Plumbing – Incoming water lines: Just a like to know what this is

hot-waterplumbingwater

I have a strange water line arrangement coming into the house and I would like to know what line is for what – I understand that I have cold 3/4 pipe coming in to the house and cold 3/4 pipe going to other parts of the house and the hot water heater. The hot water heater has 3/4 line going to the rest of the house.

Now here is my question where on earth do the 1/2 inch lines go (or where should I expect them to go?)

The Red rectangle in the picture is the concrete floor. The lines are all copper pipe.

Water hookup

Best Answer

Usually, the 1/2" lines go to a single outlet such as a sink, tub or laundry and the 3/4" line or lines run to multiple devices. For example, the 3/4" line can feed many devices with 3/4"X1/2" tees supplying each faucet with a 1/2" supply line. This way you will usually get maximum flow at your faucet even if someone else in the home is using water at the same time.