Floor Drain Pipe Pitch

Laying a drainage pipe for plumbing is a job for professionals.

Floor drain pipe pitch.

The maximum slope for efficient drainage is usually a drop of 1 2 inch per 1 foot of horizontal distance. A slope of less than 1 4 inch per foot will cause constant drain clogs and a slope of more than three inches will allow the water to drain without the solids. Pipe slope and pitch terminology plumbers and building authorities express slope in either percent grade or inches per 1 foot unit. But there are other issues concerning pitch to keep in mind.

Larger lines such as 8 pipe actually require less pitch due to the larger circumference of the pipe. Usually 1 8 per foot is plenty for drainage this is the same as the commonly recommended 1 slope. How to use the calculator. Drain pipe slope calculator.

The following diagram lays out the different terms that are used in the calculator. Standard horizontal drainage pipe slope. All of your drain pipe with one exception must slope slightly downhill. With the siphon principle in mind i first make sure that any drain less than 3 inches in diameter has at least a 1 4 inch slope 1 8 inch slope for 3 inch diameter and greater and then i simply measure from the floor assuming that it is level to the bottom of the drain at the trap connection where the trap weir is located.

Don t bite off more than you can chew. Install drain pipe to sit outside of not on top of the footings and below the bottom of the concrete slab or crawlspace floor. According to the international plumbing code drainage pipes should be run with a uniform slope at the following minimum pitches. Note that i said the drain pipe must be sloped rather than the french drain.

This drain pipe slope calculator will calculate the slope and total drop fall of a drainage pipe over a specified length of pipe. If you re installing a drain pipe here s an easy way to figure out the slope for a drain pipe. It is generally accepted that 1 4 per foot of pipe run is the minimum for proper pitch on a sewer line. A pipe that doesn t slope enough won t drain.

A pipe that slopes too much drains water but not solids. Calculating the slope of your drain pipe is easy. Lay the pipe with enough slope to drain to a non perforated pipe that carries the collected water to daylight to a drywell to a storm sewer if approved by the local municipality or to a sump pump that will. The term slope is also frequently used and has the same meaning as pitch.

A pipe with a very extreme slope of 45 degrees or more is considered vertical. Expressing slope in.