Plumbing glossary: R
If you’ve got a plumber coming round, you want to know exactly what they’re talking about when tending to your pipes and fittings.
Read on to learn some R-words with our quick and easy plumbing glossary.
R & D – Reamed and Drifted – pipe commonly used in water wells with a heavy-duty coupling
RF – Recovery Factor – rating based on the efficiency of the product
Raw water – water supplied to the plant before any treatment
Recovery – the amount of water in gallons that can be heated in one hour (gph)
Recovery capacity – the amount of water in gallons per hour raised 100 degrees F at a given thermal efficiency and BTU per hour
Red water – water that is red or brown in colour due to the presence of precipitated iron and/or iron bacteria
Reducer – a fitting that connects pipes of different sizes together
Refill tube – the tube that directs water from a ballcock into the overflow tube to refill bowl after a siphon break
Relief valve – a valve that opens to relieve excess temperature
Reverse osmosis – a water treatment method whereby water is forced through a semi permeable membrane to filter out impurities
Rigid pipe – pipe designed to transmit the backfill load to the foundation beneath the pipe
Rim holes – a series of small holes in the underside of a toilet rim through which water flows to wash over the entire inner service of the bowl
Roman spout – deck-mounted faucet spout
Roof flashing – sheet metal installed at any break in a shingled roofline to prevent leaks around sewer vents
Rough-in – installation of the drain, waste, vent and supply lines in a structure to the proposed location of each fixture
Run – a complete or secondary section of pipe that extends from supply to fixture or drain to stack
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