Design Journal Entry - Module 10

Journal Entry For
Module 10 - Plumbing Systems

My plumbing structures turned out to be quite easy to assemble. My bathrooms (4 total) are stacked on top of each other which made copying easy, and I kept my mechanical room close by from the start, as I anticipated there would be some water structures held there from my bubble diagram planning. I was able to set up a greywater system pretty easily with the amount of space I had for my restrooms (24’x14’ originally) as you can see with the darker blue greywater supply and the darker green greywater return. This was one of my building design goals so I’m glad I was able to accommodate it. And although water scarcity is not a problem in NJ currently, being aware of it and designing for it is something I believe is very important for sustainable design.

Also to note, I left quite a large gap between my walls for the pipes to run through in order to avoid using 90 degree bends (second picture) in my long runs of pressurized pipes. This way, there are less losses within the piping network and less strain on the pump that feeds the network, and thus, a lower energy requirement.

There was just a slight challenge of avoiding structural and HVAC components when connecting to my risers, hence their location at the top of that mechanical room. Within the room, it was quite easy to avoid structures because I kept my HVAC system branches closer to the interior walls, while my plumbing is routed on the outside. It was also easier that my bathrooms on each floor are next to each other, allowing for sewage connections in series, as opposed to back to back which could be a little more troublesome.

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