SECTION – G PLUMBING WORKS – GENERAL

G–1 GENERAL

The stipulated therein, the direction as given below shall invariably be read with Section of the Special Provision
of the Contract.

The materials used and workmanship shall be of highest quality and grade and shall conform to the latest
specifications of British Standards and Codes of Practice “Water Supply”, “Sanitary Pipe Work”, “Building
Drainage”, Surface “Water and Sub-Soil Drainage” and applicable to details and work indicated on the Drawings
and Bill of Quantities or otherwise approved.

G–2 DRAWINGS AND INFORMATION REQUIRED

a) The Contractor shall submit shop drawings for the entire installation including installation details for all
items required or asked for approval of the Consultants.
b) Approval by the Consultants of shop drawing for any material, apparatus, devices and layout, shall not
relieve the Contractor from the responsibility of furnishing same of proper dimension, size, quantity and
all performance characteristic to efficiently perform the requirement s and intent of the Contract
Documents. Such approval shall not relieve the Contractor from responsibility for errors of any sort in
the shop drawing.
c) If the shop drawings deviate from the Contract Documents the Contractor shall advise the Consultants
of the deviations in writing accompanying the shop drawings including the reasons for the deviations.
At the start of the Project the Contractor shall periodically and thereafter submit to the Consultants a
list of all shop drawings which will be submitted in the course of the project. The list shall show the
disposition of each item including date of submission approval etc. The list shall be kept upto date
through the entire course of construction.

G–3 CLEANING AND PROTECTION:

a) The Contractor shall be responsible for his work until its completion and final acceptance, and shall
replace any of the same which may be damaged, lost or stolen without any additional cost to the
Owner.
b) The openings left in floor for passage of lines of soil waste, vent and supply pipes shall be covered and
protected.
c) The pipes shall be protected with suitable covering as soon as set. All open ends of pipes shall be
closed by a plug fitting to prevent obstruction and damage. The use of new permanent water closets
and other new plumbing fixtures during the progress of work is prohibited.
d) As soon as installed, all metal fixtures trimmings shall be thoroughly conversed by this Contractor with
non-corrosive grease which shall be maintained until all construction work is completed.
e) Upon the completion of the work, all fixtures and trimmings shall be thoroughly cleaned and polished
and left in first class condition.
f) Prior to delivering the plant to the Owner the Contractor shall thoroughly clean all equipment fixtures,
fittings etc.
g) Before final connections are made and before operation of equipment and piping, all piping interior
shall be thoroughly blow out, or washed out at least twice in a manner as directed by the Consultants
remove all accumulation of dirt chips or other deleterious materials. Make all temporary connections
and furnish al appliance required for the purpose of cleaning at no extra expense to the Owner.
h) Before erection, all pipes, tubing, valves and fittings shall be thoroughly cleaned of oil, grease or other
combustible materials by washing in a hot solution of sodium carbonate or trisodium phosphate mixed
on the proportions of one pond to three gallons of water.

G–5 RECORD DRAWING

a) During construction the Contractor shall keep an accurate record of all deviations between the work as
shown on the Contract Drawings and that which is actually installed.
b) The Contract shall secure from the Consultants after approval of his Shop Drawings a
complete set of drawings and note changes thereon in ink
c) The Contractor shall make a complete record of all changes and revisions in the original design which
exist in the completed work.

The cost of furnishing above prints and preparing these for record “shall be deemed to be included in the
tendered cost and its effect spread over other items of work, and as such item shall not be a subject to payment
“When all revisions showing the work as finally installed are made, the corrected Original Transparencies shall
be submitted to the Consultants for review and delivered to the Engineer before final payment for the completed
work will be made.

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G–5 OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE INSTRUCTIONS

Three sets of operating and maintenance instruction covering completely the operation and maintenance of all
plumbing equipment, controls, heaters, pumps and the like shall be furnished to the Owners.

G–6 INSPECTION AND TESTING OF WATER MAINS AND WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS

The Main should be tested in sections as the work of laying proceeds and joints should be left exposed for
inspection during testing. After completion of each section, the main should be carefully and solely charged with
water so that all air is expelled, allowed to sand full of water for 1 – 2 days if possible and then tested under
pressure plus 50% whichever is the greater.

The pressure should be applied by means of a manually operated test pump or, in case of long mains or mains
of large diameter, by a power-driven test pump provided that the pump is not left unattended. Precaution must
always be taken to see that in test pressure is not exceeded. Pressure gauges must be accurate and if
necessary should be re-calibrated before t he test.

After the pump has been stopped, the test pressure should be maintained as long as is necessary to inspect the
whole of the pipe work under test and in any event not less than half-an –hour. Open ends of mains should be
temporarily closed for testing under moderate pressure by fitting watertight expanding plugs. The end of the
main and any test plug must be well secured to resist the end thrust of the water pressure in the main, i.e.
maximum test pressure x cross sectional area of pipe. If the section of main terminates with a sluice valve, the
wedge of the valve should never be used to retain the water because this might lead to permanent distortion of
the working parts of the valve. Instead the valve should be fitted with a blank flange or socket plug and the valve
left in the open position whilst testing. End support should be provided as explained previously.

Cold Water Systems

When the installations are complete they should be slowly and carefully charged with water, allowing all air to
escape thus avoiding shock or water hammer. The system should be inspected under working conditions of
pressure and flow and when all draw off taps are closed, should be absolutely watertight. Each draw off tap
should be opened and tested for rate of flow Certain specifying authorities may require pressure testing of
internal pipe work in which case, systems should be tested in accordance with the pressure test previously
described. In such cases it my be necessary to isolate items of equipment from the pressure test if they are not
capable of withstanding the test pressure. Where these items are removed, blanking flanges or plugs must be
used or a make-up piece of pipe work installed temporarily.

All piping, fitting and appliances should be inspected and checked for satisfactory support and protection from
physical damage corrosion and frost.

Because of the possibility of damage in transit, it is always advisable to re-test cisterns, tanks and cylinders for
water-tightness on arrival at site and before fixing.

Hot Water Systems

Hot water systems should be thoroughly flushed out and then tested in the same manner as described for cold
water systems. Where thermal insulation is used, the hydraulic test should be made before the insulation work
is completed and whilst al joints are exposed.

Where a pressure test is employed, boiler and clarifier relief valves should be removed and these valves should
be tested later. The test pressure should be one and half times the normal working pressure and this should be
maintained for thirty minutes after making good any leaks.

It is necessary to carry out the hydraulic pressure test on section s of pipe work prior to completion of the
whole installation where these are fixed in ducts, chases, trenches, etc. and are concealed from view. If
rectification of faulty materials of workmanship on such sections is likely to involve disturbance to finished
structural features, the test pressure should be twice the normal working pressure.

Sterilization of Cold Water Systems

The whole of the system should be sterilized to eliminate possible traces of bacteria.
Sterilization of public water mains is carried out by the Water Authority who may also carry out the sterilization
of new private mains. Where this is not standard practice, the plumbing contractor should carry out the
sterilizing process as described below.

After cleaning the cistern of all debris, the cistern and pipe work should be filled with water and the whole
thoroughly flushed out. The system should be then filled with water a second time, but as the cistern is filled,
sterilizing chemical containing chlorine should be added to ensure thorough mixing of the chemical and water. If

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ordinary bleaching powder is used, the proportion should be 150g of powder to 1000 liters of water, the powder
first being mixed with water to creamy consistency before being added. Proprietary brands of sterilizing
chemicals should be added in the proportions as instructed by the manufacturers.

After filling the system, the incoming water supply should be shut off and each tap on the distributing pipes
opened successively, starting with that nearest the cistern. As the water which issues from each tap begins to
smell of chlorine, the tap should be closed. The cistern should then be filled again to water-line with water to
which has been added the correct dose of chemical.

The whole system should be allowed to stand charged with treated water for a period of at least 3 hours, after
which a test should be made by smell for residual chlorine. If none is found, the sterilization should be repeated.
Before any water is used for domestic purposes, the whole system must be emptied and thoroughly flushed out
with clean water.

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