Increase Supply Pipe diameter?
#1
Increase Supply Pipe diameter?
I am adding a second bath to my house in the basement directly below the first bathroom. The hot and cold supply lines to the existing bath are 1/2" copper. The 1/2" copper lines are attached to 3/4" copper lines (for both hot and cold) about 15 feet away, where the kitchen sink is located. From there, 3/4" lines run the rest of the way to the meter (about 8') and hot water heater (about 20').
Should I (functionality) or do I need to (code requirements) increase both the hot and cold 1/2" supplies to 3/4" when I add the second bath? It doesn't look like it would be too difficult to change the pipes. The runs are not that long and they are all exposed(attached to the underside of the floor joists), and I will have to do some re-routing of the pipes anyway to install the ceiling in the new bath. Thoughts?
Thankx. --=--Brew.
Should I (functionality) or do I need to (code requirements) increase both the hot and cold 1/2" supplies to 3/4" when I add the second bath? It doesn't look like it would be too difficult to change the pipes. The runs are not that long and they are all exposed(attached to the underside of the floor joists), and I will have to do some re-routing of the pipes anyway to install the ceiling in the new bath. Thoughts?
Thankx. --=--Brew.
#3
I love it when Plumber2000 and I agree... I somehow feel that the universe is back in sync when we do... but anyway, our latest code edition allows for us to feed 2 fixtures with 1/2" but never more on a single 1/2" feed, and never when one of the fixtures is a toilet or shower... Higher use fixtures will draw too much water and you will have one of those cases where when you flush the toilet, the shower volume will drop significantly... Anyway... run two 3/4" lines to the bathroom, AND put one gate valve on each of the 3/4" feeds to hot and cold so that the downstairs bath will be isolated by the two valves... That way, if you ever have a problem in the downstairs bathroom, you won't have to shut the water off to the rest of the house until it gets fixed... This is a good practice to follow ANYTIME you add fixtures to a home though it is NOT a code requirement in most cases...