January, 1913 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
39 
All traps are liable to stoppage, and should be provided with 
cleanout plugs. Immediately beyond the trap, the size of the 
piping should increase, so that whatever passes the trap will have 
little chance to clog the pipe. If the traps are concealed, some 
convenient method of access to the cleanout should be provided. 
Besides this the horizontal part of each line of waste pipes should 
be provided with a brass clean out plug at the foot of each riser. 
The concealed water supply piping may be of lead, galvanized 
iron or brass. Lead is used very extensively; for ordinary houses, 
brass is considered too expensive for this part of the work; and 
galvanized iron fills all requirements, and is gradually becoming 
more popular. All supply piping, and traps in waste piping, 
should when possible, be kept in inside partitions; and whenever 
placed in outside walls, they should be thoroughly protected from 
frost. All concealed hot water piping should be covered to pre¬ 
serve the heat. Practically all the work we have mentioned is 
hidden from sight after the building is completed, but like the 
unseen wheels of a watch, upon it depend the real efficiency, 
durability and perfect sanitation of the whole system. 
We now come to the fixtures, which are largely a matter of 
price, and in this department you may expend as much as you 
like. It is a genuine pleasure to note the great number of im¬ 
provements in all kinds of fixtures; improvements which save 
labor, beautify the home and count for health. Lliding the pipe, 
traps and fixtures supports, by boxing them in, has been dis¬ 
continued, because the exposed work, permitting sunlight and 
air to circulate freely about, is much more sanitary. Moreover, 
the quantity of exposed piping and traps has been reduced to a 
minimum and beautified to such an extent that instead of being 
There is also a great difference in the fixtures made from any 
one of these materials. The great advantage of vitrified and 
enameled ware is that it is non-porous and therefore non-absorb¬ 
ing, which prevents it from becoming foul. 
Many people make the customary error of waiting until the 
building is well advanced before deciding what fixtures are to 
be used, only to learn when it is too late that some specially de- 
Hot water boilers should be supplied with circulation pipes, which 
makes it possible to draw hot water at any time. Hot water pipes 
should be carefully insulated 
eye-sores, they have become orna¬ 
ments. 
Practically all modern plumbing fix¬ 
tures are sanitary, the difference in 
fixtures being in durability, artistic de¬ 
sign, and labor saving arrangements. 
But under these classifications there is 
a vast difference. Vitrified clay and 
enameled cast iron make the best lava¬ 
tories, tubs, sinks, etc., and for vari¬ 
ous fixtures or parts of fixtures, onyx, 
marble, slate, soapstone and plain or 
galvanized cast iron or steel are used. 
The most approved kitchen sinks have the body, back and drain shelf all 
in one piece. This is a desirable fixture, very simple in its drainage 
and faucet equipment 
sirable fixture cannot be used for lack 
of room, or that a heavy porcelain tub 
cannot be used because the floor tim¬ 
bers are insufficient. If the matter had 
been taken up at the proper time a 
little more space between window and 
partition or a slight variation in the 
dimensions of the room or timbers 
might have been made without ad¬ 
ditional expense. Moreover the loca¬ 
tion of supply, waste and vent piping 
cannot easily be changed after it has 
been rouebed in and since different 
fixtures require different locations for these openings, the fixtures 
should always be selected before the work has been started. 
The combination of the elevated flush tank and the porcelain 
water closet bowl sealed the doom of ‘closed work’ and gave to 
the world the then most sanitary appliance of its kind. Although 
still extensively used the elevated tank has two close competitors 
for popularity, the “low-down tank” and the “flushometer,” the 
low-down tank being more frequently seen. 
Present methods of flushing are good, but nevertheless sources 
of trouble. Unintelligent installation and delicate parts cause the 
flushometer to get out of order. One of its greatest causes for 
working unsatisfactorily is an insufficient water supply. It 
should be supplied by a large pipe. The flush valve in both high 
and low-down tank will, after some usage, easily get out of order 
which in turn causes the ball cock supply valves of these tanks 
to become leaky and then both must be repaired. Continuous ef¬ 
fort to overcome these difficulties has been rewarded by an in¬ 
vention which instead of the ordinary flush valve has a solid one- 
piece syphon and a small injector which lifts the water over the 
syphon so rapidly that it is possible to fill a flush pipe of any 
desired size, thereby insuring a perfect wash in the closet. This 
does away with the valve and the possibility of any leakage 
through the syphon. 
(Continued on page 49.) 
A cellar or garage drain should connect with a grease trap. 
The bell trap keeps the pipe clear automatically. If possible, 
the kitchen waste should be connected with the grease trap 
