Sanitary fittings in the house

For the collection and conveyance of wastewaters, various types of sanitary fittings are required to be fitted in the building. All these fitting should as far as possible be fitted against an external wall so that the apartment in which they are situated can have free natural light and air. This aspect also facilitates easy drainage of connections. The floors of the rooms where any of the sanitary fittings are fitted should be provided with the non-absorbent floor. Such floors can be cement floors, clay tile floors, mosaic floors, and terrazzo floors. All the corners of the walls should be nicely rounded and finished. All the sanitary fittings have been discussed in brief one by one.

Types of sanitary fittings

 1. Washbasin. Washbasin may be an ordinary or pedestal type washbasin. The washbasin should be so fixed that the height from the floor to the top of the rim of the basin is 78.5 cm. Washbasins are used for washing hands, tooth brushing, face washing, etc.

2. Sinks. They are rectangular basins made from glazed earthenware or stone-ware. They have a flat bottom and all their internal angles are made round for easy cleaning. They are used for washing utensils in kitchens or laboratories. They should be fixed in such a way that the height to the top of the sink from the floor is 90 cm.

3. Baths. Bathtubs may be precast or cast in situ. Cast in situ tubs is finished with marble chips or terrazzo. Readymade tubs may be made from enameled iron, plastic, C.I., enameled porcelain, marble, or fire clays. For first-class residential buildings, marble. plastic or enameled iron baths are used. Normal dimensions of bathtubs are as follows:

Length 1.7 m to 1.85 m.

Width 70 cm to 75 cm.

Depth near waste pipe 43 cm to 45 cm.

Overall height 58 cm to 60 cm.

 The bathtub is provided with a tap to fill it and an outlet of 4 to 8 cm size to drain it. In some tubs, two taps are provided, one for hot and another for cold water supply. The bathtub should also be provided with one over-flow pipe to take away excessive spilling water.

4. Water closet (W.C.). It is used to receive human excreta directly from persons using it. The appliance is connected to the soil pipe by means of a trap. The water closets (W.C.) may be Indian type i.e., squatting type and wash down pedestal, or European type.

Both these W. Cs have an arrangement of flushing the discharged excreta by the persons with the help of water.

In European type, W.C. one has to sit as on chair but in case of Indian pattern, one has to sit squatting while using it.

5. Urinals. They are used to discharge urine. Contents of urinals are collected and discharged into the soil pipe through the floor trap. Urinals are generally provided with automatic flushing cisterns which operate at intervals of 10 to 15 minutes. Urinals should be designed to allow a minimum clear width of 60 cm between the partition. The top of the bowl should be about 65 cm above the floor level. The number of stall urinals draining into any one outlet should preferably be not more than 5 in the case of public buildings.