# Manifold plumbing: layout, pros and cons, and DIY installation

> Why manifold plumbing beats a tee-branch layout, how to build the inlet assembly and manifolds, which pipes to use and how to connect fixtures.

Web page: https://watertrade.com.ua/en/articles/article/kollektornaya-razvodka-vodoprovoda · Other languages: [UA](https://watertrade.com.ua/articles/article/kollektornaya-razvodka-vodoprovoda.md), [RU](https://watertrade.com.ua/ru/articles/article/kollektornaya-razvodka-vodoprovoda.md)

*November 12, 2026*

![Diagram: cold and hot water manifolds with a valve on every outlet and a separate pipe to each fixture](https://watertrade.com.ua/uploads/articles/manifold-plumbing.jpg)

There are two ways to run water around a home. In a tee-branch layout, one pipe passes all the fixtures and each one tees off it. In a manifold layout, every fixture has its own pipe from a shared header — the manifold. A manifold needs more pipe, but it gives steady pressure and lets you isolate any fixture without shutting off the whole house.

## What the diagram shows

1 — the cold water manifold, 2 — a valve on each manifold outlet, 3 — a fixture with its own dedicated pipe, 4 — the hot water manifold.

## Pros and cons

- **Steady pressure.** When someone starts the washing machine, the shower does not go colder or weaker: each fixture draws from the manifold rather than from a shared pipe after its neighbour.
- **Easy repairs.** To replace a mixer or trace a leak, you close one valve on the manifold.
- **Fewer joints in the walls.** The pipe from the manifold to a fixture runs in one piece.
- **Cons:** more pipe, more space for the manifold (usually hidden in a cupboard or recess), and a higher cost.

## What it consists of

1. **The inlet assembly:** a valve, a mesh filter and, where needed, a pressure reducing valve and a meter. See [“Water pressure reducing valve”](https://watertrade.com.ua/en/articles/article/reduktor-davleniya-vody).
2. **The cold manifold**, 3/4" or 1", with one outlet per fixture plus one or two spares.
3. **The hot manifold**, fed from the water heater or boiler.
4. **Outlet valves** — ball or stop valves, labelled with the fixture each one feeds.
5. **Pipes to the fixtures**, usually 16–20 mm. How to size them is explained in [“Choosing the pipe diameter”](https://watertrade.com.ua/en/articles/article/diametr-truby-vodoprovoda).

## Step-by-step installation

1. Draw a plan: where the manifold goes, where each fixture is and how the pipes will run. Count the outlets.
2. Fix the manifolds to the wall or inside a cupboard so the valves stay accessible.
3. Run each pipe to its fixture in one piece, with no joints inside the walls, ideally in a protective sleeve.
4. Label the outlets and pressure-test the system: fill it, raise the pressure and leave it for several hours, checking the gauge and every joint. Only then close up the walls.

> If the hot manifold has a recirculation loop, remember that the return runs from the farthest fixture back to the water heater — it is a separate pipe, not a manifold outlet.

Pipes, fittings and valves are in pipes and fittings and [valves and fittings](https://watertrade.com.ua/en/catalogue/zapornaa-armatura). How to weld polypropylene is explained in [“Welding polypropylene pipe”](https://watertrade.com.ua/en/articles/article/pajka-polipropilenovyh-trub).

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