This section is from the book "Plumbing Plan and Specifications", by J. J. Cosgrove. Also available from Amazon: Plumbing plans and Inspection.
A printed form of specification cannot well be prepared for plumbing work. Of course, a printed form with blank spaces could be prepared, but, owing to the fact that no two installations are alike, a printed form to be applicable to all would be so cumbersome and contain so many unnecessary clauses and conditions that it would lead to confusion and, in case of a disagreement, probably cause injustice or hardship to one of the contracting parties. Even for simple installations a satisfactory blank form of specification cannot be prepared, for a specification is simply a straight-forward, simple statement of what material is to be supplied and what work is to be performed. If a blank form is prepared and made flexible enough to cover any and all installations the composite form of the specification will be had at the expense of clearness and simplicity. When a contract is to be entered into, or a specification is to be prepared, the better
Plumbing Plans and Specifications way is to consider carefully what each party to the agreement will be required to do, then, in all fairness, reduce that agreement to a formal writing. It is not only easier to prepare a written specification than to satisfactorily fill out the blank spaces of a printed form, but for all concerned it is safer. In preparing a specification, by observing a few simple rules, the task can be reduced to a simplicity that is surprising. The chief aims of the specification are clearness and completeness; and these two requirements, coupled with conciseness, can be best secured by dividing the specifications into the four principal divisions: General Conditions; Drainage System; Water Supply; Fixtures, and treating each of these general subjects separately. The work will be still further simplified by subdividing the principal subjects into their various subheadings. A simple expedient which will be found useful at all times when preparing specifications is to have a list of titles of the various conditions that must be observed, or fixtures which might be required in a building, checking off the items as they are specified, or those that are not required. This list can be added to from time to time as new items are encountered in different types of buildings, until finally a full and complete list of the various subjects that must be considered in the planning of plumbing and writing the specifications will be incorporated in the schedule. Such memoranda will be found useful not only in writing the specification, but likewise in preparing the drawings and will prevent any item being forgotten. A form containing a partial list of items, which can be added to from time to time, follows:
Interpretation of plans and specifications
Drawings
Permits and plumbing laws
Number and location of fixtures
Superintendence and inspection
Beginning and termination of work
Removal of rubbish
Temporary water-closet
Guarantees
Extras
Protection of work
Responsibility for damage
Removing condemned goods
Abandonment of work
Temporary water supply
Cutting and repairing
Ambiguity
Excavating
The house sewer
Material for drainage system
Soil pipe joints
Location of drains
Falls for drains
Supports for drainage system
Main drain trap
Fresh-air inlet
Floor drains
Yard and area drains
Rain leaders
Subsoil drainage
Tide-water traps
Connections between iron and lead pipe
Flashings
System of piping
Lead pipe
Traps
Closet and slop-sink floor connections
Tests
Safe wastes
Refrigerator wastes
Grease traps
Blow-off tanks
Mechanical discharge systems
Septic tank
Filter beds
Contact beds
Disposal fields
Stall drains
Wells
Reservoirs
Cisterns
Standpipes
Windmills
Hydraulic rams
Water-softening apparatus
Water-supply pipes
Pressure regulators
Filters
Suction tank
House pump
Street sprinklers
House supply
Distributing manifolds Air chamber Hot-water tank Water heater Smoke pipe Hot-water pipes Circulation pipes Expansion loops or joints Covering pipes and tanks Temperature regulators Safety valves System of valving Drip pipes Fire lines Ice-water pipes Salt-water pipes Rain-water pipes
Fixtures
Water-closets Bath tubs Shower baths Lavatories Hospital lavatories Sitz baths Foot baths Bidets Child's bath Slop sinks Hospital slop sinks Pantry sinks
Laundry tubs Kitchen and scullery sinks Urinals
Drinking fountains Bathroom scales Bathroom furnishings Hydrotherapeutic apparatus Swimming pools Manicure tables and basins Operating tables
The foregoing schedule does not include everything which is liable to be required in all types of buildings, but the items will suggest anything which is not named. For instance, Fire Lines does not mention outside fire hydrants, such as would be required for a country institution, but the item recalls the necessity for fire protection, and should suggest to an imaginative mind the necessity for hydrants. In like manner the item water-heater would suggest to the mind the apparatus to be used for this purpose, whether a coal water-heater or steam coil.
When writing a plumbing specification, a good plan is to take up one of the subdivisions at a time and state all that is to be said about that particular subject before leaving it and taking up another. Never confuse two or more subjects and jump from one to the other, first stating something about one, then flying off to a second, back to the first and then off to a third. For example, if specifying the water-supply pipe for a building, treat the subject as though there would be no valves in the system, then having disposed of the water-supply pipes, take up the matter of valving under the title "System of Valving," and state explicitly the kind of valves to be used, and where each valve shall be placed. If this system is followed, confusion will be avoided both in writing and in interpreting the specifications. To make this point clear, a paragraph is here quoted from an imaginary specification, so that it can be analyzed to point out what to do to make a specification simple, concise and clear.
 
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