Friday, June 28

Two days later the supply chain architect was in awe of the copper artwork nested within the framing by George, the plumber. The kitchen had been an empty shell of a room just hours before. Now it sparkled with hand-wiped solder joints where the copper pipes merged and an occasional piece of shiny black plastic PVC piping. The center island would hold the main sink with a garbage disposal unit. A second sink would be in the countertop along the back wall. The dishwasher would be built into the center island, and the refrigerator required a plumbing hookup for its automatic icemaker. The exposed studs showed additional plumbing runs to the upstairs bath and to a powder room adjacent to the kitchen.

George, how in the world do you keep all those pipes straight in your mind?

George stopped his work and looked up. When you have done this as long as I have, it just comes naturally.

Since you are billing $50 per hour, it s okay to keep working while you talk, he kidded. But seriously, once this plumbing infrastructure is buried behind sheetrock, isn t it difficult to fix when a hot and cold water connection are mixed up?

Not really. It happens more than you know. But you can fix that problem down in the cellar rather than opening up a wall. The key to this plumbing infrastructure, as you call it, is to think in terms of flow.

What do you mean?

The hot...