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Forum Categories BOMA 1996 - Office Buildings Question

What are ''plumbing lines''?

Guest User: MOLA; November 15, 2009

The Standard says "openings for plumbing lines are not considered to be MVPs".

1. Please explain, what do "openings for plumbing lines" mean exactly? What is the difference between the "pipe shafts" that must be MVP, and the "openings for plumbing lines", that is not MVP.

2. Are the following pipes considered plumbing lines?

- water-supply pipes for toilets, kitchens, etc.;
- soil-pipes;
- rain-water pipes;
- water pipes for supplying sprinklers and fire-hoses;

3. Does it make any sense if one of these pipes, some of them or all pipes together are in one shaft and enclosed by walls?

Thank you.

Adam Fingret: Extreme Measures Inc.; November 16, 2009

1. Major Vertical Penetrations are a "shaft" of some sort and this is a distinguishing factor. In the upcoming 2010 standard, this has been clarified to mean any penetration of the slab that is one square foot or greater in size.

Openings for plumbing lines are usually fitted holes in the slab, where the slab has been poured around the pipe or drilled-to-fit. These elements are sometimes enclosed by walls and sometimes not. Openings for plumbing lines can also be horizontal runs that service a succession of plumbing fixtures.

2. I'm not sure if soil and rain-water pipes technically qualify as "plumbing lines", but their designation as Major Vertical Penetrations has more to do with the way they go through the slab and if they are enclosed.

3. If the pipes are contained together and penetrate the slab through a larger opening and enclosed by walls, it is a Major Vertical Penetration.