Water Heater In Attic Texas Code
The international plumbing code ipc this is a set of plumbing codes that meshes well with the international code council s icc whole family of building codes.
Water heater in attic texas code. This is because a gas water heater could become a source of ignition for flammable or combustible vapors such as gasoline that may have accumulated near the garage floor the vapors settle because they are heavier than air. The two most prevalent plumbing codes used in the united states are. 360 venting of equipment cited at the end of this page. Installing a tank water heater might seem easy but homeowners who refinish their basements often create a number of code violations with respect to the water heater.
606 2 location of shutoff valves. See the national fuel gas code chapter 24 fuel gas that includes discussion of venting requirements in section g2427 p. With the international construction codes forming the basis of texas statewide plumbing and heating codes installation of hot water heaters meets internationally agreed upon conventions. This is as easy as heading down to the local planning or building department to ask for one.
This shut off allows water to be turned off to only the water heater while the rest of the house continues to have cold water service. G2427 3 503 3 design and construction. Since 2007 a plumbing permit has been needed to install a hot water heater in texas requiring a licensed plumber to tackle the project in accordance with state plumbing code. Attics containing a water heater shall be provided with and opening and unobstructed passageway large enough to allow removal of the water heater.
Water heater code requires a separate shut off for the cold water supply at the water heater. The passageway shall be not less than 30 inches 762 mm in height and 22 inches 559 mm in width and not more than 20 feet 6096 mm in length when measured along the centerline of the passageway from the opening to the water heater. Attics containing a water heater shall be provided with an opening and unobstructed passageway large enough to allow removal of the water heater. Water supply and distribution code section.
Gas fired water heater chimney codes in the u s. Attics are for the most part empty storage zones of a home so simply pulling down a string for attic door gives simple access to the water heater. It is even in our texas plumbing code 502 3. You re only looking at 20 to 100 out of pocket as opposed to several hundred dollars to call in a plumber.
2018 ipc chapter 6. The first permit is for the water heater itself. Now a secondary line of reasoning for placing a water heater in the attic is the high temperatures that occur in an attic particularly during the summer months. Code expert glenn mathewson describes 10 common water heater code issues including confusion about drip pans and drains unsupported expansion tanks and plastic vents lack of combustion air and more.
Your attic can easily reach temperatures of 120 140 degrees which is optimum for keeping the water in your tank sufficiently hot without using any energy. Water heater strap codes are a subset of the plumbing codes in each state.