Venting for
Plumbing Systems
Venting
The first houses with indoor plumbing utilized a trap on the
building drain pipe to provide a water seal for keeping
the sewer gasses from coming back into the buildings.
These traps were called “building traps” or “master
traps”.
However there were still sewer gasses entering occupied
spaces from the drain piping within the building. This
was not only unpleasant to smell but was a great health
concern.
Venting
The traps were then placed at each fixture to provide a
barrier between the fixture and the drainage piping within
the house. In order to ensure that these barriers
continued to work, a system of piping was installed to
provide a way for the plumbing system to “breath”.
Venting
This concept of the plumbing system breathing (while
conceptually accurate) is somewhat confusing to a
craftsperson when trying to understand specifically what
the purpose of the vent system is. In section 901.2 0f the
2006 IPC we are told specifically what the purpose of the
vent system is.
Venting
901.2 Trap seal protection. The plumbing system shall be
provided with a system of vent piping that will permit the
admission or emission of air so that the seal of any fixture trap
shall not be subjected to a pneumatic pressure differential of
more than 1 inch of water column (249 Pa).
In this code section we are told that “The plumbing system shall be
provided with a system of vent piping that will permit the
admission or emission of air”. The plumbing system needs to
breath.
The second half of this section tells us why the plumbing system
needs to breath. “so that the seal of any fixture trap shall not be
subjected to a pneumatic pressure differential of more than 1
inch of water column (249 Pa).” Here we are told that the
protection of the seal is the reason for the vent, (the reason the
system needs to breath).
Venting
The seal of any fixture trap shall not be subjected to a With an
pneumatic pressure differential of more than 1 atmospheric
pressure of
inch of water column (249 Pa). approximately
14.7 psi at sea
level, there can
be no more than
plus or minus
0.036 psig
difference
present between
both sides of the
trap seal
12 inches of water column equals
Trap seal
0.433 psig. 1 inch of water column
equals 0.036 psig.
This also refers to half of the trap seal
which shall be at least two inches.
SECTION 903
OUTDOOR VENT EXTENSION
903.1 Required vent extension. The vent system serving each
building drain shall have at least one vent pipe that extends to
the outdoors.
903.1.1 Installation. The required vent shall be a dry vent that
connects to the building drain or an extension of a drain that
connects to the building drain. Such vent shall not be an island
fixture vent as allowed by Section 913.
SECTION 904
VENT TERMINALS
• 904.1 Roof extension. All open vent pipes that extend through
a roof shall be terminated at least 6 inches above the roof,
except that where a roof is to be used for any purpose other
than weather protection, the vent extensions shall be run at
least 7 feet (2134 mm) above the roof.
6” 7’
Roof used as sundeck
SECTION 904
VENT TERMINALS
904.5 Location of vent terminal. An open vent terminal from a drainage
system shall not be located directly beneath any door, openable window,
or other air intake opening of the building or of an adjacent building, and
any such vent terminal shall not be within 10 feet (3048 mm) horizontally
of such an opening unless it is at least 2 feet (610 mm) above the top of
such opening.
10’
Air Intake
2’
SECTION 904
VENT TERMINALS
904.6 Extension through
the wall. Vent terminals
extending through the
wall shall terminate a
minimum of 10 feet
(3048 mm) from the lot
line and 10 feet (3048
mm) above average
ground level. Vent
10’ to lot line
terminals shall not
terminate under the
Protective mesh
overhang of a structure
with soffit vents. Side 10’ above ground
wall vent terminals shall
be protected to prevent
birds or rodents from
entering or blocking the
vent opening.
SECTION 905
VENT CONNECTIONS AND GRADES
905.2 Grade. All vent Vent piping
and branch vent GRADE may either rise
pipes shall be so or fall as long
as the pipe can
graded and drain back to
connected as to drain the drainage
back to the drainage piping by
gravity. In
pipe by gravity. other words air
KS does not care
whether it
Lav
moves uphill or
downhill.
WC
SECTION 905
VENT CONNECTIONS AND GRADES
• 905.4 Vertical rise of vent. Every It is important
dry vent shall rise vertically to a
minimum of 6 inches (152 mm) to note that the
above the flood level rim of the 2006 IPC has
highest trap or trapped fixture a definition of
being vented.
vertical pipe as
• any pipe which
is 45°or
greater from
• 905.5 Height above fixtures. A
connection between a vent pipe horizontal. The
and a vent stack or stack vent vent piping in
shall be made at least 6 inches this drawing is
(152 mm) above the flood level rim
of the highest fixture served by the considered to
vent. Horizontal vent pipes forming be vertical
branch vents, relief vents or loop pipe.
vents shall be at least 6 inches
(152 mm) above the flood level rim
of the highest fixture served.
SECTION 906
FIXTURE VENTS
• 906.1 Distance of trap from vent. •906.2 Venting of fixture
Each fixture trap shall have a drains. The total fall in a
protecting vent located so that the fixture drain due to pipe slope
slope and the developed length in shall not exceed the diameter
the fixture drain from the trap weir of the fixture drain, nor shall
to the vent fitting are within the the vent connection to a
requirements set forth in Table fixture drain, except for water
906.1. closets, be below the weir of
the trap.
SECTION 906
FIXTURE VENTS
906.3 Crown vent. A vent shall
not be installed within two pipe This drawing
diameters of the trap weir. shows the vent
connected
within two pipe
diameters of
the trap weir.
This is a
Crown Vent
and is not
permitted.
SECTION 907
INDIVIDUAL VENT
907.1 Individual vent
permitted. Each trap and
trapped fixture is permitted
to be provided with an
individual vent. The
individual vent shall
connect to the fixture drain
of the trap or trapped
fixture being vented.
SECTION 908
COMMON VENT
908.1 Individual vent as common
vent. An individual vent is
permitted to vent two traps or
trapped fixtures as a common
vent. The traps or trapped
fixtures being common vented
shall be located on the same
floor level.
908.2 Connection at the same
level. Where the fixture drains
being common vented connect
at the same level, the vent
connection shall be at the
interconnection of the fixture
drains or downstream of the
interconnection.
SECTION 908
COMMON VENT
908.3 Connection at different
levels. Where the fixture
drains connect at different
levels, the vent shall connect
as a vertical extension of the
vertical drain. The vertical drain
pipe connecting the two fixture
drains shall be considered the
vent for the lower fixture drain,
The upper fixture shall not be a
water closet.
