For convenience and utility, include these plumbing facilities in your newly remodeled recreation area. Here are the essentials

Most of the time, an involved but necessary part of any large scale remodeling job is the plumbing. While you may decide to do away with this nifty bit of labor if the new space is to be used strictly as a sitting room or a recreation area, don't toss off the advantages too quickly. A game room will be far more usable if you provide at least for running water plus a sink. You won't have to lug dishes up and down the steps. An attic or basement that is being made over into extra living quarters really should, if at all possible, have a powder room with toilet and hand sink. If the room is to be used for sleeping, a complete bathroom with toilet, sink and tub or shower is well worth the trouble and expense. Besides the convenience you'll get from it, an extra full bathroom adds tremendously to the resale value of your home.

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But don't think of this as a casual addition that you can slap into place just anywhere in your remodeling plan. Because the bath must be connected to the existing pipes with a minimum of extension, the best place is close to an existing bathroom or sink. The possibilities include back-to-back and either above or below the plumbing facilities already in place.

II you plan to hove a snack bar. include running water and sink. Installation is easy to make, and adds greatly to convenience.

More extensive plumbing jobs can be done if local codes are coope-rative. Toilet is easy to install with the base plate in place and all connections made.

Cut copper pipe to length with a tubing cutter and remove burrs inside with a tile or a reamer.

Cleanliness is essential for a good joint. Scrub with a wire brush or steel wool until shiny.

The first step is to plan the plumbing job on paper. Use graph paper so you can mark off the available space in scale and draw in the exact placement of fixtures. Try to group all the fixtures along one wall (known as the "wet" wall). Select the toilet, sink, etc., that you want to install, find out the exact dimensions and mark the placement of these on your plan. For the toilet, in addition to the space the fixture takes up, allow an extra 6 in. on each side plus 2 ft. of clearance in front. If the sink has a large counter or splash rim, you can forget about allowing for elbow room on each side. Do allot 2 ft. of foot room in front, however. Tubs now come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes to sandwich into almost any space. If the layout is really tight, switch to a shower—they take up even less room.

Before you order plumbing materials or start dickering with a plumber, check to make certain that you will be able to install a bathroom. Remember, the drainage lines have to pitch downward from the floor of the bath to the sewer or septic tank. If the drain lines leading out from the house are already below the level of the basement floor, you probably won't run 'into any trouble.

On the other hand, if the lines only go as low as the ceiling of the basement and then exit at this height through the house foundation (this is sometimes the case), just forget about any plumbing in the basement.

Local Regulations

How much of the actual work can you do yourself? This depends upon your own skill and experience, the attitude of local plumbers and the building regulations of your community. Some codes state that plumbing may only be done by licensed plumbers. In this case your participation is restricted to carpentry. Other areas are more lenient and you may be able to get a plumber to do part of the job leaving a good portion you can do yourself.

Let's break this down and figure out the extent of your own participation in the plumbing project. Carpentry is firmly in your department. Odds are good that the floor, if wood, will have to be strengthened to support the weight of the fixtures. Just double the existing joists. Nail a 2x6 beside each of the existing supports along the full length between cross supports. Frame in the partition wall for the bathroom. It's a good practice to use 2x6s for the "wet" wall. The extra thickness is necessary to fit in cast iron soil pipe. If copper pipe will be used for this purpose (it's really thin enough to go in between 2x4s), the extra inch or so will give you a little more space to work.

If both plumbing and building codes are cooperative, get a set of roughing-in plans for the actual fixtures that will be installed. Many sinks require special blocking in between the studs to support the weight. At the same time you can install the special brackets required. Again, if the plumber is willing, have him lay out the job so that you can drill all holes for pipes, soil lines, etc.

If you are a highly convincing talker, maybe you can get the plumber to just rough in the various lines to the fixtures. Final connections usually go together with gaskets and compression fittings. There are other plumbing tasks you can handle. After the plumber has set and connected the base for a prefab shower, you can easily follow the manufacturer's instructions to fit the side panels together, install the door, etc. Even mounting a toilet isn't involved once the base plate is in place and connected. It's just a matter of fitting a special rubber or wax ring in position and tightening down a set of bolts to make a watertight seal.

After the surfaces to be joined are clean, coat them with flux and twist the joint to distribute it.

Heat the fitting before applying any solder. The solder should melt when it touches the joint.

Local regulations and your skill and determination permitting, check over the following basic information on pipe fitting before starting the job. Naturally, plumbing will often split up into small projects that the average home handy man can tackle and large-scale operations that definitely call for a professional. Let's say you're going to add a sink with simple hot and cold water lines plus drainage. If you have any how-to skill at all, you should be able to turn out a completely workable piping system. If you're planning a complete bathroom, however, get professional help if you need it.

Pipe Fitting

Plan the plumbing system thoroughly on paper first. Make sure that all drainage lines are pitched so that each run from fixture to sewer will drain the water properly. Make sure that all the pipes are completely dry when you work on them. Otherwise when you start to solder connections the heat can create a sudden burst of steam. Finally (although it's probably unnecessary to mention it!), be sure you cut off the water before you start chopping into any existing pipes. Get careless on this score and the results can be humiliating.

Let's get right to the mechanics of handling various types of pipe. For your water lines you will probably select rigid copper tubing and cast copper fittings (els, tees, etc.) There are several different types of copper pipe, so check with the guy behind the counter at your local plumbing supply store. Some varieties are more resistant than others to chemicals in the water. Since this is a local condition, he's in a good position to advise you.

Galvanized steel pipe is out of date these days (some local building codes notwithstanding) and in any event, copper is infinitely easier to handle. It also requires far fewer tools. Even if your home plumbing system is of the old type, you'll probably be better advised to use copper for your add-on runs with suitable adapters where you connect into the old lines.

Remember that each fitting adds length to the run of pipe. The tube slips inside the fitting until it is stopped by a shoulder. Take this into account when you measure and mark pipes for cutting to the length indicated by your sketch. Until you get the hang of plumbing work, it's a good idea to add only one part at a time. Cut the pipe, check it for exact size and then solder before you go onto the next run. Don't try any assembly line tactics such as slicing many lengths of pipe at one time. This is strictly a professional procedure.

Working with Copper Pipe

Don't cut the pipe with a hack saw. This plumbing method leaves rough edges that have to be filed off. Instead, invest two or three dollars in a good quality tubing cutter. This little gadget uses a hardened wheel that is pressed against the pipe by an adjustable screw. To use the gismo, slip it around the pipe, tighten the thumbscrew and rotate the cutter once around the pipe. Tighten the thumbscrew a little bit more and give it another turn. In a surprisingly short time the cutting wheel will bite all the way through the pipe.

If you stick your finger inside the tubing at this point you'll notice that the cutter has also pushed in the edge of the metal slightly so that there is a neat ring inside. Use a file or a reamer (some tubing cutters come with this gadget attached to one end) to take off this ridge. Remove every last trace of filings.

Use cast iron drain line only if there Is a short run to add. Use a yarning iron to pack the oakum.

Molten lead is poured on top of the oakum to fill the remaining space. Each joint takes 3 lbs.

Soldering the lengths of pipe together is a simple enough matter. The main ingredient is cleanliness. Surfaces to be joined must be clean and absolutely free of oil, grease or any other coating. Clean the end of the tube including the part that slips into the socket of the plumbing fitting and slightly more. Use a pad of steel wool held in your hand and rub hard enough to remove all the surface soil, leaving the metal shiny bright.

Also clean the inside of the plumbing fitting. Since these are usually machined surfaces they look clean. Don't believe it. Clean the gadgets anyway. During this operation be careful that little particles of steel wool don't remain in either the tube or the fitting.

Soldering Copper Pipe

Move right along to the next step without too much delay. Coat both of the cleaned surfaces with flux so the solder will make a firm joint. You can just rub the stuff on with a finger tip or an old toothbrush, which does make a neater applicator.

Assemble the joint. Push the tube into the socket and up firmly against the shoulder. This is as far as it goes. Twist the plumbing fitting back and forth a few times to spread the flux. Apply heat. Your best bet here is a Little propane gas torch such as the Bernz-O-Matic unit. This gives" an intensely hot flame without all the messy danger of a gasoline blowtorch.

The trick is to heat the plumbing fitting, not the tubing. (The fitting is much heavier metal and takes quite a bit longer to get hot.) To test this, hold the torch away and touch a piece of solder to the edge of the fitting. When the metal is hot enough, the solder should melt on contact with the tube. If it doesn't, keep heating.

When the joint gets to the proper temperature the molten solder will be drawn into the joint by a natural suction called capillary attraction. Incidentally, this works whether the joint is up, down or sideways. Keep feeding in solder until there's a little ring of it all away around the edge of the joint. This means that the space between the tubing and the inside of the plumbing fitting is now completely filled and watertight.

There are two bits of advice that concern this job. Never try to apply solder, while you have the torch flame playing on the metal. The solder will melt, sure, but it won't stick to the copper. The plumbing fitting and tubing must be heated until the solder flows. That's the only way it can fill up the
joint. Too much heat is no good either. This burns out the flux before the solder can seep in. In this case, just take the joint apart, clean both surfaces again, apply more flux and try to be a little more careful.

Afterward clean off any excess flux that's left on the surface. A little steel-wool does this job in very neat fashion. There's one other problem you may run into. Many plumbing fittings have a length of pipe connected at either end. How do you keep the first joint from coming apart when you solder the second one? Just wrap a wet cloth around the first joint. You'll get lots of steam and probably some smoke when you start heating the other end of the fitting, but this doesn't do any harm at all and will keep the first joint from coming unsoldered.

Alter the lead has solidified, use a calking iron to drive the soft metal down Into the joint.

New plastic pipe is easy to work with and can be installed quickly. Cut it with hack saw or knlie.

Drainage Lines

Drainage lines now come in copper, too. These are usually 3 in. in diameter. Plumbing fittings are also jumbo size. Of course 3 in. is quite a bit smaller than the older cast iron drain lines, but copper has such a smooth inside surface that you can get away with a far smaller pipe. If you do have to install drainage lines you'll be well advised to stick with copper. It's far easier to handle. Besides that it's small enough to fit in be-
tween the studs of a standard wall (for cast iron pipes you need to use 2x6 studs instead of 2x4s). Procedure for working with this larger size tubing is exactly the same as for water lines. You will need a bigger cutter. The larger size joint will require more heat. Other than that, no change.

Under ordinary circumstances it's a good idea to avoid working with cast iron drain lines. The stuff is brute heavy and joints involve melting and pouring lead. However, if the plumbing system in your house uses nothing but this pipe and you only have a short section to add, it may make sense not to change. If this is the case, here's the technique for working with it.

Cast iron pipe comes with a smooth end called a spigot and a flared end called a bell. The spigot of one pipe fits into the bell of the connecting pipe. Incidentally, if you can possibly con the plumbing supply store into cutting the pipe for you, do so. Otherwise the job takes a cold chisel and many light hammer blows all away around the pipe until it finally snaps.

Fit the sections together. You'll probably have to add some wood bracing to hold the lengths of pipe in place because of their weight. Pack oakum into the space between spigot and bell. This is a loosely twistea rope meant for this job. You can buy it at the plumbing supply store. Pack the oakum firmly into the space with a yarning iron. This tool is a sort of chisel with an offset handle so you won't scrape your knuckles.

Melt some lead on a plumber stove. Dip it out with a metal ladle and pour a layer on top of the packed oakum. Each joint takes about 3 lb. of lead. Pour very carefully all away around the joint until the lead is flush with the surface.

When the lead has cooled, drive it down firmly. For this job you can use a calking iron. It looks pretty much like the yarning tool, except that you beat on the end with a hammer. Use light blows all the way around the rim of lead at first, then hammer a little harder until the soft metal is driven down firmly.

Plastic Pipe

A newer type of material is plastic pipe. As long as you keep a few precautions in mind, there's no reason why you can't use this stuff indoors for simple home plumbing. Just remember that the plastic is soft— so soft that you can easily drive a nail right through it by accident. One other bit of information. Only use plastic pipe for cold water lines. Sure, they're supposed to have plastic strong enough to withstand hot water. However, this is a special material that isn't readily available alj over the country.

Some types of plastic pipe slide over fittings as above. Other varieties go inside the fittings.	After forcing pipe over ridged edge of fitting, complete joint by simply tightening band clamp.

Assembling a run of plastic pipe is a sheer delight. It's a cinch to work with this material and the job goes very swiftly. Plan the project and make a little sketch of the layout so you can buy all pipe and plumbing fittings at one time.

Cut the pipe to size. You can use a hack saw or slice right through it with a sharp sturdy knife. Just remember the fittings for this pipe also add length so allow for this in your calculations. Plastic pipe goes together in one of two ways. Some types slip inside the fitting. If you have bought this variety, force a metal sleeve (supplied right with the fitting) into the end of the tubing, then push the tubing into the plumbing fitting. The other type slips over the fitting. In this case just force the plastic pipe over the ridged edge of the fitting. You can spare quite a bit of muscle during this operation by applying a light coat of paste wax to both surfaces.

With either type of plumbing fitting, a stainless steel band clamp fits around the outside to make a permanent joint. Tighten the clamp firmly with a screw driver. There are special threaded fittings available in case you have to connect plastic pipe to standard metal pipe.

Plastic pipe also comes in a much larger size for drainage lines. The same precautions apply. Don't use this type if hot water will be running through the drain. Once you've installed it be very careful not to carelessly drive

For short add-on runs, it's easy to convert from metal to plastic pipe using the fittings shown.	Metal spigot attaches as shown. Plastic pipe is ideal for most simple cold-water installations.

nails or accidentally cut into the pipe with a saw. There are two types of plumbing fittings for this material. One is a socket affair similar to the fittings used with copper tubing. In this case, instead of solder, you assemble sections with a special cement. The other type of plastic drain line simply screws together. Cut and thread it as you would regular pipe, using standard dies. Assemble sections with a wrench and a very gentle touch.

After you have finished the plumbing work and before you go on to the next job, be sure that you test the line. There's a fair chance that at least one connection will leak slightly. Don't be ashamed.-Even professional plumbers expect this. The repair is quite easy to make at this point. Later when you have the walls covered, it involves a nasty demolition job. Plug all of the lines (you can buy standard end plugs at the plumbing supply store). Turn on the water full force and examine the entire run of pipe for leaks. If none appear, don't congratulate yourself. Not yet, at least. Leave the water on for about 24 hours. If the pipe still doesn't leak you're due for a hearty handshake all around, and can move on to the next stage of the project.

Another idea you might consider concerns the budget. If the family bank roll is too thin to add plumbing facilities now, at least rough-in the pipes before yon close in the walls. Later, when the dough comes along, you can easily add the fixtures.

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