Vusumuzi Dube
“The Finishings” are the last sections to complete when constructing a home. The plumbing is a mostly hidden, but extremely important part of your house’s construction. There are many decisions that need to be made before you even start to draw up the building plans. The very first consideration is how will the waste products of the toilets, bathrooms, and kitchen be dealt with? Is the property connected to a sewer or sewage system? This is a system, run by the local authorities which transports the waste and/or grey water from your property to a local sewage treatment plant. Waste water is the soiled water that comes from the toilets. Grey water refers to used or dirty water that comes from your kitchen, basins, bathtubs, and showers. In some areas, these two types of water may be treated differently. In Bulawayo, there is a charge for using the sewer system, which is a charge found on your water bill.
If your property is located in an area that does not have a sewer system available, the waste water will be treated through the use of a septic tank, and the grey water will use a soak-away system. These are individual systems, built and maintained by the homeowner. If you are going to use a septic tank, a percolation test may be required. Do to a percolation test a 1 metre by 1 metre by one metre hole is dug.
This hole is filled with water and it is timed to see how long it takes for the water to completely drain out. The longer it takes to drain, the larger the property needs to be to use a septic tank. Most Bulawayo properties will need to be 2 000 to 4 000 square metres, based on the soil type. Generally, sandy soil absorbs water quicker than clay soils or where there is a high water table.
Once you decide whether you will be using a septic tank or the local sewage system, you will need to look at the room placement on your building plans. It is advisable to place bathrooms, toilets, and kitchens in close proximity to each other. This will allow the plumbing to connect to each other down to a single pipe, this is more economical. When the plumbing points are far from each other you create the need for more waste pipes, connections, and may cause gradient issues. Each of these points may become a potential future problem.
There are 5 main types of plumbing pipes, copper, galvanised steel, PVC, cast iron, and poly pipe. Copper piping is used for hot water. Cold water and waste water were normally transmitted with galvanised steel or cast-iron pipes. These pipes will corrode and begin to leak. Most new construction projects in Zimbabwe now use either PVC or poly pipe. Poly pipe and PVC is easy to repair and replace, and do not require special tools. Many old Bulawayo buildings have now replaced their old pipe systems with new PVC or poly pipes.
When designing and building your home’s plumbing system, it is very good to include shut-off switches. These allow you to turn off sections of your water line, especially in the case of an emergency. It is also important to include inspection eyes and access points for rodding, in case of a blockage. Other considerations are boreholes, water storage tanks, water pumps, garden irrigation, swimming pools, and geysers. In the past few years solar geysers have become very effective and environmentally friendly. Most newly constructed homes now use solar geysers, or solar geysers with an electrical back-up. A well thought out and well-designed plumbing system can serve your home for many years, without issues. A home where you cannot get fresh water in, or waste water out becomes uninhabitable very, very quickly. Spend the time and effort to plan your plumbing system properly, and save yourself time and money, later!
Jonathan Thompson is a Registered Real Estate Agent who works in Bulawayo. He has 9 years’ of experience in Real Estate in the USA, and another 13 years’ experience in Bulawayo. He is the founder and the Managing Director of Thompson Properties (Pvt) Ltd
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