PLUMBING

TECHNICAL

 EXPERT INSTALLER ADVICE

In addition, consideration
should be given to above and
below ground drainage to remove
waste water in a safe and timely
manner that will contribute to
an important role in controlling
water-related diseases and
prevent the transmission
of pathogens.

Discharging duty
Kim Morris looks at the right methods for the installation of
above-ground sanitary systems, paying particular attention to
the recommendations in Approved Document H.

T
The author
Kim Morris has over 30
years experience in the
plumbing and gas industry.
He spent 18 years with CORGI,
firstly as a Field Inspector
and subsequently in a
Training Support role for the
Inspectorate. He has also
served on the committee for a
branch of the CIPHE. Kim now
works for a further education
college in West Sussex teaching
Plumbing and Gas to Level 3
plumbing apprentices. He has
been writing articles for the
Installer for well over 12 years
and in addition to this provides
support as a consultant for an
examination body.

60 INSTALLER October 2012

o correctly install,
commission and test
above-ground sanitary
and rainwater systems, it
is recommended that reference to
Approved Document H: Drainage
and Waste Disposal 2002 Edition
(ADH) be made in England
and Wales. Similar guidance
applies to other parts of the UK.
The guidance provided in this
Approved Document covers areas
such as:
H1 Foul water drainage
H2 Wastewater treatment
systems and cesspools
H3 Rainwater drainage
H4 Building over sewers
H5 Separate systems of
drainage
H6 Solid waste storage
This article will cover the
requirements for above-ground
systems and sizing of the
discharge stack installed in single
dwellings, multi-storey flats and
non-domestic buildings.

It is often said a design

flow rate of 5.2 l/sec within the
discharge stack will always
be satisfied by the fitting of a
100 mm size pipe installed within
a primary ventilated system
although the vent pipe may be
reduced to 75 mm if required. This
is fundamentally true and it is for
this reason that plumbers need
not normally make any decisions
or calculations when installing a
discharge stack, especially within
a domestic dwelling.
However, this approach can
become problematic, especially
within high-rise buildings or
hotels where multiple branch
waste pipe and outlets from WCs
all flow into the same discharge
stack. There could be a risk that
the diameter of the drain would
not be sufficient to cope with the
expected discharge and flow rate.
Reference should be made
to BS EN 12056: 2000 Gravity
drainage systems inside buildings.
This document is in five parts

and supports the requirements

for correct sanitary pipework
installation laid down in the
Building Regulations including
rainwater systems. The five parts
are as follows:
Part 1: General and performance
requirements
Part 2: Sanitary pipework, layout
and calculation
Part 3: Roof drainage, layout
and calculation
Part 4: Wastewater lifting plants.
Layout and calculation
Part 5: Installation and testing,
instructions for operation,
maintenance and use
It is very important that sanitary
appliances and systems are
correctly installed and maintained
to prevent the possible build up
of a variety of sewer gases such
as hydrogen sulphide, ammonia
and methane within the drainage
system, and the possibility of these
being released into the building.

It is important that
sanitary appliances
and systems are
correctly installed to
prevent the possible
build up of a variety
of sewer gases such
as hydrogen sulphide,
ammonia and
methane.
Careful control and appropriate
design of drainage systems
can also help to protect the
environment and optimise the
use of water resources.
It is also important to consider
the risks associated with
undetected leaks to the building
structure and to our health and
wellbeing. Furthermore, careful
and considerate installation
will prevent water traps being
compromised and unwanted
sewer smells being released into
the dwelling.
In designing a discharge stack
or checking to ensure it is of the
correct size, reference should
be made to BS EN 12056:2000
Part 2: Gravity drainage systems
inside buildings: Sanitary
pipework, layout and calculation.
This standard gives guidance on
how to check and confirm that
the flow limitations for a Primary
Ventilated System on a larger
installation will not be exceeded.
It also covers design flow rates
for suspended drains and how
to give advice to other trades
responsible for below ground
drainage work.

Pipework sizing
As mentioned before,
BSEN12056-2: 2000 gives
guidance on designing a
discharge stack that will meet all
the previously mentioned criteria.
The method employed is called
the Discharge Unit Method
and is probability based on the
evaluation of a probable system
loading. Depending on the
number of sanitary appliances
connected, it is highly unlikely
that they will all be used at
the same time. If this were the
case, the stack would need to
be oversized, which would lead
to additional costs and wasted
space. This would also have an
impact on the underground
drainage services as these will
need to be at least the same size
as the above ground system.
Based on predetermined
calculations, these discharge
units limit the flow of water to
ensure that a maximum negative
pressure is maintained within
the system as well as having an
acceptable flow rate particular to
the system used.
There are a number of items
a plumber or system designer
will need to consider before
attempting to size the drainage
system for any particular building:
Final building height
The use of the building
(residential or business)
The number of appliances
being installed and connected
to any given drainage system
The assigned discharge unit
Typical frequency
The venting of the system.
Most of the required information
can be obtained from the
architect and drawings that give
a general layout of the building.
However, the discharge units,
frequency and the ventilation
system employed would need to
be developed and calculated by
the designer or drainage engineer
using their judgement, and based
on the discharge unit values and

Sanitary appliance

Discharge unit value (litres/sec)

Washbasin or bidet

0.3

Shower without a plug

0.4

Bath

1.3

Kitchen sink

1.3

Dishwasher (household)

0.2

Washing machine
(up to 6 kg household)

0.6

Washing machine
(up to 12 kg household)

1.2

WC with 6-litre cistern

1.2 1.7

Usage of appliances (type of building)

Table 1:
Discharge
Values (DU).

Table 2:
Frequency
factors.

Intermittent use: Dwellings, guest-house, offices

0.5

Frequent use: Hospital, school, restaurant, hotels

0.7

Congested use: Toilets/showers open to the public

1.0

Special use: Laboratory

1.2

the actual type of appliances that

are being fitted.
Table 1 shows a discharge
value for the more common
sanitary appliances

NOTE
When using Table 1,
it would be considered good
practice to take into account
the following:
The shower value is more
relevant to power showers
a smaller factor of 0.2 could
be considered.
When a shower is located
over a bath, only the highest
discharge unit factor need be
taken into account, i.e.
the bath.
Flow rates from a 6-litre
cistern WC are dependent on a
manufacturers design criteria.
Where this is not known,
assume the highest figure.
Table 2 shows a frequency factor
(K) that should be applied into
the calculation, which allows for
the use of sanitary appliances
for different building functions in

order to determine the pipework

system flow rates.
By using Tables 1 and 2, the
following formula should be used
to assess the likely or probable
peak simultaneous flow rates.
The resulting figures can then be
used to determine the size of the
vertically installed discharge stack.
Q = K 3 ( TCL)
where
Q = Designed flow in litres/second
K = Frequency factor
TCL = Total connected load
It is recommended that for
buildings over five storeys high,
the ground floor should be
connected separately, whereas
in buildings above 20 storeys
high, the ground and first floor
should be connected separately
from the rest of the building. This
is to avoid trap seals being lost
through the branch waste pipes
due to excessive air pressure once
the flow of waste water hits the
bottom of the discharge stack.

Appliances

Number of DU

Litres per second

Wash basin

63 0.3

1.8

Bath

63 1.3

7.8

WC

63 1.7

10.2

Kitchen sink

63 1.3

7.8

Washing machine

63 0.6

3.6

Dishwasher

63 0.2

1.2

Total

32.40

Calculation used
for Example 1.

61

TECHNICAL

Example 1: Calculating the flow

rate for a 7-storey block (ground
floor connected separately).
Initially, it will be necessary to
ascertain the number of sanitary
appliances that are going to be
connected to the stack. Once this
has been assessed, the discharge
unit (DU) value relevant to each
appliance can be added together
and the appropriate frequency
factor applied.
On each floor, there is
one dwelling containing wash
basin, bath, WC, kitchen sink,
washing machine (up to 6kg)
and a dishwasher.
In this example, the total flow
rate if all the appliances were
used at the same time would
be 32.40 litres per second. The
likelihood of this occurring is
small so a frequency factor can
be used to assess the likely peak
simultaneous flow from the
discharge units calculated.

ventilated stack that incorporates

swept entries from the soil
branches, an estimate of the ideal
soil system size can be made.

Q = K 3 ( TCL)
Q = 0.5 ( 32.4)
Q = 2.9 l/sec

Referring to Table 3 shows the

correct diameter stack size will
be 150 mm. However, it is likely
that the designer or architect
might prefer a drainage system
stack where there is secondary

If we then refer to Table 3 which

gives flow capacities for a primary

NOTE
75 mm can be used
where no WCs have been
connected to the system
Table 3 shows that as the likely
discharge rate is 2.9 l/sec, the
correct diameter stack size should
be 100mm.
Example 2: a 22-storey building
(ground floor and first floor
connected separately).
Four hotel apartments
connected to the same drainage
system. On each floor, there are
4 WCs, 4 basins and 4 showers
located over the baths.
Q = K 3 ( TCL)
Q = 0.7 3 ( 264) = 11.4 l/sec

Size of stack (mm)

Maximum flow (litres/sec)

75

2.6

100

5.2

125

7.6

150

12.4

Size of stack
(mm)

Table 3:
Design flow limits for
primary ventilated
discharge stacks.

Litres per second

Wash basin

20 3 0.33 4

24

Bath

20 3 1.33 4

104

WC

20 3 1.73 4

136

Total

venting to comply with the

guidance contained in Approved
Document H. In such a case,
Table 3 would be inappropriate
to use and further reference
would need to be sought from
BSEN12056-2 and Building
Regulations Approved Document H.
Sizing of low-gradient
collector pipework
When calculation of low
gradient collector pipework (i.e.
suspended drains) is necessary,
it is recommended to add the
discharge units from the stacks
discharging into the pipework
and not the calculated flow
rates determined to size the
individual stacks.
The depth of flow in the pipe
should not be more than 70%
full to allow for a free flow of

Calculation used
for Example 2.

264

air through the system. The

pipework should also be laid in
such a way as to promote selfcleansing of the system.
There is a relationship between
pipe diameter, flow rates, velocity
and gradients. Using Table 4,
it is possible to calculate the
discharge stack.
If we use Example 1, the
calculated flow rate was
Q = 2.9 l/sec. Table 4 shows there
is more than one possible option:
Option 1: 100 mm drain with a
gradient of 1.5 cm per metre run.
Option 2: 125 mm drain with a
gradient of 0.5 cm per metre run.
Good drainage design and
sizing is essential for the safe
and effective operation of any
drainage system.

TO SUM UP
Under normal circumstances, there is no requirement to
calculate drainage sizes for domestic dwellings.

A frequency factor needs to be calculated into the total

connected load.

0.5

1.0

100

1.8

2.5

3.1

3.5

4.0

4.4

125

5.4

7.7

9.4

10.9

12.2

13.3

62 INSTALLER October 2012

Number of DU

For larger buildings, a Discharge Unit Method can be used.

Gradient of drain (cm/m)

1.5

Appliances

2.0

2.5

3.0

Table 4.
Design flow limits
for suspended
drains (filling
degree 50%).

Suspended drainage systems might need to be increased

depending on the gradient available.