Code Draft — written, not yet applied plumb.hanger.steel
Hanger spacing for steel water and drainage pipe
How far apart steel water and drainage pipe may be supported under the plumbing code, 12 feet horizontal and 15 feet vertical; steel gas pipe hangs closer, under the fuel gas code (plumb.hanger.gas-steel).
| When | The app uses |
|---|---|
| horizontal | 12 ft |
| vertical | 15 ft |
- Source
- IPC · 308.5, Table 308.5 · read the public text
- Editions checked
- 2018 · 2021
- Used by
- not applied by the app yet
- Amendments
No state or local amendment to this rule is on file. Not on file means the model code as written — check your jurisdiction.
A model code the authority having jurisdiction adopts.
Steel pipe is stiff, so it spans farther between hangers than copper or plastic. On a takeoff of steel water or drainage pipe that is one hanger per 12 feet of horizontal run, rounded up per run.
This is the plumbing code's table, and it covers the pipe the plumbing code governs: water supply and drainage. A steel gas line is not under it. The plumbing code hands fuel gas piping to the fuel gas code, which supports steel gas pipe closer, every 10 feet at 1-1/4 inch and larger and closer still below that (plumb.hanger.gas-steel).
What the app does with it
Nothing yet: the app does not apply this rule, and no course card teaches it since the gas card moved to the fuel gas rule. Unlike PEX, copper, PVC and cast iron, a steel line type is not offered a hanger row, and Bid Check's hanger row stays quiet about it.
Verify against your edition
Table 308.5 in the 2021 text gives steel pipe 12 feet horizontal and 15 feet vertical. Settled 2026-09-27 by Claude on the owner's delegation, from the dossier's research and the model code text; not checked against a printed book or a local amendment. Until that date this rule was taught on the course's black steel gas line at 12 feet; the fuel gas code governs that line, at 10 feet.
Cited by section, not reprinted: the code text belongs to its publisher. Company practice is not a rule here — it lives with your pricing.