Fixtures, Faucets and Fixture Fittings

Fixtures, Faucets and Fixture Fittings

Reference text for the fixtures area. Each rule below is stated from the printed line of the 2024

International Plumbing Code (IPC 2024) that carries it, and names the section it comes from. Numbers

appear only where the printed line carries them.

Chapter 4 is the fixture chapter: it governs the materials, design and installation of plumbing

fixtures, faucets and fixture fittings according to the occupancy, and it supplies the minimum number

of fixtures for each type of occupancy (IPC 2024, 401.1). Everything below comes from that chapter —

its general provisions, fixture materials, minimum plumbing facilities, accessible facilities and

installation rules, its faucet and fitting rules and its shower rules — with two additions from

outside the chapter, where the numbers that belong to a fixture are kept: what the fixture is

supplied with, and what it loads the drain with.

1. The chapter's ground rules

The chapter's reach is stated in its first line: materials, design and installation of fixtures,

faucets and fixture fittings, taken according to the type of occupancy, together with the minimum

fixture count for the various occupancies (IPC 2024, 401.1).

Two water closets are barred and one urinal type with them. A water closet is prohibited where its

trap seal is concealed, where it has an unventilated space, or where its walls are not thoroughly

washed at each discharge as ASME A112.19.2/CSA B45.1 requires; so is a water closet that lets the bowl

contents siphon back into the tank. Trough urinals are prohibited (IPC 2024, 401.2).

Water conservation enters the fixture chapter by reference: fixtures and fixture fittings take their

maximum flow rate and flush volume limits from Section 604.4 (IPC 2024, 401.3).

2. Material of the fixture itself

A fixture is made of approved materials, with surfaces that are smooth and impervious, free of defects

and of concealed fouling surfaces, and it conforms to the standards the code cites; where the surface

is porcelain enameled, it must resist acid (IPC 2024, 402.1).

Specialty fixtures that the code does not otherwise cover are made of stainless steel, soapstone,

chemical stoneware or plastic, or are lined with lead, copper-base alloy, nickel-copper alloy,

corrosion-resistant steel or another material especially suited to what the fixture does (IPC 2024,

402.2).

Two sheet materials carry a weight. Sheet copper for general applications conforms to ASTM B152 and

weighs at least 12 ounces per square foot (3.7 kg/m2) (IPC 2024, 402.3). Sheet lead for pans weighs at

least 4 pounds per square foot (19.5 kg/m2) and is coated with asphalt paint or another approved

coating (IPC 2024, 402.4).

3. Minimum plumbing facilities

3.1 The table the minimum comes from

The minimum number of fixtures is the one Table 403.1 shows, read against the actual use of the

building or space; a use the table does not show is considered on its own by the code official; and

the occupant count comes from the International Building Code (IPC 2024, 403.1).

Table 403.1 is titled for the minimum number of required plumbing fixtures and is keyed to an

occupancy's classification and description. Its columns, as printed, are the water closets for males

and for females (urinals being governed by Section 424.2 rather than by this table), the lavatories

for males and females, the bathtubs and showers, the drinking fountains (governed by Section 410) and

a column of other fixtures. The title also sends the reader to Section 403.1.1 for the calculation and

to Section 403.2 for separate facilities (IPC 2024, Table 403.1).

Six rules sit in the table's notes:

number, and the International Building Code fixes the number of occupants (IPC 2024, Table 403.1).

kept separate (IPC 2024, Table 403.1).

recipient sleeping units, provided every patient sleeping unit opens directly onto that room and the

user's privacy is provided for (IPC 2024, Table 403.1).

number of facilities is worked out (IPC 2024, Table 403.1).

(IPC 2024, Table 403.1).

Section 609 of the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code (IPC 2024, Table 403.1).

3.2 How the count is calculated

The calculation is prescribed step by step: halve the total occupant load to get each sex's occupant

load; apply each fixture type's ratio from Table 403.1 to that figure; round the resulting fraction up

to the next whole number. With several occupancies in one calculation, the fractional results are

added together first and the total is rounded up afterwards (IPC 2024, 403.1.1).

The halving step has two exceptions: approved statistical data showing the sexes distributed otherwise

than 50 percent of each; and multiple-user facilities designed for all genders, whose fixture count is

calculated at 100 percent of the total occupant load, each fixture type following ICC A117.1

(IPC 2024, 403.1.1).

3.3 Single-user facilities, and where the lavatories go

Fixtures inside single-user toilet facilities and single-user bathing rooms — family or assisted-use

rooms included — count toward the building's or tenant space's required total, and the fixtures in

those rooms are deducted proportionately from the gender ratios of Table 403.1. Such rooms are

identified as open to everyone regardless of sex, and the total is taken either from the required

number of separate facilities or from the aggregate of any mix of single-user and multiple-user

facilities (IPC 2024, 403.1.2).

Where a sex has two or more toilet facilities, the lavatories required are distributed in proportion

to the male-designated or female-designated water closets of that sex (IPC 2024, 403.1.3).

3.4 Separate facilities for each sex

Separate toilet facilities per sex are required wherever fixtures are required (IPC 2024, 403.2). Six

exceptions release that requirement: dwelling units and sleeping units; a structure or tenant space

whose total occupant load — employees and customers together — is 15 or fewer; a mercantile occupancy

with a maximum occupant load of 100 or fewer; a business occupancy with a maximum occupant load of

25 or fewer; single-user toilet rooms provided under Section 403.1.2, which need no sex designation;

and rooms holding both water closets and lavatories and designed for everyone regardless of sex, where

water closet privacy follows Section 405.3.4 and urinal privacy Section 405.3.5 (IPC 2024, 403.2).

3.5 Public and employee facilities

Public occupancy brings its own requirement: customers, patrons and visitors get public toilet

facilities, employees get toilet facilities, and the number of fixtures inside those facilities is

worked out under Section 403 for all users, with employee facilities either separate or combined with

the public ones (IPC 2024, 403.3).

Two situations need no public toilet facilities: a parking garage run without attendants, and a

structure or tenant space built for quick transactions — takeout, pickup, drop-off — whose public

access area is 300 square feet (28 m2) or less (IPC 2024, 403.3).

Access to what is required has rules of its own. The route to a required public toilet facility must

not pass through a kitchen, a storage room or a closet; access must come from inside the building or

from its exterior; and the public keeps that access whenever the building is occupied (IPC 2024,

403.3.1). A toilet facility must not open directly into a room where food is prepared for the public

(IPC 2024, 403.3.2).

Distance and level are limited outside malls: the required public and employee facilities sit no more

than one story above or below the space they serve, and the path of travel to them stops at 500 feet

(152 m) — except in factory and industrial occupancies and in Group S occupancies, where an approved

greater distance and a different location are allowed (IPC 2024, 403.3.3). Inside covered and open

malls the same one-story limit holds with a shorter path: 300 feet (91 m). There, the required

facilities are based on the mall's total square footage and are installed in each individual store or

in a central toilet area placed as the section directs, with the distance to a central area measured

from the main entrance of any store or tenant space, and from the employees' work area where employee

facilities are not in the store itself (IPC 2024, 403.3.4).

Pay facilities may be installed only on top of the required minimum, and the required facilities stay

free of charge (IPC 2024, 403.3.5).

A toilet facility built for multiple occupants has an egress door that does not lock from inside.

The exception allows an inside-locking door on three conditions: only authorized personnel can lock it

from inside, by key or another approved means; the door opens readily from inside the room as Section

1010.2 of the International Building Code requires; and it can be unlocked from outside by key or

another approved means. Family and assisted-use toilet facilities are outside this provision

(IPC 2024, 403.3.6).

Signage identifies the users of a required public toilet facility — males, females, or everyone

regardless of sex — and goes where it is readily visible near the entrance to each facility, with

accessible facilities following Section 1111 of the International Building Code (IPC 2024, 403.4).

Directional signs showing the route to the required public facilities go in a lobby, corridor, aisle or

similar space, visible from the main entrance to the building or tenant space (IPC 2024, 403.4.1).

Drinking fountains may sit outside individual tenant spaces where public fountains lie within 500 feet

(152 m) of the tenant space's most remote point and no more than one story above or below it — 300 feet

(91 m) where the tenant space is in a covered or open mall (IPC 2024, 403.5). Service sinks may sit

outside individual tenant spaces in a covered mall where they lie within 300 feet (91 m) of the most

remote point in the tenant space and no more than one story above or below it, and a service sink goes

on an accessible route (IPC 2024, 403.6).

4. Accessible facilities

Accessible plumbing facilities and fixtures follow Chapter 11 of the International Building Code

(IPC 2024, 404.1), and the fixtures themselves are installed as ICC A117.1 requires (IPC 2024, 404.2).

Under an accessible lavatory or sink, the water supply and drain pipes are covered or shaped to

protect against contact, with coverings complying with ASME A112.18.9 or ASTM C1822 (IPC 2024,

404.3).

5. Installing a fixture

Supply lines and fittings at every fixture are installed so that backflow cannot occur (IPC 2024,

405.1). A fixture is installed to leave easy access for cleaning the fixture and the space around it

(IPC 2024, 405.2), and it is set level and properly aligned against the adjacent walls (IPC 2024,

405.3).

5.1 Spacing

The spacing rules for water closets, urinals, lavatories and bidets, and the compartment sizes, are:

In employee and public toilet facilities, a required lavatory sits in the same room as the required

water closet (IPC 2024, 405.3.2). Piping, fixtures and equipment are placed so as not to interfere

with the working of windows, doors or other means of egress (IPC 2024, 405.3.3).

5.2 Compartments and partitions

Each water closet the public or employees use has its own compartment: walls or partitions plus a

door for privacy. Three exceptions apply — no compartment is needed in a single-occupant toilet room

with a lockable door; one water closet in a child day care facility with two or more water closets may

stand outside an enclosing compartment; and the provision does not reach toilet areas in Group I-3

housing (IPC 2024, 405.3.4).

Each urinal the public or employees use likewise has its own area, screened by walls or partitions.

Between the partitions at a urinal the horizontal dimension is at least 30 inches (762 mm); the

partitions start no higher than 12 inches (305 mm) above the finished floor and carry on at least

60 inches (1524 mm) above it; and they reach at least 18 inches (457 mm) out from the wall surface at

each side of the urinal, or to a point at least 6 inches (152 mm) past the urinal's outermost front

lip as measured from the finished backwall surface, whichever of the two distances is greater.

Partitions are not required in a single-occupant or family/assisted-use toilet room with a lockable

door, and in a child day care facility with two or more urinals one urinal may stand without them

(IPC 2024, 405.3.5).

5.3 Joining the drain to the fixture

The floor outlet fixture's drain joins through a floor flange, or through a waste connector with a

sealing gasket, whose joint passes the tightness test of ASME A112.4.3 and which is installed as the

manufacturer instructs; the flange is fixed to the drain and anchored to the structure. A wall-hung

water closet joins through an approved extension nipple or horn adaptor and is bolted to its hanger

with corrosion-resistant bolts or screws. Sealing the joint is done with an approved elastomeric

gasket, a flange-to-fixture connection meeting ASME A112.4.3, or an approved setting compound

(IPC 2024, 405.4).

Floor flange thickness is set by material: at least 0.125 inch (3.2 mm) for copper alloy, at least

0.25 inch (6.4 mm) for plastic, and at least 0.25 inch (6.4 mm) with a caulking depth of at least

2 inches (51 mm) for cast iron or galvanized malleable iron. A hard lead floor flange weighs at least

1 pound 9 ounces (0.7 kg) and is a lead alloy with at least 7.75 percent antimony by weight; closet

screws and bolts are copper alloy; and flanges are fixed to the building structure with

corrosion-resistant screws or bolts (IPC 2024, 405.4.1).

A floor outlet fixture is fastened to the floor or to the flanges with screws or bolts of

corrosion-resistant material (IPC 2024, 405.4.2). A wall-hung water closet bowl hangs from a concealed

metal carrier fixed to the structural members so that no strain reaches the fixture connector or any

other part of the plumbing system, the carrier meeting ASME A112.6.1M or ASME A112.6.2 (IPC 2024,

405.4.3).

5.4 The rest of the installation rules

A fixture with a pumped waste complies with ASME A112.3.4/CSA B45.9 and is installed as the

manufacturer instructs (IPC 2024, 405.5). Any joint where a fixture meets a wall or floor is sealed

(IPC 2024, 405.6). In mental health centers, pipes and traps stay concealed and fixtures are bolted

through walls (IPC 2024, 405.7).

An overflow on a fixture is designed and installed so that, with the stopper closed, standing water

cannot rise into the overflow, and so that no water stays in the overflow once the fixture is empty

(IPC 2024, 405.8). The overflow discharges into the drainage system on the inlet or fixture side of

the trap, except for the overflow of a flush tank serving a water closet or urinal, which discharges

into the fixture it serves (IPC 2024, 405.8.1).

Slip joints take an approved elastomeric gasket and are confined to the trap outlet, the trap inlet

and the inside of the trap seal. Where slip-joint connections are concealed, an access panel or

utility space with a smallest dimension of at least 12 inches (305 mm), or another approved

arrangement, gives access to them for inspection and repair (IPC 2024, 405.9).

Mounting surfaces for integral fixture fittings — on factory-made fixtures and on fixtures built on

site — meet the design requirements of ASME A112.19.2/CSA B45.1 or ASME A112.19.3/CSA B45.4 (IPC 2024,

405.10).

6. Faucets and fixture fittings

Faucets and fixture fittings conform to ASME A112.18.1/CSA B125.1; where they supply drinking water

for people to ingest, they also meet NSF 61, Section 9; and flexible water connectors under continuous

pressure follow Section 605.6 (IPC 2024, 412.1). A faucet or supply fitting meets the water consumption

limits of Section 604.4 (IPC 2024, 412.1.1). A waste fitting conforms to ASME A112.18.2/CSA B125.2 or

ASTM F409, or to one of the standards Tables 702.1 and 702.4 list (IPC 2024, 412.1.2).

6.1 Shower, tub and whirlpool valves

An individual shower valve, or a tub-shower combination valve, is a balanced-pressure, thermostatic or

combined balanced-pressure/thermostatic valve meeting ASSE 1016/ASME A112.1016/CSA B125.16 or ASME

A112.18.1/CSA B125.1. It is installed where it is used, rated for the flow of the shower head fitted

to it, and equipped to cap its setting at 120°F (49°C), adjusted in the field as the manufacturer

instructs so the water delivered stays at or below 120°F (49°C). An in-line thermostatic valve does not

satisfy this section (IPC 2024, 412.3).

Gang showers fed from one tempered supply pipe are controlled either by an approved automatic

temperature control mixing valve meeting ASSE 1069 or CSA B125.3, or by an individual balanced-pressure,

thermostatic or combination valve on each head, meeting ASSE 1016/ASME A112.1016/CSA B125.16 or ASME

A112.18.1/CSA B125.1, installed at the point of use and rated for that head's flow. Either way the

valve can cap its setting at 120°F (49°C), adjusted in the field to deliver water no hotter than

120°F (49°C), and an ASSE 1069 or CSA B125.3 valve must be accessible (IPC 2024, 412.4).

A bathtub or whirlpool bathtub valve either has a water-temperature-limiting device meeting ASSE

1070/ASME A112.1070/CSA B125.70 or is supplied by a water heater meeting ASSE 1082 or ASSE 1084 —

unless the valve is a combination tub/shower valve under Section 412.3. The limiting device can cap its

setting at 120°F (49°C) and, where adjustable, is set in the field to deliver hot water no hotter than

120°F (49°C). Where the device meets ASSE 1070/ASME A112.1070/CSA B125.70, it must be accessible, with

one exception: a nonadjustable device of that standard built into a fixture fitting needs no access of

its own, provided the fitting can be reached for replacement (IPC 2024, 412.5).

6.2 Remaining fitting rules

A hand-held shower conforms to ASME A112.18.1/CSA B125.1 and either carries its own backflow

protection under that standard or is protected by a device meeting ASME A112.18.3 or ASSE 1014

(IPC 2024, 412.2). A faucet or fitting with a hose-connected outlet conforms to ASME A112.18.3 or ASME

A112.18.1/CSA B125.1 (IPC 2024, 412.6).

A temperature-actuated, flow-reduction device used on an individual fixture fitting conforms to ASSE

1062, and counts as an approved way of capping the outlet water at 120°F (49°C) or below — but it

cannot stand alone in place of the shower valves Section 412.3 requires or the bathtub and whirlpool

tub valves Section 412.5 requires (IPC 2024, 412.7).

A deck-mounted bath/shower transfer valve with an integral atmospheric vacuum breaker conforms to ASME

A112.18.1/CSA B125.1 (IPC 2024, 412.8). A personal hygiene device built into a water closet or water

closet seat conforms to ASME A112.4.2/CSA B45.16 (IPC 2024, 412.9). A head shampoo sink faucet receives

hot water capped at 120°F (49°C) at most, and has integral check valves against crossover between the

hot and cold supply connections; the temperature is held by one of three means — a limiting device

meeting ASSE 1070/ASME A112.1070/CSA B125.70, a water heater meeting ASSE 1082 or ASSE 1084, or a

temperature-actuated, flow-reduction device meeting ASSE 1062 (IPC 2024, 412.10). A prerinse spray

valve for commercial food service conforms to ASME A112.18.1/CSA B125.1 (IPC 2024, 412.11), and an

electrically heated or cooled water dispenser complies with ASSE 1023 (IPC 2024, 412.12).

7. Showers

A prefabricated shower or shower compartment conforms to ASME A112.19.1/CSA B45.2, ASME

A112.19.2/CSA B45.1, ASME A112.19.3/CSA B45.4 or CSA B45.5/IAPMO Z124, and an individual shower's

valve follows Section 412.3 (IPC 2024, 421.1). The water supply riser from valve to shower head, exposed

or concealed, is fixed to the structure — with support devices made for that piping material, or with

fittings anchored by screws (IPC 2024, 421.2).

7.1 The waste outlet

A shower waste outlet is at least 1 1/2 inches (38 mm) across, and outside bathtubs it carries a

removable strainer at least 3 inches (76 mm) across whose openings are at least 1/4 inch (6.4 mm) in

their least dimension. Where a shower space has no outlet of its own, the outlet's position and the

floor's pitch keep one shower's waste from crossing the floor area serving another, and the outlet is

fastened to the waste pipe in an approved manner (IPC 2024, 421.3). Waste fittings conform to ASME

A112.18.2/CSA B125.2 (IPC 2024, 421.3.1).

7.2 The compartment

Interior cross-sectional area of a shower compartment is at least 900 square inches (0.58 m2), and its

least dimension at least 30 inches (762 mm), both measured on the finished interior and leaving out

fixture valves, shower heads, soap dishes and safety grab bars or rails. Except where Section 404

applies, those measurements are taken at the height of the top of the threshold and at a point tangent

to its centerline, and continue up to at least 70 inches (1778 mm) above the shower drain outlet

(IPC 2024, 421.4). A compartment whose least dimension drops to 25 inches (635 mm) is allowed only if

its cross-sectional area reaches at least 1,300 square inches (0.838 m2) (IPC 2024, 421.4).

Floors of bathtubs and showers, the wall areas above built-in tubs that have shower heads installed,

and the walls of shower compartments are smooth, corrosion-resistant, nonabsorbent and waterproof.

Those walls rise at least 6 feet (1829 mm) above the room floor and at least 70 inches (1778 mm) above

the drain of the tub or shower, and they meet each other and the tub or shower floor in a watertight

joint (IPC 2024, 421.4.1). The access and egress opening of the compartment has a clear, unobstructed

finished width of at least 22 inches (559 mm) (IPC 2024, 421.4.2).

7.3 Floors, receptors and linings

Shower floor surfaces are impervious, noncorrosive, nonabsorbent and waterproof (IPC 2024, 421.5), and

the floor or receptor under a shower compartment lies on a smooth, structurally sound base

(IPC 2024, 421.5.1).

Without a prefabricated receptor, the floor under a shower compartment is lined and made watertight

with a material meeting Sections 421.5.2.1 through 421.5.2.6. The liner turns up on every side at

least 2 inches (51 mm) above the finished threshold, is recessed and fastened to an approved backing so

as not to take space needed for wall covering, and is neither nailed nor perforated anywhere less than

1 inch (25 mm) above the finished threshold. It pitches 1/4 unit vertical in 12 units horizontal — a

2 percent slope — toward the fixture drains, and is fixed to the waste outlet at the seepage entrance

in a watertight joint. The finished liner is tested under Section 312.10 (IPC 2024, 421.5.2). Two

exceptions release the requirement: floor surfaces under shower heads used for rinsing and laid

directly on the ground, and a sheet-applied, load-bearing, bonded waterproof membrane used as the

liner, which need not be recessed (IPC 2024, 421.5.2).

The lining materials, with their standards: plasticized PVC sheet meeting ASTM D4551, solvent-welded

as the manufacturer instructs (IPC 2024, 421.5.2.1); nonplasticized chlorinated polyethylene (CPE)

sheet meeting ASTM D4068, joined as the manufacturer instructs (IPC 2024, 421.5.2.2); sheet lead

weighing at least 4 pounds per square foot (19.5 kg/m2), coated with asphalt paint or another approved

coating, kept off conducting substances other than the drain it connects to by 15-pound (6.80 kg)

asphalt felt or an equivalent, and joined by burning (IPC 2024, 421.5.2.3); sheet copper meeting ASTM

B152 and weighing at least 12 ounces per square foot (3.7 kg/m2), held away from conducting substances

other than the drain it connects to by the same 15-pound (6.80 kg) asphalt felt or an equivalent, and

joined by brazing or soldering (IPC 2024, 421.5.2.4); sheet-applied, load-bearing, bonded waterproof

membrane meeting ANSI A118.10 and applied as the manufacturer instructs (IPC 2024, 421.5.2.5); and

liquid-type, trowel-applied, load-bearing, bonded waterproof material meeting ANSI A118.10 and applied

as the manufacturer instructs (IPC 2024, 421.5.2.6).

Windows and doors inside a shower enclosure follow the safety glazing requirements of the

International Building Code (IPC 2024, 421.6).

8. What a fixture loads and what it is supplied with

8.1 Load: fixture units and trap size

Table 709.1's drainage fixture unit values give each kind of fixture its relative load weight, for

estimating what a soil or waste pipe carries and for use with Tables 710.1(1) and 710.1(2) when soil,

waste and vent pipes are sized (IPC 2024, 709.1). The same table carries each fixture's minimum trap

size, and two of its notes bear on fixtures: a shower head over a bathtub or whirlpool bathtub

attachment does not raise that bathtub's fixture unit value at all (IPC 2024, Table 709.1), and trap

size and fixture outlet size are kept consistent with each other (IPC 2024, Table 709.1).

A fixture the table omits takes its fixture unit load from the size of its outlet, under Table 709.2,

and its minimum trap size is the drainage outlet size but never below 1 1/4 inches (32 mm)

(IPC 2024, 709.2).

8.2 Supply: capacity, consumption and size

The capacity a fixture supply pipe outlet must reach under peak demand is given by Table 604.3, which

states a flow rate in gallons per minute and a flow pressure in pounds per square inch for each outlet

it covers; a fixture or appliance the table omits takes its minimum flow rate and flow pressure from

the manufacturer's installation instructions (IPC 2024, 604.3). Maximum consumption flow rates and

quantities for all plumbing fixtures and fixture fittings come from Table 604.4, where the exceptions

are blowout design water closets using at most 3 1/2 gallons (13 L) per flushing cycle, vegetable

sprays, clinical sinks using at most 4 1/2 gallons (17 L) per flushing cycle, service sinks and

emergency showers (IPC 2024, 604.4). A fixture supply pipe's minimum size comes from Table 604.5, and

the supply pipe ends no more than 30 inches (762 mm) from where it connects to the fixture (IPC 2024,

604.5).