Master Basic Plumbing and Central Heating: A Self-Teaching Manual for Both Systems (Home Plumbing Guides)

Two systems run through every house: one brings water in under pressure, the
other takes it away by gravity — and a third, the heating loop, borrows from
both. Learn all three and there is very little left in a home that can
surprise you.

This is a self-teaching manual. Each chapter builds on the one before it, from
the first joint you make to a full combined-system walkthrough, so you can work
through it alone at your own pace.

Inside you will find:

• Making joints in copper, PEX and PVC, step by step, with the preparation that
decides whether a joint holds.
• The supply system and the drain-waste-vent system, explained as two opposite
ideas rather than a list of parts.
• Everyday repairs: leaks, clogs, dripping taps, running toilets, and the
worn parts behind each one.
• Water heaters, tank and tankless — the point where plumbing meets heating.
• Central heating from the boiler outward: emitters, pumps, circulation,
thermostats, zone valves and controls.
• Expansion vessels, system pressure and filling — including why a boiler
gauge that climbs is telling you something specific.
• Balancing and bleeding a system so every room actually gets warm.
• Maintenance, seasonal care, common faults, and the firm line around gas work
where you stop and call a professional.

Aligned to the 2024-2026 codes and illustrated with more than 45 full-color
figures. Written for the person who wants to understand the house, not just
patch it.

Learn it once. Use it for the life of the house.