Variations in circuit vented branches.
Sometimes it can be awkward being in the men’s room with a camera, but I do it as a service to the trade to help others understand what an inspector may be looking for when enforcing plumbing and building codes.
Take, for example, this photo of a circuit vented branch. It has portions that meet code and portions that don’t, so for this edition of Quattro’s Corner, let’s start with what’s right.
UP TO CODE
This installation meets the requirements of section
7.5.3.1. (1) of the Ontario Building Code and section
2.5.3.1. (1) of the National Plumbing Code.
OBC 7.5.3.1. (1)
A section of a horizontal branch may be circuit vented provided:
a. circuit vent is connected to it; b. All fixtures served by the circuit vent are located in the same storey and located at the most distant upstream section of the horizontal branch; and c. No soil or waste stack is connected to it upstream of a circuit vented fixture.
NPC 2.5.3.1. (1)
A section of a horizontal branch may be circuit vented provided:
a. A circuit vent is connected to it; b. All fixtures served by the circuit vent are located in the same storey; and c. No soil or waste stack is connected to it upstream of a circuit vented fixture.
It also meets the requirements of OBC 7.5.3.1. (3) which states: “Except as provided in sentences 4 and 5, a relief vent shall be connected to the branch that forms part of a circuit vented system, downstream of the connection of the most downstream circuit vented fixture.”
This plumber also installed an additional circuit vent. Why? I have no idea,
but that doesn’t mean it’s against code. It just added to the cost of the
project, with more material and time. According to OBC 7.5.3.1. 6b, an
additional circuit vent is required where more than eight circuit vented
fixtures are connected to a branch between vent pipe connections.
Andrew Quattrociocchi, C.B.C.O., is the deputy chief building official for
the Township of Oro-Medonte, and a director with the Ontario Plumbing
Inspectors Association. He can be reached at quattroscorner@hotmail.com.
Comentarios