instructables

The EASIEST Way to Calculate a 45° Offset

by JulioC150

In this article and video, i'll clarify how to calculate a 45° offset for all your plumbing tasks the EASIEST way
possible!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ1lYi9AfN8

Step 1: BACK TO SCHOOL

Alright so let go back to school for a second and remember what a hypotenuse is. In geometry, a hypotenuse is
the longest side of a right-angled triangle, the side opposite of the right angle. The length of the hypotenuse of a
right triangle can be found using the Pythagorean theorem.

The Pythagorean theorem can be used several ways but today, I’ll be showing you the easiest possible way to do
it.

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Step 2: REMOVING THE FITTINGS

Another important step is removing the small portion of each fitting from your equation like you see here. For now,
we’ll mark a small reference dot in the middle of the fitting as such and come back to it later.

Step 3: THE PLAN (MEASURING BETWEEN BOTH PIPES)

So let’s take a look at a schematic that I drew earlier
that represents a pipe being off-setted at a 45* angle
to get passed a hot water tank as seen here. Let’s
just say that this pipe is a 1” copper drain line from a
steam boiler that needs to go from point A to point B.
Now the one thing you have to remember when using
this technique is to always measure the center of the
pipe and fittings as a reference for it to work.
The first thing you need to do is find a straight
reference point such as a wall or whatnot to use for
measuring the distance between both pipe centers. If
you could do this without a reference point due to
them being very close together, use this method as it
removes any falsifying that could occur if measuring
from a crooked reference point. You could also use a
laser or straight edge on the pipe to accomplish this.

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Step 4: PYTHAGOREAN THEOREM

Once you’ve found the measurement between both pipes, multiply that number by 1.4142 to get your hypotenuse
or diagonal pipe measurement.

Step 5: REMOVING THE FITTINGS FROM THE EQUATION

Here’s the part where some people tend to block so we could better understand why we need to
when using this technique and, it’s when removing subtract from our diagonal pipe.
the fittings out of the equation, so let’s clarify this part
together once and for all. The reason why we do this is if we don’t, the length of
the pipe will be too great and your measurement will
Since your measurements were taken from center to be off. So calculate from the center of the fitting or the
center, it’s now easy to remove the fittings out of the black mark in this case to the end of the hub portion.
equation and here’s how to do it. Grab your fitting and This measurement needs to be subtracted 2 times
lay it on its side to be able to properly see how much since you have 2 45* fittings and you’ll be left with
you need to remove. Now, you remember that mark your final pipe which is now the correct length.
we drew earlier, well we’ll use it as a reference point

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Step 6: DONE!

This technique works on any fitting that needs a 45*
offset whether it’s up on a ceiling or if it’s an
underground pipe. You could get away with doing this
type of work by eye, but it’ll never give you a precise
result like this. It’s a much more professional way of
completing this task and should be in your book of
things to know.
As a bonus, I put together a series of fitting
specification charts such as Cast Iron, copper, PVC
and Asbestos for storm drains etc., that give all the
dimensions to all the fittings in case you don’t have
them on hand.
Cast iron soil fittings for drain, waste and vents:
https://goo.gl/DJZis8
Copper fittings : https://goo.gl/b8CmsM
SCH-40 PVC fittings: https://goo.gl/UFnVKx
Logard storm drain fittings : https://goo.gl/rCvcf4
ABS fittings: https://goo.gl/rTGdau
SDR-35 underground system fittings:
https://goo.gl/7h6H1H

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