Plumbing Code of the Philippines PDF

1. ALLEY – Any public area, park, or passage less than three (3) meters but no less than two (2) meters wide, designated or deeded for public use. 2. ALTER OR ALTERATION – Any adjustment, addition, or modification in building structure or occupancy. 3. ACCESSIBLE – Pertaining to a fixture, c...

1. ALLEY – Any public area, park, or passage less than three (3) meters but no less than two (2) meters wide, designated or deeded for public use. 2. ALTER OR ALTERATION – Any adjustment, addition, or modification in building structure or occupancy. 3. ACCESSIBLE – Pertaining to a fixture, connection, appliance, or equipment, it denotes the capability of being accessed, although it might require the prior removal of an access panel, door, or similar obstruction. "Readily accessible" signifies direct access without the need to remove any panel, door, or similar obstruction. 4. AIRBREAK – A physical division, which could be a low inlet into the indirect waste receptor from the fixture, appliance, or device connected indirectly. 5. AIR GAP, DRAINAGE – The unobstructed vertical space in the open atmosphere between the lowest point of any pipe, plumbing fixture, appliance, or attachment conveying waste and the flood level rim of the receptacle. 6. AIR GAP, WATER DISTRIBUTION – A clear vertical space in the open atmosphere between the lowest point of any pipe or faucet conveying potable water and the flood- level rim of any tank, vat, or fixture. 7. APPROVED – Deemed acceptable or meeting the requirements of relevant specifications or standards referenced in this Code, or considered suitable for the proposed use under the procedures and authority of the Administrative Authority. 8. APPROVED TESTING AGENCY – An organization primarily established for the purpose of testing and approving standards, endorsed by the Administrative Authority. 9. AUTHORITY, ADMINISTRATIVE – The governing body empowered to administer and enforce the provisions of Republic Act 1378 - The Plumbing Code of the Philippines, Presidential Decree No. 223, and further amendments, as well as oversee professional regulation according to prescribed laws and directives. 10. BACKFLOW – The unwanted reversal of water or other substances into the distribution pipes of a potable water supply from any source other than the intended one. 11. BACKFLOW CONNECTION- Any condition or arrangement that allows for the possibility of reverse flow. 12. BACKPRESSURE BACKFLOW - Occurs when there's increased reverse pressure surpassing the supply pressure, which could result from pumps, boilers, gravity, or other pressure sources. 13. BACKLFLOW PREVENTER - A device or mechanism designed to halt the flow of liquid from returning to its supply source. Also known as a vacuum breaker. 14. BACK-SIPHONAGE - The phenomenon of contaminated or polluted water flowing back from a plumbing fixture or vessel into a water supply pipe due to negative pressure in the pipe. See backflow. 15. BACKWATER VALVE - A device installed in a drainage system to prevent reverse flow. 16. BACKVENT PIPE - The segment of the vent line that directly connects to an individual trap beneath or behind a fixture and extends to the branch or main vent pipe at a point higher than the fixture or its traps. Also known as an individual vent. See Revent pipe. 17. BALL COCK - A valve that opens and closes based on the rise and fall of a floating ball on the liquid's surface. 18. BALL JOINT - A type of pipe connection where a ball-shaped end fits into a cuplike shell, allowing movement in all directions. 19. BATHROOM - A room equipped with a shower stall or bathtub. 20. BATTERYOF FIXTURES - Any group of two or more similar adjacent fixtures discharging into a common horizontal soil or waste branch. 21. BELL OR HUB - The section of a pipe, enlarged for a short distance, to receive the end of another pipe of the same diameter for making a caulked or push-on joint. 22. BENDING PIN (or IRON) - A tool for straightening or bending lead pipe. 23. BIBB - A term synonymous with faucet, cock, tap, plug, etc., with "faucet" being the preferred term. 24. BIDET - A plumbing fixture used for washing the genital area. Also referred to as a "sitz" bath. 25. BLANK FLANGE - A pipe flange without drilled bolt holes. 26. BLIND FLANGE - A flange that seals the end of a pipe with no opening for liquid or gas passage. 27. BLOW-OFF - A controlled outlet of a pipeline used to discharge liquid or detritus. BOARD - The regulatory body for licensing Master Plumbers. 28. BOILER BLOW-OFF - A valve-equipped discharge point on a boiler, facilitating the expulsion of accumulated sediment. 29. BRANCH - Any segment of a piping system excluding mains, risers, or stacks. 30. BRANCH INTERVAL - A designated length along a soil or waste stack, generally equivalent to the height of a story but no less than 2.43 meters, where horizontal branches from a building floor or story connect to the stack. 31. BRANCH, FIXTURE - Refer to Fixture Branch. BRANCH, HORIZONTAL - See Horizontal Branch. 32. BRANCH VENT - A horizontal vent linking one or more individual vertical back vents with the vent stack or stack vent. 33. BRAZED JOINT - A joint formed by melding metal parts with alloys melting at temperatures above 449 degrees Celsius but below the melting point of the joined parts. 34. B & S - Abbreviation for Browne and Sharpe (Specification) or Bell and Spigot (End of Pipes). 35. BUILDING - A constructed framework made up of structural components intended to accommodate, shelter, enclose, or support persons, animals, or property. 36. BUILDING DRAIN The segment of a drainage system's lowest horizontal piping within building walls, collecting discharge from soil, waste, and other drainage pipes and directing it to the building sewer, commencing 0.6 meters beyond the building wall. 37. BUILDING SEWER - The portion of a drainage system's horizontal piping starting from the end of the building drain, receiving its discharge, and conveying it to a public sewer, private sewer, individual sewage disposal system, or another disposal point. 38. BUILDING SUBDRAIN - A section of an underground system incapable of gravity- draining into the building sewer. 39. BUILDING SUPPLY - The pipe transporting potable water from the water meter or another water source to a building or another point of use or distribution within the property. Building supply also encompasses the water service connection. 40. CAULKING - The act of sealing an opening with oakum, lead, or similar materials, pounded into the annular space. It can also refer to the material used for such sealing. 41. CAP - A fitting affixed or sealed over a pipe's end to close it off. 42. CATCH BASIN - A receptacle retaining liquids for a sufficient duration to allow sediment to settle. 43. CERTIFIED BACKFLOW ASSEMBLY TESTER - An individual demonstrating competence in testing and maintaining backflow assemblies to the satisfaction of the relevant Administrative Authority. 44. CESSPOOL - A non-watertight excavation lined in the ground, receiving sanitary drainage or part thereof. It retains organic matter and solids while allowing liquid to seep through its bottom and sides. 45. CHASE - A vertical shaft designated for accommodating various pipe stacks. 46. CHECK VALVE A valve automatically shutting to prevent liquid or gas flow in reverse. 47. CIRCUIT VENT - A group vent pipe originating from the furthest fixture connection on a horizontal branch and linking to the vent stack. Refer to loop vent as well. 48. CLARIFIER - Refer to Interceptor. 49. CODE - When used independently, "Code" or "this Code" signifies these regulations, subsequent amendments, or any emergency rules or regulations lawfully adoptable by the relevant Administrative Authority. 50. COMMON VENT - See unit vent and dual vent. 51. COMBINATION WASTE AND VENT SYSTEM - A specialized waste piping system incorporating horizontal wet venting for one or more sinks or floor drains via a shared horizontal waste and vent pipe, adequately sized to ensure unrestricted airflow above the drain's flow line. 52. COMBUSTIBLE CONSTRUCTION - A structure whose structural framework ignites and burns at temperatures of 756 degrees Celsius or lower. 53. COMMISSION - Refers to the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). 54. COMMON - The plumbing system segment designed and installed to serve more than one appliance, fixture, building, or system. 55. CONFINED SPACE - A room or area with a volume less than 14 cubic meters and a total fuel-burning appliance input rating of 250 kilocalories. 56. CONTAMINATION - The deterioration of potable water quality, posing a health hazard due to poisoning or disease spread through sewage, industrial fluids, or waste. Also known as High Hazard. 57. CONTINUOUS VENT - A vertical vent extending uninterrupted from the drain it connects to. 58. CONTINUOUS WASTE - A drain linking fixture compartments to a trap or connecting permitted fixtures to a shared trap. 59. CONDUCTOR OR DOWNSPOUT - A vertical pipe for rainwater conveyance. 60. CORPORATION COCK - A stop valve positioned at the junction of the water service pipe and the water main. 61. COURT - An open space, bounded on two or more sides by building walls. Inner courts lie entirely within a building's exterior walls, while outer courts are otherwise situated. 62. CRITICAL LEVEL - Marked as C-L or C/L on a backflow prevention device, indicating the minimum elevation above the flood level rim of the served fixture or receptacle where the device may be installed. 63. CROSS-CONNECTION - Any physical or other connection between a potable water supply system and any plumbing fixture, tank, receptacle, equipment, or device enabling non- potable substances to enter the potable water system. 64. DEAD-END - The extended, closed portion of a pipe with no connections, allowing liquid or air stagnation. 65. DEPARTMENT HAVING JURISDICTION - The Administrative Authority and any relevant law enforcement agency overseeing this code's provisions. 66. DEVELOPED LENGTH - The length of a pipe along its centerline, including fittings. 67. DIAMETER - Unless specified otherwise, "diameter" refers to the nominal diameter commercially designated. I.D. represents inside diameter, and O.D. signifies outside diameter. 68. DOMESTIC SEWAGE - Liquid and waterborne waste from ordinary living processes, excluding industrial waste and suitable for disposal without special treatment into public sewers or private sewage disposal systems. 69. DOUBLE-BEND FITTING - A pipe fitting featuring adjacent reverse bends, resembling the letter "S." 70. DOUBLE OFFSET - Successive offsets, aligning the centerlines of the outer ends in a straight line. 71. DOWNSPOUT - The vertical segment of a rainwater conductor. 72. DRAIN - A pipe channeling ground and surface waters, stormwater, or wastewater into a building drainage system. 73. DRAINAGE SYSTEM - Encompasses all piping within public or private premises conveying sewage or liquid wastes to a legal disposal point, excluding public sewer mains or sewage treatment plants. 74. DRY VENT - A vent free of liquid or waterborne waste. DUAL VENT – refer to Unit Vent. 75. DURHAM SYSTEM - Refers to a soil or waste system using threaded pipe, tubing, or similar rigid construction with recessed drainage fittings corresponding to pipe types. 76. EFFECTIVE OPENING - The minimum cross-sectional area at the water supply discharge point, measured or expressed in terms of a circle's diameter or the equivalent diameter for non-circular openings. This applies to air gap installations as well. 77. EXISTING WORK - The ongoing installation of the plumbing system or any of its components that was installed before the implementation of this Code. 78. FAMILY - Refers to either a single individual living alone or a collective group sharing a living space, regardless of biological relationship. 79. FAUCET - A valve positioned at the end of a water pipe, allowing for the drawing or retention of water within the pipe. 80. FERRULE - A metallic sleeve affixed or connected to a pipe opening, into which a removable plug is screwed for cleaning or inspecting the pipe's interior. 81. FIXTURE - A receptacle attached to a plumbing system, excluding traps, where water or waste can accumulate or be discharged into the plumbing system. 82. FIXTURE BRANCH - The water supply pipe linking the fixture supply pipe to the water- distributing pipe. 83. FIXTURE DRAIN The drainpipe from a fixture's trap to the point where it connects with another drainpipe. 84. FIXTURE SUPPLY - A water supply pipe connecting a fixture to the fixture branch. 85. FIXTURE UNIT - An arbitrary unit expressing the load-producing effects or water requirements of various plumbing fixtures on a plumbing system. One fixture unit equals a flow rate of 28.3 liters per minute (1 cu. Ft./minute). 86. FLOOD LEVEL The point in a fixture where water begins to overflow from the top or rim. 87. FLOOD LEVEL RIM - The top edge of a receptacle from which water overflows. FLOODED - When liquid within a fixture rises to the flood level rim. 88. FLOOD AREA - The space enclosed by a building's surrounding walls, excluding vent shafts and courts. 89. FLUSH TANK - A tank located above or integrated with a water closet, urinal, or similar fixture for flushing or removing waste from the fixture. 90. FLUSHOMETER TANK - A tank integrated with an air accumulator vessel designed to discharge a specific quantity of water into fixtures for flushing purposes. 91. FLUSHOMETER VALVE - A device that releases a predetermined amount of water into fixtures for flushing, activated by water pressure.