IMD

By: Graham Elsey

In this unbelievable photo your eyes are not deceiving you; yes the soil stack on the right does run through a window! Noteworthy is the waste stack cut into the wall. The installer did so much structural damage that the whole elevation of this house had to propped up & rebuilt to stop the house falling down. Burying soil & waste pipes into the structural walls of buildings is not allowed. It is done on a day-to-day basis, I know, but that does not make it “alright”. A services duct must be provided by the architect to “hide” pipes. The duct must have access to the pipes for servicing. This is all covered in SANS 10252 part 2.

And just to prove a point this installation was done by an IOPSA member! He is currently trying to defend this in court at tremendous cost to himself. You are responsible for your & design if you take on design at tender time. If in doubt ask for plumbing drawings, and then you are not responsible for the design. And that is why this IOPSA member is “Down the Drain”!

Editor’s note
We are providing this kind of information just to show that no matter how long one has been in the business there are basic non negotiable standards and installation practices that have to be adhered to. There are new standards replacing old ones and because municipalities are either just not delivering or the Inspectors just cannot do everything expected of them because there are so few does not make for sloppy and dangerous workmanship. Remember, exceptions prove the rule.

This is why we are emphasizing PIRB where all parties are protected against this type of amateurish installation. It is critical that every plumber keeps oneself up to date and not assume that “how it was done 30 years ago” still applies.

From the sublime to one of the most common mistakes made on site. The bottom of the vanity has been removed to get to the copper pipes installed into the screed. Copper has to be protected in walls from the effects of corrosion, but are simply not allowed to be buried in a slab or floor without sheathing pipes (15 mm larger in diameter than the water pipe it is protecting). Not only this there must be no change of direction or tees either. SANS 10252 part. 1 deals with this. 

This photo was taken after the main contractor came in to fix the leaking copper pipe that had corroded. The luxury apartment block is full of this & the contractor has been fixing these leaks at his own cost for the past four years. You will note the waste pipe has back falls & has had a leak “fixed” using Pan connecting grease. Not bad for an R 5m pad!
This is from the same building. That is a 100 mm HDPE pipe that carries the gravity fed cold water to the whole building. Incredibly it reticulates through the slab to feed into other ducts. Exclusive living; you can’t beat it! And it is leaking in one of the soffits; the contractor “repaired” it by putting a geyser drip tray in the ceiling void of the apartment below saying “It’s too late to fix it now”.

You will also note UG pipe being used on the stacks, not allowed guys!

This building is four years old & therefore covered by the NHBR guarantee, which holds the sub contractor liable through the main contractor. Estimated costs for fixing the plumbing; R 4.5m, guess who’s paying? That’s why this installer is “Up the Spout”!