Fixtures, Fixture Fittings, and Appliances
Fixtures, fittings, and appliances
This domain asks three questions about every item: which fixture, installed how, and protected how?
Water closets and flush systems. Know tank versus flushometer types, the water use limits for each, and that flushometer bowls need adequate pressure and a correctly sized branch. Water closets have integral traps, so no separate trap is installed.
Clearances and accessibility. A standard water closet needs 15 in from the finished side wall to the centerline, 30 in of clear width, and 21 in of clearance in front. Accessible fixtures use a seat height around 17 to 19 in, a lavatory rim no higher than about 34 in with knee clearance underneath, and properly placed grab bars.
Traps and protection. Dishwashers need an air gap or an approved high-loop drain connection. Floor drains and other seldom-used traps need trap primers to keep the seal. Shower and tub-shower valves must have anti-scald protection (pressure-balancing or thermostatic). A garbage disposal needs its own drain arrangement and correct trap. Drinking fountains are separate fixtures with air-gap-protected drainage.
Fittings. Approved materials and lead-free faucets; a shutoff valve on the supply to each fixture except where the code exempts; escutcheons where pipe passes through a wall or floor.
Appliances. Water heaters must be listed and labeled, protected by a relief valve, and set in a drain pan of at least 1-1/2 in depth where leakage could cause damage. Washing machine outlets require listed boxes and recessed connections.
Traps. Items that swap standard and accessible dimensions, and items where the instinctive answer is a vacuum breaker but the actual code requirement is an air gap.