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Round up or down?

PostPosted: Mon Jun 11, 2018 8:38 pm
by chelseachao
Hi,

I have a question regarding the plumbing fixture calculation. Let's say you have a total occupant load of 300, and Plumbing Code requires 1 water closet per 100 for both men and women. Assume the men and women are evenly divided. So number of WC required for men or women is (300/2)/100 = 150/100 = 1.5. Now, should we round this number up or down? I think it should be round down because it says "1 per 100". But some people think it should round up if the digit in the tenth place is >=5, and round down if it's <=4. What do you think? I've seen similar questions in the exam and want to make sure which way is correct. Thanks!

Re: Round up or down?

PostPosted: Mon Jun 11, 2018 11:26 pm
by Coach
Read the footnotes.

Re: Round up or down?

PostPosted: Tue Jun 12, 2018 6:07 am
by thd7t
chelseachao wrote:Hi,

I have a question regarding the plumbing fixture calculation. Let's say you have a total occupant load of 300, and Plumbing Code requires 1 water closet per 100 for both men and women. Assume the men and women are evenly divided. So number of WC required for men or women is (300/2)/100 = 150/100 = 1.5. Now, should we round this number up or down? I think it should be round down because it says "1 per 100". But some people think it should round up if the digit in the tenth place is >=5, and round down if it's <=4. What do you think? I've seen similar questions in the exam and want to make sure which way is correct. Thanks!

Always round up. Even if it requires 1.1 fixtures, round up. It's the same as sizing egress, complying with parking requirements for zoning ordinances, or any other code or permitting issue. You need to have enough fixtures for your users. If you round down, you don't have enough, so your design is not adequate.