CHAPTER XIV SANITARY SURVEYS AND REPORTS (Part 3)

H. and C. supply—taps in good order. Second Fioor. W.C. Exactly as for first floor and ground floor. Bathroom. Exactly as first floor, but no lav. basin. Tuirp FLoor. Slop Sink. Brown’s patent, properly trapped and discharging into soil-pipe. Two gal. W.W.P. over, also H. and C. supply. All in good order. Well lighted and ventilated. Cistern, Large gal. iron cistern, with overflow through wall. Ball-valve in good order. Supplies all taps except the one in Knife House, which is off main. Hor-watErR Service. Large galvanised-iron cylinder beside range in kitchen. Service very efficient, but no safety-valve to boiler. EXTERNALLY. Area Pavings. Cement, with good falls to gullies. Dampness. Slight dampness on wall adjoining M.H. No. 2 in central area, due to split length of r.w. pipe. Roof. Slate, about half-dozen cracked. Lead flashings sound. Parapet gutters require cleaning out. Waste Pipes. .W. pipes all in good order except one just referred to. t SANITARY SURVEYS AND REPORTS 449 Hopper heads taking wastes from baths and lavs. rather fouled. Soil-pipes. Centre area, near M.H. No. 2, 4-inch light lead with wiped joints. Badly bent and bruised. Takes W.C.’s on first and second floors. No anti-siphonage pipes. Carried well above roof. Grating perished. Joint at foot sound. Front area, facing street, 4-inch light lead, square section, somewhat dented. From about 12 feet from paving it goes on up to near eaves in 4-inch iron, circular, and then on in 4-inch light lead, circular, to well above ridge. Gullies. All ordinary stoneware yard gullies in fair condition. One grating broken in yard at back and one in front area. Manholes. Threeinall. No.1 (front area) brown glazed stone- ware channels. Bottom not benched and very defective. Walls cement rendered and in good order. Hinged iron cover, broken. Intercepting trap, stopper to arm missing. No. 2 (central area) similar construction and benching defective as before. Cover badly rusted. No. 3 (at back) ditto, and cover broken. Diameters of Drains. Main from M.H. 3 to M.H. 1 of 6-inch pipes, also 6-inch from angle of kitchen to M.H. 1. All others 4-inch. All under floors and pavings, ground not opened up, but appear to be stoneware socketed pipes and cement joints through- out, judging from manhole connections. Ventilation of Drains. Outlet ventilation provided by S.P. in front and centre areas only. No V.P. at back. F.A.L. to M.H. 1 in a chase of wall of W.C. Mica flap valve, grating broken and flap missing. Resuts or Tests. Smoke Test on Soil-pipes. One in centre area quite sound. Other, front area, weak at joint near eaves, between lead and iron. Water Test on Drains. R.W. drain under kitchen discharging into back of gully, quite sound. Drains under yard slightly leaky. All other drains very leaky, particularly that from M.H. 2 to M.H. 1. Chief Recommendations to be Considered While Still on Site. The surveyor should not leave the site until he has considered the recommendations he intends making. It is most important that he should bear this in mind so that he may make sure of the feasi- bility of such suggestions. There are often obstacles which are not obvious from a sketch plan, and it would not be to his credit to suggest amendments which cannot be carried out. 15—D.S. 450 SANITARY SURVEYS AND REPORTS Advice to be Given. Having made the survey, the next step is the writing of the report. This is a matter calling for the exercise of considerable care and sound judgment. When making recom- mendations, all the circumstances of the case must be taken into consideration. It is, perhaps, easy to say, if the system of drainage is, generally speaking, unsatisfactory, remove the whole system and begin again, but if the client is a lessee with a fairly short unexpired term, this would probably lead to nothing being done at all, whereas moderate recommendations would probably be carried out. Counsels of perfection, if injudiciously given, tend to set back the clock of sanitary progress. The surveyor should take his client entirely into his confidence, and tell him frankly, if such is the case, that while a suggested alteration would be a great improvement, there would be no danger to health, under ordinary circumstances, in leaving that particular item as it is. Avoidance of Technical Terms. When reporting to a lay client, care should be taken to keep the report as free as possible from technical expressions which a layman would not be likely to understand. To such a man, a report written in plain language must necessarily gain in intelligibility, and will certainly lose none of its professional value if properly done. Chief Forms of Report. There are many ways of writing a report, each man having his own particular method, but the following are three good forms: 1. A formal report, headed as such, free from any personal element, a margin being left in which the various items are given as they are dealt with. The report on each item can be immedi- ately followed by any recommendations which it is desired to make, or all the recommendations can be left until the end of the report. The former is usually the more convenient way, and the recommendations can then be briefly summarised at the end. 2. An informal report, written in a personal manner, in the form of a long letter. The marginal subheadings should be used in this case also, as they help a client readily to find any particular item. The recommendations can be dealt with in the same ways as given for form No. 1. The reports should of course be dated, and headed with the name of the property, after the opening words “Dear Sir”, 8. A formal report, headed as such, arranged in, say, three columns, the first being headed Item, the second Report, and the third Recommendations, the report being signed and dated as before. SANITARY SURVEYS AND REPORTS 451 Example Report (Formal Type). It will be assumed that the surveyor prefers form No. 1. In that case his report, based on the notes already given, might read as follows: REPORT ON THE SANITARY CONDITION OF 116 AIREDALE GARDENS, Lonpon, S.W., ror C. Jones, Esq. 15TH SEPTEMBER, 1954. GENERAL Note. The sanitation of this house, although of fairly recent date, is, generally speaking, in an unsound condition, and considerable remodelling and overhauling are necessary. THE WATER SuppLy. The water supply is derived from the mains of the Metropolitan Water Board, but there are no taps off the main except one in the Knife House. All the sanitary fittings are supplied from a large galvanised-iron cistern on the third floor. This cistern is in good order, and has an overflow pipe carried through the external wall. It is very desirable that the taps over all sinks where water will be drawn for drinking or cooking purposes should be supplied direct from the main. The hot-water service is in an efficient state. There is a large storage cylinder in the kitchen, near the range, but there is no safety-valve on the boiler. It would be well to provide one and to overhaul and clean out the boiler and cylinder. Hot and cold-water supplies are laid on to all the baths, lava- tories and sinks. The water fittings are of good quality, but several taps require new washers. Tue Sanitary Firrinecs. Water-closets. There are internal closets on the ground, first and second floors. They are well lighted and ventilated, but each is equipped with a pedestal wash- out apparatus. This is a bad form of apparatus, the force of the flush from the cistern being expended in clearing out the basin, leaving no scouring effect for the trap. They should be replaced by a good type of wash-down apparatus. The closet is flushed by two-gallon water-waste preventing cistern in each case, and these are in good order. Each of the pans stands on a dished marble slab, intended to act as a safe, but these slabs should be provided with waste pipes passing through the external wall. There are two servants’ closets under the pavement, both being in a very insanitary state as regards the apparatus. In both, either the pan or the trap is broken, and in one the seat is badly broken. The flushing cisterns are quite efficient except that the handle of each is missing. Both these closets should be over- hauled, and a good type of pedestal wash-down apparatus installed. The paving, lighting and ventilation are satisfactory. 452 SANITARY SURVEYS AND REPORTS Sinks. There are five sinks. ‘That in the Servants’ Hall is white glazed, with a grating outlet, the waste pipe discharging into the trap of the Butler’s Pantry sink nearby. This sink is cracked and should be renewed. At the same time a trap should be provided and a new waste pipe taken direct through the wall to discharge over a gully. The present method of dealing with the waste is unsatisfactory and the waste pipe is now blocked. ‘ The Butler’s Pantry sink is white glazed, but with plug outlet and overflow. It is in good order and is fitted with a lead-covered draining board. The sink is trapped and the waste pipe dis- charges through the wall over a gully. The Scullery has two sinks, side by side, both white glazed, one with grating outlet and the other with plug and overflow. Both are badly chipped and worn and should be replaced by new. The waste pipe from one passes into the trap of the other. When putting in the new sinks this should be altered, and each sink separately trapped and provided with its own waste pipe, passing through the wall and discharging over a gully. A Slop Sink is provided on the third floor, properly trapped and discharging into a soil-pipe. This fitting is of good quality and in sound order. The small apartment in which it is placed is well lighted and ventilated. The tap in the Knife House has no drip sink under it, but the floor is of cement and has a good fall towards the doorway. There is, therefore, no harm in not providing one. Baths. There are two baths, on the first and second floors respectively. Both are of good white porcelain, have fixed en- closures and polished mahogany tops. Fixed enclosures are not desirable, but otherwise the baths are all in good order. Each has a lead safe under, with proper waste pipes. The baths are trapped and provided with good-sized waste pipes discharging through the walls, over hopper heads. In each bathroom there is a draw-off tap beside the bath, with lead-lined drip sinks and proper waste pipes. Lavatory Basins. ‘There are two of these. That in the cloak- room, on ground floor, is an old-fashioned tip-up basin of white glazed ware, with properly trapped waste pipe carried through the wall and discharging overa gully. This fitting is not very sanitary, and should be replaced by a good modern type of basin, such as is provided in the first-floor bathroom. The lavatory there is in excellent order. Its waste pipe is trapped and discharges over a hopper head. SANITARY SURVEYS AND REPORTS 453 Tue Drains. The courses of the existing drains are shown on the accompanying plan by firm lines, their diameters being figured. They were not uncovered during the inspection, being all under floors and pavings, but from the connections with the manholes they appear to be of ordinary stoneware socketed pipes, jointed in cement. ‘The water test was applied to the whole of the drains. The rainwater drain under the kitchen is quite sound, but all the other drains are defective. The length under the yard at the back is slightly leaking and is very badly planned. The other drains all leaked badly, but particularly the length between manholes Nos. 1 and 2. It is strongly urged that the whole of the drains, except the length under the kitchen, be taken up, the trenches properly dis- infected, and the drainage relaid with heavy cast-iron pipes, protected against corrosion by the Angus Smith process, and with caulked lead joints, the pipes being laid on concrete. The plan shows the suggested modifications by means of dotted lines. These modifications occur under the yard at the back, and under the front area, the courses of the remaining drains being kept as at present. The complicated junctions under the front area should be done away with, the two W.C.’s and the soil taken separately into the manhole, and the various other wastes collected into a large gully between the scullery window and manhole No. 1. It should be flushed by means of a 30-gallon automatic flushing tank, fixed in the Knife House, and discharging at least once a day. Panbalesi There are three manholes for inspection. ‘They are all of defective construction at the bottom, which is formed of glazed stoneware channels set in concrete, the remainder of the floor being practically flat and badly broken up, instead of being well benched up in cement. These should be remodelled on up- to-date lines, with white glazed channels and proper benching. The walls are rendered in cement and are in fairly good condition. The iron covers to Nos. 1 and 8 are broken, and that to No. 2 is very badly rusted. All three manholes should have new heavy galvanised-iron airtight covers. An intercepting trap is provided to manhole No. 1. It is of satisfactory type, but the stopper to the cleaning arm is missing and there is nothing to shut off the air of the sewer to which the drains are connected. It is important that a proper airtight stopper be provided forthwith. It is sug- gested that another manhole be added in the yard at the back, which will greatly improve the arrangement of the drainage at this point. 454 SANITARY SURVEYS AND REPORTS Gullies. The gullies are all ordinary stoneware yard gullies. In remodelling the system, channel gullies should be put under the outlets of waste pipes from baths, lavatories, and sinks, the ordinary form being retained for the rainwater pipes. If the sys- tem is carried out in iron, the new gullies should be of iron. Two of the present gullies have broken gratings. VENTILATION OF THE Drarns. Outlet ventilation is provided by means of the soil-pipes in the front and centre areas respectively. There is no outlet ventilating pipe at the head of the system and one should be provided as shown on the plan attached hereto. The inlet for fresh air is placed in a chase in the wall of the W.C. adjoining manhole No. 1 and is fitted with a mica flap valve which is badly broken. If the new vent pipe is added at the back, this fresh-air inlet can be removed entirely, sufficient inlet being pro- vided in such case by the soil-pipe in the front area. RAINWATER Pipes. The rainwater pipes are all in good order, except for a split length on the wall adjoining manhole No. 2, which has caused slight dampness on the exterior of the wall. This length should be removed and a new one provided. WastTE Pipes. The wastes from the baths and lavatories above the ground-floor level are discharged into hopper heads of rainwater pipes. These heads are all rather fouled and the practice of using them for this purpose is not to be commended. To make a good job, main waste pipes of lead should be provided, carried well above the roof and finished with open ends for the purpose of ventilating them. Where two fittings discharge into the same waste pipe, the traps should be properly ventilated to protect them against siphonage. SoiL-prrpEs. The soil-pipe near manhole No. 2 is of light lead, 4 inches in diameter, with wiped soldered joints, but is badly bent and bruised. The joint at the foot is sound, and the pipe is carried well above the roof, but its otherwise defective condition makes it desirable to remove it and provide a new heavy lead pipe of 3} inches in diameter, together with 2-inch lead anti-siphonage pipes to the traps of the W.C.’s discharging into it. The soil-pipe in the front area is partly of lead and partly of iron, partly square and partly circular in section. It is somewhat dented and the tests disclosed the fact that it was a leaky joint. The square section is particularly insanitary, This pipe should also be replaced by a proper one as just described, and both should have domical wire gratings at the top to prevent obstruction by birds. Roor and Gurrers. There are about half a dozen cracked slates, which should be removed and replaced by new ones. SANITARY SURVEYS AND REPORTS 455 The lead flashings are in good order, but the parapet gutters are badly in need of cleaning out. SumMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS. The foregoing reeommenda- tions may be briefly summarised, as follows: Additional draw-off taps to be provided from the main water supply pipe. Hot-water service to be overhauled and safety valve added to boiler. New washers to be provided to taps where needed. Present closet apparatus to be removed throughout and new pedestal wash-down closets provided. Waste pipes to be put to the marble safes. Handles to be provided to cisterns where missing. New sinks to be put in Servants’ Hall and Scullery, and waste pipes remodelled in both cases. Lavatory basin in Cloakroom to be replaced by one of modern t p Whe drainage to be remodelled, involving relaying nearly the whole in iron pipes, including remodelling manholes and building one new one, overhauling and renewing gullies, etc. New soil-pipes to be provided in place of existing ones, with anti-siphonage pipes. New outlet vent pipe to be provided at the upper end of the system, and old fresh-air inlet removed. Rainwater pipes to be overhauled, and new waste pipes pro- vided, ventilating any traps where necessary. Roofs and gutters to be overhauled. (Signed) A. Surveyor, F.R.LC.S,