Tiny house plumbing overview 

Thanks John, I'm sure the hits will come when we shoot the finished house next year. We've been living in it for a year and couldn't be happier.

I second this wholeheartedly! 🙌🏽💜🙌🏽

All the tiny house love? There's only like 4 states that people are buying them from . Fl, co, ca,tx

@@xaviertardone9194 i am building my own and there are like 14 TV shows about them.

@@checkoutTinyHouseTravelers So am I . I hear ya , Im in Colorado and build a couple of them for a company that doesn't understand what salt water does to lumber 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️. There being sent to the most humid places in the country . 🤷🏼

Thanks, we had to take a year and work on our other business but hopefully in May we can start filming again on the tiny house, The wood stove thing is a little intimidating. To do that right I'd have to do a minimum of 4 20 minute videos! I'm hoping to do it though.

Wow, are you sure they're not just acquaintances? They don't sound like good friends. I hope you do well, i can't afford to hire someone and I really want to be able to do the plumbing and electricity and insulation as cheap and as perfectly as possible but i know nothing about these things.

Mine is 12'X32'. Good luck to you.

Every inch counts, would make the home needlessly smaller.

This is one of those things where it’s better to actually assess what’s going on with air and water flow. The rules of thumb are there for a reason and they keep people from making mistakes but often times they don’t allow for the kind of flexibility that you need in making things work in tight spaces. If you have an S trap going straight down a significant distance into a pipe that could become overfilled then there’s the possibility of a Venturi effect gurgling the trap. I think some will make the argument that along vertical drop below and S trap could potentially do the same thing but if you actually think about the water flow that’s not really possible. In this case we’ve got a single upstream toilet and a sink draining into a 3 inch diameter pipe with two vents on it before the shower. The net effect is that the pipe could never even come close to filling with water and so there’s no possibility of suction in that trap. But this is just the way that we decided to do it it doesn’t mean that there’s not a ton of other possible solutions.

In a super cold climate it might be an issue but where we live it’s unlikely to have problems. You’d want to do it differently in Vermont.

Hey Erik! Thanks for the tip on the hepvo vents. We hadn't heard of them, but are definitely going to order one for the kitchen sink and check it out. Unfortunately they don't seem to make a 2inch one or that would have solved our shower trap issue!

@@actuallytiny2537 I think, Code requires 2" pipe for the shower, however there are people that says 2" is for a tub or a shower with multiple shower heads (for a good drain flow) and they use 1.5" for a normal shower pan with a single shower head. I am going to use these products myself but I am also going to have a vent pipe. I am going to feed my drain vent pipe to the duct that takes the shower steam out on the upper side of my tiny house instead of separately going through the roof (I am not sure. if this is allowed by code). www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NLMPLDU/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1 www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0069KCZO4/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Useful tip thanks

All the traps are inside the house so they can’t freeze and you’re not gonna get any significant ice buildup in this climate but it could be different elsewhere. Everything gets connected underneath the house but can be separately disconnected to divert to gray water etc.

The house is fed by a hose just like any RV, and the fixtures are the same as in a normal house. There are of course many other solutions depending on your needs and your situation.

actually tiny thanks for getting back to me. We were originally going to use a water holding system, tanks and stuff but we ended up with the lot next to my parents house so we may just hose it from their house/well. Is a simple hose to the main line enough? It’s about an acre over. I would still need a pump right?

Do a quick web search for garden hose pressure drop calculator and that will help you to figure out whether you were going to need to add additional pressure

actually tiny oh, ok. Cool! I didn’t know that was a thing😂😂😂 thanks, dude! Be easy!

Those are brass nipples, not copper, so there should be minimal galvanic reaction with the straps.

That’s true

Every jurisdiction is going to be different, so it’s best to talk to your local planning office to understand what you can legally do yourself and the code you need to follow, and what permits and inspections you might need. You may want to hire a local plumber to consult on your plan and check your work even if you choose to DIY, to ensure it’s up to code. Hooking up to city connections will definitely require a permit and inspection. Our city allows tiny houses to be hooked up with RV connections, but that might not be the case where you live. The methods we show here work for the way our city approaches tiny houses, but may not be appropriate for where you are. We’re also located in a temperate climate - you would need to approach the plumbing differently in a colder climate where freezing is a concern. When in doubt, it’s always best to consult with a local professional!

Those are brass nipples, not copper, so there should be minimal galvanic reaction with the straps.

I was aware of the issue when I put it in but chose not to worry about it because there is no governing body that inspects tiny houses, and the steel trailer frame on two sides and a pocket door on the other prohibits going sideways into a vertical stack. With the drop to a horizontal 3" pipe being less than a foot, (and vented just upstream) there's no actual risk of gurgling the trap. So it meets the spirit of the rule if not the exact letter.

i think so yes

Yes, pvc is a little quieter but it's harder to work with. Abs is more flexible and much easier to work with but you can potentially hear the water draining a bit louder.

Pex (extruded polyethylene piping) is pretty standard these days in construction. Unlike PVC from the past it’s non-toxic long lasting and freeze resistant. Copper is a lot more expensive, harder to work with, and has a much heavier environmental footprint. As an old-school guy myself it took a while to come around but the actual facts support this is the better option for a variety of reasons.

@@actuallytiny2537 ... Freeze Resistant ... Excellent. Mice and Ant Proof? I will Study This process. Thanks😇 HAPPY New Year 🎈

I built my last three houses and plumbed them to code so I’m familiar with it, But a tiny house is more like an RV where with both plumbing and electrical the occasional mild flow restriction is considered acceptable. you also really have to analyze the whole system, for example I would’ve run three-quarter mainline through the floor but when your supply is a half inch hose bib that becomes the determining factor on flow drop, so the three-quarter is wasted. In real life if the sink the toilet in the shower are all running at the same time there’s a slight depressurization but it’s not much of an issue.

Those nipples are brass, so the electrolysis issue pretty minimal.

Those nipples are schedule 40 brass not copper so the electrolysis concern is pretty minimal.

Those nipples are brass, so electrolysis is pretty minimal, and it's in an exposed location so it can be serviced if need be. Thanks for pointing that out though, it's really important with straight copper.