Plumbing – Are You Getting Hot Water?
One of those things I have never got quite right is hot water plumbing.
This means running the taps for a while to get hot water.
In the morning I switch the shower hot water on and can have a shave before the shower is ready to jump in.
Some Suggestions
The key thing is to get the hot water service close to the taps, or showers that are going to be used the most.
The usual site for the hot water service is outside the laundry.
That made sense when people used lots of hot water in the washing machine.
Now with cold wash detergents it’s probably the showers that use the most hot water, especially if you have teenagers who want to spend half an hour in the shower.
The more you can group bathrooms and the kitchen the sooner you will get hot water, and the less water that will be wasted.
If you can’t do this and you have a big house perhaps two separate hot water services or several small instantaneous hot water heaters may be the way to go.
Not Easy
In the last house I built I thought I had got it reasonably correct.
The laundry, 2nd bathroom and the kitchen are reasonably close to the centre of the house as is the hot water service.
What I hadn’t allowed for is that the kitchen sink is in an island unit.
The pipe run the plumber chose was up into the roof, past the island unit to the wall, down the wall, under the floor, and then back up to the sink. That’s about three times the amount of pipe than if the run had been direct under the floor to the sink.
It uses more cold water to get to the hot water through to the kitchen sink than our ensuite, which is further from the hot water service.
I suppose I should have discussed the actual pipe runs prior to signing the final contract!
For similar posts see Plumbing
Indeed, people thought we were stupid when we placed the hot water tank right outside our ensuite. We don’t have, or plan on having kids. . . the washing machine and dishwasher heat up their own water. . . we get instant hot water every morning in our showers.
It’s a bit crappy for guests when we have them, as it’s about a 25 metre journey for them to get their hot water, but how often does that happen?
I’m pretty sure that most buyers wouldn’t even realise what we’ve done either, should we ever sell the place. . . Their kids would just find out when they move in! Hahaha. Oh, the hot water tank just happens to be on the west wall too, which can’t be bad!