# venting of emergency floor drains



## BARRY MCBRINE (Jul 13, 2011)

Hi I Have a question about emergency floor drains and the requirements of vents . I am in dawson creek british columbia does anybody know the rules


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## incarnatopnh (Feb 1, 2011)

I can almost hear it coming...........


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

Please post an intro. It's just what we do here.


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

BARRY MCBRINE said:


> Hi I Have a question about emergency floor drains and the requirements of vents . I am in dawson creek british columbia does anybody know the rules


 




Another guy was asking the very same question about 'emergency floor drains'....:whistling2: Might you be he?


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

The answer is almost here! :laughing:


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## Plumberman (Jul 7, 2008)

Wait for it....


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## SlickRick (Sep 3, 2009)

What?


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## revenge (Jun 30, 2011)

Netsrohterrrioheo hnotor ebetorrohohe trsoo teooseeoio *oeeeorreeo oooretorreehnothreeeoseeorooroorrheoronoesr tooe and then you hietoirttooeeoreeooeeooeeooeeooooooreriooorreooo. and ther you have sorry its hard to understand I can't right or type worth a dam lol jk if I honestly knew I would tell you but honestly idk but some one will know the answer gool luck.


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

http://plumbingzone.com/f6/emergency-floor-drain-basement-136971 

:sleep1:



Link won't work. There is another thread 'bout the same subject but I cannot get the link to work.http://www.plumbingzone.com/f6/emergency-floor-drain-basement-13697/


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## SlickRick (Sep 3, 2009)

Tommy plumber said:


> http://www.plumbingzone.com/f6/emergency-floor-drain-basement-136971
> 
> 
> :sleep1:


OK, I am approaching heat exhaustion, spit it out. Who is it?


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

SlickRick said:


> OK, I am approaching heat exhaustion, spit it out. Who is it?


 




A guy named 'Textbook' under Plumbing Code section asked the same question. Or a similar question. I'm not smart enough...:laughing: to post a link to it, maybe you guys could.


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## revenge (Jun 30, 2011)

Lol and I pushed onthe link like three times thinking I was not smart enough to open it :blink


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## SlickRick (Sep 3, 2009)

Tommy plumber said:


> A guy named 'Textbook' under Plumbing Code section asked the same question. Or a similar question. I'm not smart enough...:laughing: to post a link to it, maybe you guys could.


And what law would he be breaking?


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

None. Just thought they might be the same person. 

Probably (2) different guys. There's a couple of months between posts.


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## Airgap (Dec 18, 2008)

Tommy plumber said:


> http://plumbingzone.com/f6/emergency-floor-drain-basement-136971
> 
> :sleep1:
> 
> ...


 
Tommy, If you want to post a link, right click on the thread title, click "copy shortcut", then paste it in your post....


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## RW Plumbing (Aug 16, 2010)

What exactly is an emergency floor drain? Is it sort of like an air raid faucet? Or a biohazard cleanup shower head? Oh wait, that one actually works....


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## BROOKLYN\PLUMB (May 21, 2010)

Mine has glass over it so you "break glass in emergency" and she drains right down


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

He posted his intro...

http://www.plumbingzone.com/f3/barry-mcbrine-14377/

He's from Canada so welcome him then hopefully one of our Canadian Members can get him the info... :thumbup:


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## BROOKLYN\PLUMB (May 21, 2010)

Redwood said:


> He posted his intro...
> 
> http://www.plumbingzone.com/f3/barry-mcbrine-14377/
> 
> He's from Canada so welcome him then hopefully one of our Canadian Members can get him the info... :thumbup:


I know I still thought it was funny 
Let me go welcome him


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## revenge (Jun 30, 2011)

I would asume you would vent like any other floor drain either re vent or make it a vtr. I would proball pipe in a trap primer istead of trap guard cause it won't be used alot


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## nhmaster3015 (Aug 5, 2008)

I always use an emergency vent on an emergency drain :thumbsup:


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## BROOKLYN\PLUMB (May 21, 2010)

I am assuming that an emergency drain goes to the emergency sewer or do you use a detention tank to control the rate of flow


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## futz (Sep 17, 2009)

BARRY MCBRINE said:


> Hi I Have a question about emergency floor drains and the requirements of vents . I am in dawson creek british columbia does anybody know the rules


In BC you're allowed to do a non-vented (emergency) floor drain provided that the arm is minimum 3" pipe, it has to be at least an 18" arm (max 12 feet). No jumping up to save digging or you have to vent it - just normal slope. That's from foggy memory (I don't own a current code book - just an old one from the previous code), but I do one of these FD's in almost every house and the inspectors pass em. 

I guess the 3" minimum size requirement is both so it's VERY unlikely to ever syphon and to give enough reservoir so it doesn't dry out too quick (primers aren't required anymore (at least in houses) - too much trouble).

Some inspectors in some areas will add their own little crazy made-up rules to that, so read your code book and know what you're talking about before arguing. I had one guy demand that I wye off a 4" drain instead of the 3" I had wyed off - that's not a rule, except in his head.


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## nhmaster3015 (Aug 5, 2008)

Just because an inspector demands something does not mean that he has any idea what he is talking about. Read, understand and follow your code.


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## BROOKLYN\PLUMB (May 21, 2010)

Ok so what is an emergency fd ?


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## futz (Sep 17, 2009)

BROOKLYN\PLUMB said:


> Ok so what is an emergency fd ?


Just means like in a mechanical room, where it will never get used except when something fails (an emergency).


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## Michaelcookplum (May 1, 2011)

To me that's just a floor drain, which doesnt need to be vented, In a groundwork we run a 3" PVC line from the mechanical room to the sump pump crock. We stub a 3x4 90 up and put on a 4" floor drain. No trap required under IPC. what I call an emergency drain line is what is required in all laundry rooms, we use a 2" shower drain in the floor and reduce the pipe down to 1 1/2 and run it out the side of the house or into the sump pump, once again no trap or vent required. If we use a washmachine pan, we run a 1" PVC line the same way. Emergency drains are for washmachines, water heaters, steam units, furnace pans, anything that has to be put on a pan needs an emergency drain.


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## 1703 (Jul 21, 2009)

futz said:


> Just means like in a mechanical room, where it will never get used except when something fails (an emergency).


So if the mechanical room fd catches condensate off a furnace or boiler, is it no longer considered an emergency floor drain?

Just curious. I've never heard the term "emergency floor drain" before.


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## BARRY MCBRINE (Jul 13, 2011)

*Barry mcbrine*

Then its a hub drain and needs a vent


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## sikxsevn (Jun 23, 2009)

Also, emergency floor drains have a fixture load of 0 (when calculating drain system loads and sizing) according to the IPC


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## 1703 (Jul 21, 2009)

BARRY MCBRINE said:


> Then its a hub drain and needs a vent



So do you put in two fd's? A hub drain and an emergency drain?


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## RealLivePlumber (Jun 22, 2008)

NSPC also reconizes an "emergency" floor drain. 

It's pretty funny. 

Put one in a mechanical room and count it as 0 dfu. 

Then wait till the 4" rpz starts dumping. :yes:


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Colgar said:


> So if the mechanical room fd catches condensate off a furnace or boiler, is it no longer considered an emergency floor drain?
> 
> Just curious. I've never heard the term "emergency floor drain" before.


Thats just the way they talk up in the northern states...

The ones that are up above Washington, Montana, North Dakota, etc.... :laughing:


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## Optimus Primer (May 20, 2009)

a floor drain for an emergency eye wash could be an emergency floor drain


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## plumb nutz (Jan 28, 2011)

house plumber said:


> a floor drain for an emergency eye wash could be an emergency floor drain


You have to have a drain for an eye wash?

But as far as an "emergency floor drain" I'm still trying to figure that one out. Only require floor drains in laundry mats and laundry rooms of apartments and the like...

If I want to add a floor drain it has to be at least 2" with the usual venting requirements with the odd exception of a floor or areaway drain to a sump crock... those don't have to be vented and are normally no less than 3"


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## Optimus Primer (May 20, 2009)

plumb nutz said:


> You have to have a drain for an eye wash?
> 
> But as far as an "emergency floor drain" I'm still trying to figure that one out. Only require floor drains in laundry mats and laundry rooms of apartments and the like...
> 
> If I want to add a floor drain it has to be at least 2" with the usual venting requirements with the odd exception of a floor or areaway drain to a sump crock... those don't have to be vented and are normally no less than 3"


If the plan calls for a floor drain at an eye wash we have to. The last 4 I just did needed floor drains.


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## nhmaster3015 (Aug 5, 2008)

I can't find reference to an emergency floor drain in the IPC


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## futz (Sep 17, 2009)

Colgar said:


> So if the mechanical room fd catches condensate off a furnace or boiler, is it no longer considered an emergency floor drain?
> 
> Just curious. I've never heard the term "emergency floor drain" before.


Those just make me (and the inspector) happier. The trap gets primed so I don't get stupid "It stinks in here!" callbacks. 

The term "emergency FD" is kind of stupid. It's just a regular floor drain really.


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## Greenguy (Jan 22, 2011)

The pic is from the national code book, sorry to lazy to get my BC code book from the truck.


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## futz (Sep 17, 2009)

Michaelcookplum said:


> In a groundwork we run a 3" PVC line from the mechanical room to the sump pump crock.


What the hell is a "sump pump crock"? :laughing: I can pretty much guess, but I've never heard it called that before.  Where do you live that every house gets a sump pump? Sounds like it's a little too damp there for basements.

It's ultra damp here on the wet coast, and in most of the low areas you can't even consider a basement, unless you want one that's full of water all the time. Even crawlspaces aren't good in lots of areas. Lots of slab-on-grade houses here. The water table here is probably only 4' down most of the year, higher in winter.


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## U666A (Dec 11, 2010)

The venting requirements for a floor drain that meets specific criteria like those mentioned above... Are non existent. If a floor drain is between 450mm and about 12', and tie directly into the SBD (which has to terminate at it's upstream end in a minimum 3" stack to open air, it need not be vented. 

I think there is more to it, but I don't have my codebook in front of me.

But that is not an emergency floor drain.

In Ontario, the only reference is that "a floor drain that is installed in a residential washroom shall be allotted 0 fixture units, as it is considered to be for emergency use only".

Good job guys on insulting a new member for asking a legitimate question regarding something directly out of his jurisdiction's code book...

For shame.

UA


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## futz (Sep 17, 2009)

U666A said:


> The venting requirements for a floor drain that meets specific criteria like those mentioned above... Are non existent. If a floor drain is between 450mm and about 12', and tie directly into the SBD (which has to terminate at it's upstream end in a minimum 3" stack to open air, it need not be vented.
> 
> I think there is more to it, but I don't have my codebook in front of me.
> 
> ...


Ontario code is... different... from B.C. code (it might or might not be less so now than when I plumbed in Ontario). I lived and worked out there for a couple years in the late 80's doing mostly restaurants. Got a Toronto master plumber ticket while I was there - what a pain that was to get in a hurry with jobs waiting.



> Good job guys on insulting a new member for asking a legitimate question regarding something directly out of his jurisdiction's code book...
> 
> For shame.
> 
> UA


Someone was insulted? I didn't notice. If they were then they're way too thin-skinned to hang around on this forum. :laughing:


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## Greenguy (Jan 22, 2011)

U666A said:


> The venting requirements for a floor drain that meets specific criteria like those mentioned above... Are non existent. If a floor drain is between 450mm and about 12', and tie directly into the SBD (which has to terminate at it's upstream end in a minimum 3" stack to open air, it need not be vented.
> 
> I think there is more to it, but I don't have my codebook in front of me.
> 
> ...


 
if its tied to the Storm lines it doesn't need a vent at all, its in the national code, under floor drains.


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## U666A (Dec 11, 2010)

Greenguy said:


> if its tied to the Storm lines it doesn't need a vent at all, its in the national code, under floor drains.


Also true


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## plumber666 (Sep 19, 2010)

Although the term "emergency floor drain" appears in the definitions section of the Building Code (of which Plumbing is Part 7), it is not mentioned anywhere else in the latest BC Plumbing Code. And I'll bet the National Code either. The drainage and venting FU's are the same for all floor drains based on size. See 7.5.1.4 for the venting req's, and Table 7.4.9.3 for drainage hydraulic load. 

I remember back in the day when there were different rules for emergency and non-emergency floor drains and it was a pain in the ass venting FD trap arms for non-emerg. If there's confusion in Dawson Creek regarding them, I bet it's either an inexperienced or else a very old inspector.


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