Floor Drains


Up until recently we have never had floor drains.

Now we have them in bathroom, laundry and the walk in shower.

I’m quite impressed and would definitely specify them for another build.

Having had one washing machine overflow in the past I think they are a great idea to give you added security against internal flooding.

Some things to plan

So what does it mean if this is the way you want to go?

      • For them to be fully effective the floor needs to slope down to the drain at least 1:80 (13mm in 1m), preferably 1:60 (17mm in 1m).
      • The normal procedure is to cast the slab in the room 25mm below the main slab.
      • A cement grout bed is then laid on the slab, at the appropriate fall to the drain, before waterproofing and then tiling.

Shower Drains

If you are going to have a walk in shower it can be neater to have a rectangular floor drain like this one.

This example has a stainless steel finish but you can also get covers with a tray that you can fix matching tiles in. All you can then see is a narrow slot.

 

For similar posts see  Plumbing in the Selection Category.

More plumbing information and 24 pages of Check Lists in the ‘Selection / Pre-Start Guide’

 

Round or Slimline Tanks?

These days many states require you to have rainwater storage , unless you have access to recyled water.

But which type of tank will be best?

Round Tanks

The standard is round tanks.

These cost less because they are easier to make and use less material per litre of stored water.

It is easy to see the entire contents of the tank from the top access so you can check on sediment level.

Also, it is easy to hose sediment to the tanks drain point when the tank needs cleaning. . . . NEVER GET INSIDE YOUR TANK.

Slimline Tanks

A popular shape is the slimline tank which will fit in a narrow space.

I have even seen a row of them used as a boundary fence.

A disadvantage is it is much more difficult to to clean out sediment.

Before you make a choice it could be worth thinking about finding out if you can find room for a round tank.

Cost

Typically the cost increase for a slimline tank over a round tank of the same volume is at least 50%.

A comparison from my local builders merchants:

    • $1,200 for a Slimline 3,000 Litre tank
    • $800 for a Round 3,000 Litre tank

If you haven’t the width to fit a 3000L tank you could perhaps look at getting two round 2,000Litre tanks for a similar price as the 3,000Litre Slimline tank.

 

 

See this post to find out How Much Rainwater Storage You Need

 

Plumbing – Kitchen and Laundry

Make sure you have thought about all the following plumbing fittings:

Kitchen

There are a wide range of sinks the choice is a lot wider than one basin or two so you need to spend some time looking at various options.

Similarly there a wide range of mixers.

Boiled /Chilled Water Service used to be an office fitting but they are becoming more common in homes. (I think they can waste a fair bit of energy and are a scalding safety riskn so I can’t recomend them myself).

Dishwasher are normally installed as cold fill but there are some hot and cold fill machines around or you can just use the hot water.

If you like refrigerators with a chilled water you will need a water supply to the refridgerator location..

Butlers Pantry

In many larger houses a Butlers Pantry is included rather than a simple larder.

This is somewhere where the messy part of food preparation can be done when you are entertaining.

Depending on how much room you have these can be almost second kitchens so they may need a similar range of plumbing fittings

Laundry

Do you really want a laundry trough?…….. why not have a standard sink basin?

If you go for a trough why not think about a smaller size.

Whatever your choice you will need either a mixer or taps.

Washing machine – although you may only have a cold fill machine its always worth getting a hot water service installed.

People that do a lot of gardening like a toilet with wash basin off the laundry to avoid them going through the house with dirty boots.

Roof Water / Recycled Water

With roof water tanks and recycled water becoming more common in suburban properties you need to think about where you will use this supply, which has to be kept separate from the mains supply.

Will it be toilets only? or are you going to use it for the laundry?

Its simpler if you live on a rural block because it will be all roof water!…………. If so I would seriously think about a domestic water filter, although I wouldn’t bother for a suburban house with mains water.

Addititionally

My son is a concretor and I work for a drainage company so my wife prefers to wash our overalls in an old washing machine on the back veranda and keep the newer washing machine for her clothes and our non work outfits.

 

For similar posts see Plumbing

More plumbing information and 24 pages of Check Lists

in the ‘Selection / Pre-Start Guide’

 

Plumbing – Bathrooms and Toilets

Everyone has an opinion about Toilets and Bathrooms even if they aren’t too bothered about other rooms. (I used to be involved in Airport Design. At project meetings million dollar concrete decisions used to take less than 5 minutes but when it came to a few thousand dollars for the toilets it was at least 30 minutes per meeting as everyone wanted their say)

Having said that here’s my opinions:………

Overall

After the kitchens the bathrooms are usually the next most expensive rooms.

Its worth thinking carefully about the cost of fittings as you may find very similar fitting to those you ‘Love’ at half the price.

White fittings don’t date, and are easier to match if you want to choose units from different ranges.

A floor drain is a definite for me, convenient if you have young children who like to splash in the bath and a good safeguard if you get a leak.

Ensuite

Shower – I think the days of shower trays are long gone. Having a walk in shower means you can have a larger shower, much better than the minimum size.

Wash basins I have previously posted about One Basin or Two so the only other comment is “Think carefully about what basins and mixers you need, it can add a thousand dollars or more to the cost.”

Toilets Lot of choice but look at the prices before you pick. I have seen similar looking toilets with a $500 price difference

Bidet? Well I have never had one but if you like the idea why not. A possible cheaper alternative may be one of those Japanese devices that fit on the toilet.

Bathroom

The differences between this and the En-suite are:

Bath We have always had a bath as I occasionally enjoy having a soak, and they are good for bathing children. If you are planning on getting a spa bath you are probably going to need a larger hot water service!

Shower I’m not a big fan of over the bath showers, getting in and out can be difficult, particularly for elderly visitors, so I would always go for the separate shower.

Toilet I don’t mind having the toilet in the bathroom but you may have different ideas.Do you need a separate toilet?

Washbasin – To my mind there is not much point in having a separate toilet unless it has a washbasin. If you don’t you still need to use the bathroom to wash your hands. I have known large families particularly with lots of girls to have a full vanity unit in the separate toilet, or even in an alcove near the bathroom.

 

More plumbing information and 24 pages of Check Lists in the

‘Selection / Pre-Start Guide’

Plumbing – External

All new Australian houses come with one external tap next to the water meter……..but what other external plumbing might you need?

If you are on an estate with Recycled Water you will have two meters and two taps although they will probably be next to one another.

Here some thoughts about other external plumbing:

Garden Watering

A friend of mine said he needed a tap at each corner of the building and from my experience I think he was pretty right.

Our existing house has one tap at each side and at least one more would be useful.

Ideally these taps should be supplied from either your recycled water supply, or your tank water supply.

Al Fresco / Outdoor Kitchen / Barbeque Area

Whatever you call this area at least a cold water supply will be useful.

If you have a sink, and it is near the other hot water services a hot water tap may also be worthwhile. (If its some way from the house it will probably be a waste of time as it will take too long for the hot water to come through.)

If you have a gas barbeque and you have mains gas think about extending the gas supply,

Mains Gas costs less than half the price of bottled gas and doesn’t run out in the middle of a barby.

Back Door and/or Garage Wash Basin

I usually wash my hands in the laundry trough when I come in from the garden but some swear by keeping all garden and garage dirt out of the house.

Outside Shower

I have seen a couple of examples of this where the bathroom has an external door and an outside shower.

It looks really good for summer use. . . Just make sure you have good privacy screening!

Swimming Pool

  • Supply for topping up, preferably rainwater.
  • Shower, do you want hot or are you happy just with cold.

Rainwater

See the Rainwater section of the sustainability category for more information on this subject.

 

What’s your most important outside plumbing?

For similar posts see Plumbing

More plumbing information and 24 pages of Check Lists in the

‘Selection / Pre-Start Guide’

 

 

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

 

Safe Hot Water

Did you know that around 90 Australian children are admitted to hospital each year due to scalds from the water from the tap, with many will requiring skin grafts.

Disabled and the elderly are also more at risk of scalding injury.

The water doesn’t have to be boiling!

Water at a temperature of 65 degrees C will cause full thickness burns in 1 second, even at 60 degrees it only takes 5 seconds.

Those boiling water taps (pictured) for making tea are particularly dangerous

Solar hot water systems can be a problem particularly  in summer

They can heat water up to much higher temperatures than the normal maximum of 65 degrees for gas or electric hot water systems.

Making it Safe

If you have a gas or electric system set the maximum temperature to 50 degrees C. If you are not sure on how to do this get a plumber to make the adjustment.

This will not only improve safety but save you money as the system won’t loose heat as fast.

If you have a solar hot water system make sure the tempering valve is fitted and set it at 50 degrees which will automatically mix cold water with the hot water if the hot water is above the preset temperature.

If you ‘must’ have a boiling water tap do set it right at the back of the counter where tiny fingers can’t reach!

 

For similar posts see Plumbing

 

Separate Toilets?

Most house plans show a toilet in the master bathroom but a separate toilet in the other bathroom……………. Why?

Maybe it’s because you don’t want visitors to see the bathroom, but where are they going to wash their hands?

Is it because you want somewhere quiet to go and read?

In England the only time people generally had a separate toilet was downstairs when the main bathroom with a toilet was upstairs.

I used to hang my college certificates in the downstairs toilet in one house. . . . That’s because I think you should never be in a dignified position when you are reviewing your achievements.

To make your house more accessible for a disabled visitor, or even old or injured family members, it’s easier for the toilet to be in the bathroom.

To get an idea go and look how a disabled toilet is organised in your local shopping centre.

I suppose if you have a big family queuing for the bathroom it might be a problem but then I would have though the best thing would be, rather than have a bathroom and a toilet to have two shower rooms each having a washbasin and a toilet.

With the shower rooms being smaller than a bathroom they probably wouldn’t take up much more space than a bathroom plus toilet.

Perhaps in one room you could have a half bath rather than a shower tray so you could still be able to give small children and babies a bath.

Must have a separate toilet

If you really want a separate toilet, as many people do, here are a couple of reasons why you might think of opening the door outwards rather than inwards as is typical.

    • You can make the toilet area a bit smaller which can help fit it in.
    • If someone passes out they will most likely fall forward against the door. If the door opens inwards how would you get them out?

One question I haven’t resolved is how should you decorate a separate toilet and should you install magazine rack?

After all reading on the toilet is the only time most of us men do any multi-tasking.

 

N.B I hope you liked the photo of the Avocado Bathroom. . . it was very trendy when we were re-modelling our first home

For other posts about House layouts see Plans

For Toilets see Plumbing

More plumbing information and 24 pages of Check Lists in the ‘Selection / Pre-Start Guide’

 

Twin Basins – Is It Worth It?

When we first came to Australia and started looking at display houses we often saw En-Suites with two wash basins.

We thought it looked fairly classy so that’s what we got in our first Australian new house.

Ever since we have always gone for a single basin. . . here’s why:

  • We found that we are never in the bathroom at the same time.  Even when we used to travel to work together I always got up first to take the dog for a walk which gave my wife a clear run.
  • Having a single basin gives more counter space on the vanity. (sometimes too much!)  We do have fairly strict demarcation lines. My wife’s stuff is on the left and my stuff is only allowed on the right.
  • Having one basin with only one set of waste plumbing leaves more room in the vanity cupboards for fresh towels, hair dryer, toilet rolls, spare toiletries, etc, etc.
  • Cost saving of basin, tap fittings, and labour. Even with basic fittings this gave us a few hundred dollars we could use on things we really wanted. If you have expensive plumbing fittngs the savings could be thousands!

Will you have twin basins in your new house?

 

For similar posts see Selection

More plumbing information and 24 pages of Check Lists

in the ‘Selection / Pre-Start Guide’

 

Braided Hoses Problems

Have you got one of these flexible stainless steel braided hoses?

This is one fitted to my toilet.

They were initially mainly used in inaccessible areas.

These days being fairly inexpensive they are often used to make all sorts of connections easier.

Problems

According to this article in ‘The Age’ they are responsible for one in five of all water damage claims.

It seems they have a limited lifespan.

Many braided steel hoses are used in accessible but closed areas where heat, moisture and fumes can react with the woven mesh, causing  corrosion that leads to hose failures.

Things like chemicals, stored in under sink cupboards, can also further shorten their life, by causing deterioration of the internal hose.

Having sharp bends also makes them more prone to failure.

If you already have these hoses make sure you regularly inspect them and change them at the first sign of damage.

 

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