plumbing codes

[phaedrus123]

new to the site and am enjoying it.been plumbing in nyc for 10 yrs and have gained a lot of appreciation for the old timers and how they worked.as far as i know nyc has a pretty strict code.we vent our fixtures,we dont run pex for potable water.i for one would love to see 1 code for the entire country,no more wet venting ,circuit venting etc, it is so annoying to have to learn these ways of piping when you are taught right the first time.let me tell you if i saw a plumber come to my house with a roll of pex and some pvc pipe i would tie him up with the pex.dont lower standards to save a buck,take some pride and give the customers what they deserve and are paying for,no more short cuts please.

[hj]

quote; let me tell you if i saw a plumber come to my house with a roll of pex and some pvc pipe i would tie him up with the pex.dont lower standards to save a buck

Everyone, and everything, has to adapt to the changing times. Homes would be impossibly expensive if everything was done as in the good old days. Cast iron and galvanized drainage, copper water piping, metal conduit electrical systems, etc., besides getting workmen who knew how to use them.

[Tom Sawyer]

I'm with you on the pex but I am a true believer in wet venting and circut venting. But, like it or not the plastic's are here to stay and as HJ pointed out, construction costs are already sky high and staying with copper, Cast Iron and the like is just not cost effective or possible anymore.

[phaedrus123]

well somehow we are still able to run copper and cast iron,also staying busy. i just think it is a shame how the standards are lowered and plumbing is becoming more handyman than a real trade,you as a long time plumber whom i have the utmost respect for might agree,although galvanize is a disaster.i know times change but lets be plumbers not handymen.

[hj]

The customer is the boss. IF he does NOT want to pay for the quality materials, we either adapt, or the "handyman" will take over because he WILL use those materials.

[jimbo]

The issue of a standard national code is widely debated, and dreamed about. You have 3 chances that will happen: slim, fat, and none

[hj]

WE ALMOST had a single code a few years ago, but at the last minute the contractors using the IPC code scuttled the agreement because it would have meant they would have had to give up all the "easy" ways the IPC allows.

[Tom Sawyer]

There are a whole lot of players in that game. From contractors concerned with costs to the companies that publish the books. A unified code is not on the horizon. This is an issue that could have been and should have been lobbied and pushed by the PHCC but as usual there is too much money and corruption on the line for them to be of much use.

[jimbo]

The two large code-making groups, IAMPM ( UPC, UMC) and the IPC are in the business of making money by writing and selling codes and specs. It will be hard to get them together. Then there is MA, NYC, Chicago, LA, etc. and as I understand it some other states as well that do not directly adopt one of the "big boys"

[pickle sniffer]

well somehow we are still able to run copper and cast iron,also staying busy. i just think it is a shame how the standards are lowered and plumbing is becoming more handyman than a real trade,you as a long time plumber whom i have the utmost respect for might agree,although galvanize is a disaster.i know times change but lets be plumbers not handymen.

I would have to guess that you do commercial work right. I was not crazy about pex when I was first introduced to it either. And then the big box stores started selling it. But the fact is people/Handymen/DIYers who are going to do their own plumbing, are going to go it regardless of the materials available.

As far as wet venting, don't dislike it because you are not comfortable with it. Once it clicks you will appreciate it much more. Do you have anyone you work with that can help to explain it to you?

[phaedrus123]

nope,we all do the same type,from what i can tell you there isnt a plumber in nyc who does it,commercial or residential.only time we stack vent a fixture is a toilet on the top floor that comes directly of stack before soil stack turns into stack vent.this fixture is then stack vented.im not knocking wet venting just trying to understand it so when i have to do an isometric drawing of a wet vented section i can so it.by the way does wet venting only pertain to bathrooms,how do you wet vent a kitchen sink back to back with a bathroom.thanks mr sniffer.

[Tom Sawyer]

Only bath groups and bath fixtures can be wet vented. The current issue if the IPC with commentary has a very good section on proper wet venting along with lots of do's and don't diagrams.