unfinished.one

Uniformat D2010

Water closet

Also called toilet, WC

  • Confidence C
  • Version 0.3.0 (permanent link)
  • Reviewed 2026-10-22

This is version 0.3.0. The latest is 0.4.0.

Service life

32.5 yearsmedian of the stated lives · sources say 25–40 years
051015202530354045502540

Years in service. The band runs from the shortest to the longest life the sources state, so it shows how much they disagree, not how long 80% of units last. The line is the median of the stated lives.

Basis

  • 40 years · CNA e-Tool Estimated Useful Life Table, p11 · HUD CNA 3.4.1.3.5 “Toilets/bidets/urinals” — U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (planning life)
    Same life for family and elderly properties. US multifamily housing.
  • 25 years · General depreciation rates (IR265), July 2021, p44 · BDFO “Plumbing fixtures” — Inland Revenue (Te Tari Taake), New Zealand (accounting life)
    Printed page 44. Plumbing fixtures: toilets, urinals, basins, drinking fountains. Note the separate row 'Sanitary appliances' (8 years), which under NZ Building Code usage means appliances such as dish and clothes washers, not fixtures; it is not mapped. BDFO Building fit-out (when in books separately from building cost). Printed DV 8%, SL 6%. Tax depreciation lives set by the Commissioner of Inland Revenue for New Zealand income tax, not engineering or asset-management lives; they are banded and often short (e.g. reticulation piping 25 years). The July 2021 edition was the newest PDF reachable; the online Depreciation Rate Finder may hold later determinations.

How sources are chosen and recorded: sourcing policy.

Municipal lives for plumbing (D20)

26 municipalities in Ontario and British Columbia state a life for plumbing as a whole, in 18 distinct tables: 15–50 years, median 25. 34 rows come from capital asset policies (accounting lives, used for amortization) and 1 from asset management plans (planning lives, used to forecast replacement). They describe the system rather than this component, and none is a measured life.

Median 25 yearsKingston: Building Fixtures, 15 yearsMeaford: Plumbing - Water Treatment System, 15 yearsTrent Lakes: Mechanical Systems - Fixtures, 15 yearsComox Valley: HVAC systems, mechanical, plumbing, wiring, etc., 20 yearsCranbrook: HVAC, plumbing, lighting, etc, 20 yearsTelkwa: Electrical/Plumbing/Fire, 20 yearsLondon: Building Components - Services (HVAC, lighting, communication, plumbing etc.), 20 yearsMeaford: Plumbing - Fixtures, 20 yearsMeaford: Plumbing - Boiler, 20 yearsLantzville: Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing, 25 yearsMeaford: Plumbing - Septic System, 25 yearsRainy River: Building Improvements - Electrical/Plumbing, 25 yearsRainy River: Building Improvements - Electrical/Plumbing, 25 yearsThe Blue Mountains: Septic System, 25 yearsGreater Napanee: E30 Chillers, Rink Piping, Fuel Storage Tanks, 30 yearsGrey Highlands: Septic System, 30 yearsThe Blue Mountains: Plumbing System, 30 yearsTrent Lakes: Mechanical Systems - Piping, 30 yearsParksville: Plumbing Infrastructure, 50 yearsGreater Madawaska and Quinte West: Piping, 50 yearsMeaford: Plumbing - System, 50 yearsMeaford: Plumbing - Cistern, 50 yearsThe Blue Mountains: Cistern, 50 yearsFort St. James, Revelstoke and 3 more: Electrical/Plumbing/Fire, 15–20 yearsOkanagan-Similkameen: Electrical/Plumbing/Fire, 15–20 yearsSalmo: Electrical/Plumbing/Fire, 15–20 yearsBancroft, Centre Hastings and 2 more: Electrical/Plumbing, 25–30 years0102030405060

Years. Each dot is one stated life and each bar a stated range; equal values stack. Hollow marks are planning lives from asset management plans; filled marks are accounting lives from policies. The dashed line is the median. Policies that copy the same table count once.

All 27 stated lives
MunicipalityAs writtenYearsKindSource
KingstonBuilding Fixtures15accountingp15 · 2016
MeafordPlumbing - Water Treatment System15accountingp17 · 2020
Trent LakesMechanical Systems - Fixtures15accountingp10 · 2009
Fort St. James, Revelstoke, Rossland, Sicamous, Tumbler Ridge · same tableElectrical/Plumbing/Fire15–20accountingp5, p9, p7, p9, p5 · 2010
Okanagan-SimilkameenElectrical/Plumbing/Fire15–20accountingp11 · 2023
SalmoElectrical/Plumbing/Fire15–20accountingp6 · 2016
Comox ValleyHVAC systems, mechanical, plumbing, wiring, etc.20accountingp6 · 2010
CranbrookHVAC, plumbing, lighting, etc20accountingp9 · 2010
TelkwaElectrical/Plumbing/Fire20accountingp8
LondonBuilding Components - Services (HVAC, lighting, communication, plumbing etc.)20accountingp2 · 2023
MeafordPlumbing - Fixtures20accountingp16 · 2020
MeafordPlumbing - Boiler20accountingp17 · 2020
LantzvilleElectrical, Mechanical, Plumbing25accountingp11 · 2019
MeafordPlumbing - Septic System25accountingp17 · 2020
Rainy RiverBuilding Improvements - Electrical/Plumbing25accountingp11 · 2010
Rainy RiverBuilding Improvements - Electrical/Plumbing25planningp17 · 2026
The Blue MountainsSeptic System25accountingp11 · 2019
Bancroft, Centre Hastings, Hastings Highlands, Wollaston · same tableElectrical/Plumbing25–30accountingp5, p4, p6, p5
Greater NapaneeE30 Chillers, Rink Piping, Fuel Storage Tanks30accountingp16 · 2012
Grey HighlandsSeptic System30accountingp11 · 2026
The Blue MountainsPlumbing System30accountingp11 · 2019
Trent LakesMechanical Systems - Piping30accountingp10 · 2009
ParksvillePlumbing Infrastructure50accountingp9 · 2023
Greater Madawaska, Quinte West · same tablePiping50accountingp17, p38 · 2025
MeafordPlumbing - System50accountingp16 · 2020
MeafordPlumbing - Cistern50accountingp16 · 2020
The Blue MountainsCistern50accountingp11 · 2019

Of 35 rows, 2 were compared with an image of their page; 33 were matched to their page automatically (the label and number appear in the page text). Follow the page link before relying on an automatically matched row. About the policies · All approved rows as JSON

Preventive maintenance

4 tasks in 1 work order.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12Annual

Months from the schedule start. Download the tasks as CSV for a CMMS, or ask the MCP tool get_pm_schedule for dated visits.

Annual · 4 tasks

Source: Technical Operations and Maintenance Guidelines on Common Water Equipment, Toilets and Urinals table

TaskPage
Check flushometer flush valves: flush time, diaphragm gasket condition and ratingpundefined
Check tank water level and that the fill valve shuts offpundefined
Dye-test the flapper valve for leakspundefined
Check automatic flush sensors; calibrate if double flushingpundefined

Frequencies are ISO 8601 durations in the data (P3M = every 3 months).

Open questions

  • Every source here is a published planning, design or accounting life. None is observed replacement data.
  • Aimed at water efficiency in federal facilities, not full fixture maintenance.

Know the answer? Send it with a source to [email protected].

Cite this

Citation

unfinished.one (2026). Water closet, v0.3.0. https://unfinished.one/c/water-closet/v/0.3.0

BibTeX

@misc{unfinished_water_closet_0_3_0,
  title = {Water closet},
  author = {{unfinished.one}},
  year = {2026},
  version = {0.3.0},
  url = {https://unfinished.one/c/water-closet/v/0.3.0},
  note = {CC BY 4.0}
}

Licence CC BY 4.0 · How to cite · JSON · Versions: 0.4.0, 0.3.0, 0.2.0, 0.1.0