What is the best plumbing book with CLEAR and CONCISE color photos of rough-in and finish plumbing? Does this book exist?

The problem with your question is that it assumes there is only one, or at most a few, "rough in" diagrams. EVERY installation will have its own unique diagram, and in most cases more than one. So there is no book that can cover all eventualities. The same with finishing the job, although there is less latitude because the process will be restricted by how the piping was installed during the rough in stage, and the types of fixtures selected.

For consumers? For general contractors?? For licensed plumbers???

I think not. A book written on East Coast may not apply to plumbing codes on the West Coast. Hence, there is no best book.

There are a lot of GOOD books.

Best Wishes

There are a number of books. A search of amazon will find some good ones. You have to remember that many books have not been thoroughly updated to cover modern materials and techniques. Also, codes for water and drain vary condsiderably from state to state. You would be well advised to get a copy of your state plumbing code to work with in addition to other text books.

I suggest a book like this one for learning the "basics".

[www.amazon.com]

This is just one example of several available.
As stated above, you will need additional information about your regional and/or local code requirements.

From a non-plumber, just to add my two cents, there are a good series of books called "Code Check" ( [www.codecheck.com] ). They have them for Plumbing, Electrical, HVAC, etc. They have a sample book online, but it only has a partial chapter on plumbing. They are NOT a basic "How To" book. Instead, these books are for someone who already has a knowledge of plumbing basics. They are printed on plastic coated paper to take abuse, and are spiral bound at the top to flip open. What the Plumbing book tries to do is explain, using simple drawings and simple examples, two very complicated set of code rules in general use (IRC and UPC - there can also be state, local and other codes too. And I'm sure this will generate some comment, but regardless if your area uses the IRC, UPC or some other code, if you follow ONE of the codes, your work would be safe. It may not pass inspection (!), but it would be safe. And that is, I believe, the whole point of the codes. Safety. For you and the other people on your water and sewer system, as well as plumbers who may need to work on it later).
The Plumbing book, for example, starts out with some basics - drainage, what fittings can be used where, traps, vents, then moves on to water supply, gas piping, water heaters and fixtures. As important as it is to learn how to glue two pieces of pipe together, it's equally important to know, for example, what kinds of fittings to use and where they can, and can't be used. And as good as job as the books do, they can't cover every rule, so it seems a few things are always left unanswered (thank God for the Plumbing Forum...). After all, plumbers study long and hard to learn these rules, and I suspect even then, that there are mistakes made. So trying to "become a plumber" from a book is about as likely as reading one to become an MD. So, if you really need to ask how to glue two pieces of pipe together, then these books wouldn't be for you. But, if you know how to do some of the plumbing basics, I think the Plumbing Code Check book might help you to better design whatever it is you need to do.



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if you are expecting to plumb a new house and learn it from a book there probably isnt such a book.

a plukber takes a 5 year apprenticeship, 3 semester's of day school and 9 semesters of night school and then has to pass a test.

this cannot be learned from a book in 2 hours...100's of min's and max's

every state is different...

Not every state requires schooling Waukesha. Michigan only requires 3 years apprenticeship.

Texas only requires 4 years verifiable experience under a master plumber. 2 years for a residential license

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PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"

What do you have DLH?

i have a master license which you need to have had a journeyman's license for a minimum of 1 year (i had mine 3 years)

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PLUMBERS "Protecting The Health Of The Nation"

This is probably the best book I have seen for what your looking for.

[store.taunton.com]

They may not require schooling, but school is where you learn the things that you do not encounter in the everyday work in the field. If you want to be an "assembler" just get a job and work on projects. If you want to be a "plumber" then you have to know a whole lot more than how to put pipes together.

I agree w/ "kaw." I am not a plumber but do have a technical background (engineer). The "Plumbing a House" book is very well written and tries to delineate between local codes (it was written by a guy in California) and major codes (IRC, UPC). It's very detailed and has helped me a lot.

With that said, I see that one of the other respondents mentioned the "Code Check" series. I have these too. They are an excellent quick reference but they assume one already knows the trade and has a copy of the UPC at hand. Nonetheless, they have excellent illustrations and form a very good complement to the Taunton book referenced above.

In fact, a very interesting question, which is better not to answer. Yes, perhaps there are such books, but it is better not to use them. Every plumber works in their own style, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. If you have a problem with plumbing, it is best to contact another plumber who can easily solve this problem. Of course, if the problem is not serious, then you can easily fix it yourself.



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