GATE VALVE

• a valve in which the flow of water is cut off by means of a circular disc fitted against a machine-smoothed faces, at right angles to the direction of flow. The disk is raised or lowered by means of a threaded stem connected to the handle of the valve. The opening in the valve is usually as large as the full bore of the pipe.

GLOBE VALVE

• a valve in which the flow of fluid is cut off by means of a circular disc that fits over & against the horizontal valve seat. The movement of the plane of the disc is parallel to the normal direction of flow of water through the orifice (hole) resulting to tortuous passage which offers a high-pressure loss. (to throttle water pressure)

GOOSENECK

a return bend of a small sized pipe, one end of which is about 30cm long & the other end is about 7.5cm long. It is commonly used as a faucet for a pantry sink. Also, the term means the flexible tubing connection between the service pipe & the water main.

GREASE INTERCEPTOR

• an interceptor of at least 3 cubic meters capacity to serve one or more fixtures which is remotely located.

GREASE TRAP

• a device designed to retain grease from 1 to a maximum of 4 fixtures.

GROUP VENT

• a branch vent that performs its functions for 2 or more traps

HORIZONTAL BRANCH

• is a drain pipe extending laterally from a soil or waste stack or building drain with or without vertical sections or branches, which receives the discharge from one or more fixture drains and conducts it to the soil or waste stack or to the building drain.

HORIZONTAL PIPE

•  is any pipe or fitting installed in a horizontal position or which forms an angle of not more than forty-five 45 degrees from the horizontal plain.

HOUSE DRAIN

•  is that part of the lowest horizontal piping of a plumbing system which receives the discharges from soil, waste and other drainage pipes inside of a building and conveys it to the house sewer outside of the building.

HOUSE SEWER

• is that part of a plumbing system extending from the house drain at a point 0.60m from the outside face of the foundation wall of a building to the junction with the street sewer or to any point of discharge, and conveying the drainage of one building site.

HOUSE STORM SEWER

• is the pipeline from the building to the public or street storm drainage system.

HUBLESS PIPES

• are cast iron soil pipes with plain ends connected together with bolted stainless steel bands and neoprene gaskets.

INDIRECT WASTE PIPE

• is a pipe that does not connect directly with the drainage system but conveys liquid wastes by discharging into a plumbing fixture, interceptor or receptacle directly connected to the drainage system.

INDIVIDUAL VENT

• is a pipe installed to vent a fixture trap & which connects with the vent system above the fixture served to terminate in the open air. (a.k.a. backvent)

INDUSTRIAL WASTE

• any and all liquid or water-borne waste from industrial or commercial processes, except domestic sewage.

I.P.S.

• means Iron Pipe Size

INSANITARY

a condition contrary to sanitary principles or injurious to health.

INTERCEPTOR (CLARIFIER)

•  is a device designed & installed to separate & retain deleterious, hazardous or desirable matters from normal wastes & permits normal sewage or liquid wastes to discharge into the disposal terminal by gravity.

INVERT

• the lowest portion of the interior part of any pipe or conduit that is not vertical.

LABELLED

• equipment or materials bearing a label of a listing agency. All labels shall be embossed, stamped or indelibly marked with stickers, glued on the finished product indicating the weight, specifications & logo of the manufacturer.

LATRINE

•  a water closet consisting of a continuous through containing water. The though extends under two or more adjacent seats. Prohibited by health authorities for permanent installations.

LAVATORY

• a.k.a. wash basin

LEACHING CESSPOOL

• a cesspool that is not watertight.

LEADER

a pipe connected from building gutter to the downspout or conductor.

LENGTH OF PIPE

 is measured along its centerline