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EDWartens UK

Free course · Building automation

Plumbing and Drainage Design for Buildings

How a public health engineer designs the water and drainage systems of a building: the codes (IPC, UPC, BS EN 806 and BS EN 12056, NBC Part 9), water demand and storage tanks, fixture units and pipe sizing, booster pumps and pressure zones, backflow and water hammer, hot water heaters, recirculation and Legionella control, sanitary drainage and venting, stormwater and roof drainage, sewage lifting and interceptors, schematics, testing and handover.

See the modules

Free to learn. Verifiable certificate £19 when you pass the final exam (optional, VAT included).

Level
Beginner
Modules
14
Video
22 hours
Price
Free

Outcome

What you will be able to do

Explain what each building water and drainage system does and which code family governs it; estimate population, daily water demand and storage tank volumes; add fixture or loading units and size water pipes by velocity and friction loss; zone a tall building, size a booster pump and place pressure reducing valves; protect potable water against backflow and water hammer; size hot water heaters and storage, recirculation flow and balancing for Legionella control; size sanitary stacks and drains with discharge units and slopes; choose and size vents; size roof outlets with the rational method; size a sewage sump and a grease interceptor; and draw schematics, take off quantities and plan pressure tests and disinfection.

  • Set population, daily water demand and storage, and size underground and roof tanks
  • Add fixture or loading units and size water pipes by velocity and Hazen-Williams friction
  • Zone a tall building, size transfer and booster pumps, and place pressure reducing valves
  • Choose backflow protection by hazard and limit water hammer
  • Size hot water heaters and storage, recirculation flow and balancing for Legionella control
  • Size stacks and drains with discharge units, set slopes and choose the venting
  • Size roof drainage with the rational method, sewage sumps and grease interceptors
  • Draw schematics and riser diagrams, take off a BOQ and plan tests and disinfection

Software

A spreadsheet (LibreOffice Calc is free) for every calculation. For schematics and layouts any 2D CAD will do: LibreCAD and FreeCAD are free; AutoCAD and Revit are optional and free to eligible students and educators on the Autodesk Education plan. Squared paper works for every exercise.

Hardware

None. Any laptop that runs a spreadsheet is enough.

Syllabus

14 modules

Each module has video lessons, notes and a short quiz. The final exam closes the course.

  1. 1Public health engineering: the systems, the codes and the deliverables3 lessons
  2. 2Fixtures, pipe materials, fittings and valves4 lessons
  3. 3Water demand, storage tanks and transfer pumps4 lessons
  4. 4Pipe sizing: fixture units, velocity and friction loss4 lessons
  5. 5Booster pumps, pressure zones and pressure reducing valves6 lessons
  6. 6Protecting potable water: backflow, cross-connections and water hammer4 lessons
  7. 7Hot water systems: demand, heaters and storage4 lessons
  8. 8Hot water recirculation, balancing and Legionella control5 lessons
  9. 9Sanitary drainage: discharge units, stacks, drains and slopes5 lessons
  10. 10Venting, trap seals and single-stack systems8 lessons
  11. 11Stormwater, roof drainage and rainwater harvesting6 lessons
  12. 12Sewage lifting, interceptors and external drainage7 lessons
  13. 13Schematics, drawings, quantities, testing and handover5 lessons
  14. 14Final assessment1 lesson

How it works

How this course works

  1. Watch the video lessonsOne module at a time, at your own pace.
  2. Take the module quizA short quiz at the end of each module shows what stuck.
  3. Keep your notesWrite in My notes beside each module and ask the trainer if you are stuck.
  4. Sit the final examPass it once you have been through the modules.
  5. Certificate, if you want oneOptionalPaid, and only after you pass. Anyone can check it online.

Certificate

An optional certificate when you pass

Learning is free. Pass the final exam and you can have a certificate for £19, including VAT, with a number employers can check online. It records that you completed a free online course; it is not a regulated qualification or a CPD certificate.

  • Your name, the course, its study time and your final exam score
  • A unique certificate number and a QR code to its verification page
  • Issued by Wartens Ltd; add it to your LinkedIn profile in one click
  • Pay now or after you pass: it is issued the moment you pass the final

How the certificate works

Sample certificate for Plumbing and Drainage Design for Buildings

Credits

Who made the lessons

The video lessons belong to their creators. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, quizzes and the final exam.

  • MEP Engineering Tutorials

    the IPC-based design walk-throughs: water demand, hot and cold pipe sizing, PRV operation, heater sizing, recirculation pump sizing, drainage and vent stack sizing, combined storm and sanitary design, lifting stations and grease interceptor sizing

  • MEP BOOSTER

    the overview of building plumbing systems, codes and standards, materials, tank sizing, water supply systems, booster pump selection, drainage system types, rainwater harvesting, septic tanks, the water supply schematic and the BOQ

  • Design Experts - MEP

    the short design lessons on pipe types, demand estimation, water pipe sizing, high-rise supply, PRVs, booster design, central hot water and its return, drainage pipe sizing, stack ventilation, single stack design, storm calculations, gutters, grease interceptors and external drainage

  • SM Techno MEP Training Services

    the lesson on types of plumbing fixtures

  • MEP Academy

    sizing water pipes with fixture units, and the hot water recirculation system

  • Global MEP Training Academy

    reading plumbing drawings for a high-rise building

  • Got2Learn

    the animated tour of how a home's plumbing works, and why water hammer arrestors matter

  • Matt Risinger

    the comparison of PEX, copper and CPVC water pipe

  • Practical Engineering

    flow and pressure in pipes, and what water hammer is

  • Roger Wakefield Plumbing Education

    how a backflow preventer works, and how water heaters are sized

  • Williams Plumbing & Heating

    sizing a drainage system with drainage fixture units

  • This Old House

    how a plumbing trap can lose its water seal

  • David Butler - Serving Up Plumbing!

    what a sewage ejector pump does and how it is installed

  • Grundfos

    the basic boosting function of a Hydro booster set

  • Watts Water

    the short course in backflow prevention

  • Caleffi Hydronic Solutions

    balancing hot water recirculation circuits, and the webinar on controlling Legionella in recirculation systems

  • Geberit

    the Pluvia siphonic roof drainage and Sovent single-stack animations

  • Highland Tank

    how a passive grease interceptor works

  • ATS SpecTool

    the webinar with A. O. Smith on sizing commercial domestic hot water systems

  • Douglas Cornwall

    the ASPE presentation on single-stack drainage design rules

  • Clear Creek Solutions

    the rational method explained in five minutes

  • American Water College

    pressure and leak testing, and flushing and disinfection of new pipework

Questions

About this course

What is plumbing and drainage design (public health engineering)?
Plumbing and drainage design, called public health engineering (PHE) in the UK and the Gulf, is the design of a building's water supply, hot water, sanitary drainage, vents and stormwater systems so every fixture gets safe water at the right pressure and all waste leaves without smells, blockages or flooding. It is one of the MEP disciplines, alongside HVAC, electrical and fire protection.
Who is this plumbing design course for?
It is for civil, mechanical and building services graduates and diploma holders, plumbing draughtsmen and site engineers who want to work as plumbing or PHE design engineers in consultancies and MEP contractors. You need school algebra and a spreadsheet; no plumbing design experience is needed.
Which codes and standards does the course cover?
The course teaches the methods shared by the main code families: the International Plumbing Code and Uniform Plumbing Code (drainage and water supply fixture units), BS EN 806 and BS EN 12056 (loading units and discharge units), and NBC Part 9 with its IS codes. Code text is paraphrased, never copied, and every real design must follow the edition the local authority has adopted.
Do I need software to take the course?
No paid software is needed. A spreadsheet such as LibreOffice Calc is enough for every calculation, and schematics can be drawn in LibreCAD or FreeCAD, which are free, or on squared paper. AutoCAD and Revit are optional and free to eligible students on the Autodesk Education plan.
Is the course free to learn, and how long does it take?
Yes, every module, the notes, the worked problems, the practice tasks, the optional project and the final assessment are free to learn. The course takes about 22 hours at your own pace, of which about 14 hours is video; the optional G+10 building project takes about 14 hours more.
What certificate do I get, and how is it verified?
You get a verifiable certificate of completion when you finish the modules and pass the 15-question final at 60 percent. It carries a unique certificate number and a QR code that open a public verification page showing the course, the modules covered and your final score. It is not a plumbing licence or an ICC, IAPMO or ASPE credential.
What jobs does plumbing design lead to, including in the Gulf?
It prepares you for roles such as plumbing design engineer, public health engineer, junior MEP design engineer, plumbing draughtsman and site plumbing engineer. MEP consultancies and contractors in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar advertise public health engineer roles that ask for exactly these calculations: demand, tanks, boosters, pipe sizing, drainage, stormwater and lifting stations.
Does the course cover fire fighting water and HVAC?
No. Fire water storage, sprinklers and fire pumps are taught in Fire Fighting Design: Sprinklers, Fire Pumps and Hydrants, and chilled water and air systems in HVAC Design: Heat Load, Ducts and Chilled Water. This course covers domestic water, hot water, drainage, vents and stormwater, and shows where they meet those systems.

The Professional Module is five live days of Siemens PLC, HMI and SCADA with an instructor, then a resume session and a CPD certificate.

See the Professional Module