There are two main types of residential plumbing: stock and branch. Stock plumbing is simple and easy to repair, but can take a long time for water to reach distant fixtures. Branch plumbing is more efficient for distant fixtures, but can be more complicated to repair. Testing a home can determine which type of plumbing it has.
Residential homes come in so many shapes, sizes and designs that it would be nearly impossible to categorize them all. The plumbing within those walls, however, is much easier to break down. In fact, there are only two main types of residential plumbing. Stock home plumbing and branch plumbing both get water to sinks, toilets, and showers, but in different ways. Each has its own benefits and concerns for a plumber, but both can easily be tested to determine which type is present in any given home.
A series type of residential plumbing is by far the simplest method found in multi-fixture homes. In this system, the cold water comes from the land mains and the hot water comes from the water heater and both are sent through separate, but side by side pipes. These pipes carry the cold and hot water to the nearest fixture and the same pipes go to the next fixture and the next fixture and so on. The simplicity of this system makes repairs much easier for a plumber, because detecting problems, such as leaks, is just a process of elimination because all water lines are connected. The main disadvantage of a stock residential plumbing system is that it can take a long time for the fixture furthest from the water heater to get water.
Branching residential plumbing can take on a variety of different designs, but they all share a similarity of hot and cold pipes branching off in different directions. An example of this would be a home where the heat and cold come from the same place, but separated to strictly create one series for the first floor, and separated in another direction to create a separate series for the upper floor fixtures. This method is considered more efficient for delivering water to distant items, such as an upstairs sink. This setup also makes repairs more complicated for plumbers.
Testing a home to determine what type of residential plumbing it has is simple. First, turn on each water outlet individually to see how long it takes for hot water to get there. Second, let them cool down and turn on the sink farthest from the water heater. So, turn it off and then cycle the fixtures again, if the hot water comes faster, the house has a stock configuration, if there’s no change it’s a branched system.
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