FixtureUnitFixture units in, pipe size out — the table the code actually uses.

What size vent for a 4″ drain 80 feet away?

4″ drain, 80 ft of vent
4″
half the drain would be 2″, but 80 ft of developed length pushes it up 2 sizes
4″ drain, 80 ft of vent80 ftDeveloped length40 ftLength threshold
Vent size4″
Minimum by the half-rulehalf of a 4″ drain, never below 1¼″2″
Developed lengthmeasured along the pipe — elbows, offsets and the vertical, not the straight line to the roof80ft
Length thresholdpast this, go up a size40ft
DFU a 4″ branch carries160DFU

Notes

  • Two rules, and people only remember the first. A vent is never smaller than half the drain it serves and never below 1¼″ — that gives 2″ here. The second rule is developed length: friction grows with the run, so a long vent has to be larger. At 80 ft that pushes this one to 4″.
  • Developed length is measured along the pipe. Every elbow, every offset and the whole vertical rise count. It is not the distance from the fixture to the roof measured on a drawing — running 60 ft of 1½″ because the roof looks close is exactly how a trap at the far end gets siphoned dry.
  • What the vent actually does is protect the trap seal. Water falling down a stack drags air with it. Without a path for replacement air, that suction pulls the water out of the nearest trap, and then sewer gas has an open door into the room. A vent that is undersized does not fail loudly — it fails as a smell nobody can place.
  • A dry trap smells the same as a broken one. Floor drains and guest bathrooms that go months without use lose their seal to evaporation, not to venting. Before re-plumbing anything, pour a bucket of water down and wait a day.
  • Figures here follow the IPC. UPC jurisdictions differ on several points — wet venting and island fixtures especially — and the local inspector decides. Use this to size a plan and to read a quote, not to argue at inspection.

A 4″ drain with 80 ft of vent

4″. The half-rule alone would give 2″; developed length is what moves it.

Two rules, and people only remember the first

A vent is never smaller than half the drain it serves, and never below 1¼″.

The second rule is developed length. Friction grows with the run, so a long vent has to be larger. Past about 40 ft, go up a size.

Developed length is measured along the pipe

Every elbow, every offset and the whole vertical rise count.

It is not the distance from the fixture to the roof on a drawing. Running 60 ft of 1½″ because the roof looks close is exactly how a trap at the far end gets siphoned dry.

What the vent is actually for

Water falling down a stack drags air with it. Without a path for replacement air, that suction pulls the water out of the nearest trap — and then sewer gas has an open door into the room.

An undersized vent does not fail loudly. It fails as a smell nobody can place.

A dry trap smells the same as a broken one

Floor drains and guest bathrooms that go months unused lose their seal to evaporation, not to venting.

Pour a bucket of water down and wait a day before re-plumbing anything.

Figures follow the IPC. UPC jurisdictions differ on wet venting and island fixtures, and the local inspector decides.

Nearby sizes