What’s in the future for plumbing codes?
By Ron George,CPD,
President, Ron George Design & Consulting Svcs.
I remember watching The Jetsons and thinking that a lot of things on that show could never happen. The Jetsons lived in skypad apartments, and George Jetson flew to work at Spacely Sprockets in a flying car that folded up into a briefcase. His workweek was only three days long because advanced technology allowed people to work faster. So far, a great deal of the show is still science fiction, but some things have actually become reality.
On the show, computers or robots did many things. There were “code red” warnings when computers and electronics worked against their users. Today, computers crash or get viruses and work against us on a regular basis. People often talked to one another on a television phone or a holographic phone. Now we have video phones and video software and are able to make video calls on our computers. When the show first aired, propeller airplanes were still the norm, and the top air speed was about 240 miles per hour. Cars in the show flew at 500 mph. Now, traveling on a plane at a cruising speed of 600 mph is normal.
The future has arrived in the plumbing industry also. I remember when there were codes that typically required drainpipes inside a building to be made of cast iron hub and spigot pipe with poured lead and oakum joints or galvanized pipe with threaded Durham fitting joints or copper drainage, waste and vent (DWV) piping. Over the years, the codes have allowed other materials such as PVC, ABS and stainless steel for sanitary drainage, waste and vent materials. I also remember when plastic piping was not allowed in buildings more than three stories in height because of concerns about its contributing to the vertical spreading of fire. New advances in firestopping technology have eliminated those concerns.
I also remember resistance to new technologies such as hubless pipe couplings and alternative venting methods such as combined waste and vent systems, wet venting and air admittance valves. Most of these products or installation techniques are now allowed by the model codes.
There are a few other things I have seen in the industry that must be addressed by the plumbing codes in the future. Following are some new or future plumbing technologies that are on the horizon.
Chemical waste air admittance valves
Manufacturers have recently come out with a chemical waste air admittance valve made of chemical resistant polypropylene plastic. This is the same polypropylene material that has been used for plastic chemical waste systems for years. This new venting method should allow a significant reduction in venting costs for island-vented teaching labs where island-venting methods require extensive venting and floor penetrations.
Trap seal protection devices
Other new products on the horizon include trap seal protection devices that meet the requirements of the American Society of Sanitary Engineering’s, ASSE 1072 standard Performance Requirements for Barrier Type Floor Drain Trap Seal Protection Devices. These devices are intended to be installed in a floor drain body, and they provide a mechanical/elastomeric seal to prevent the escape of sewer gases if the trap evaporates. Caution should be used in areas where flooding can occur, where equipment drains are installed or in locations where systems automatically backwash. There is a significant flow restriction with these products. They prevent the escape of sewer gas when installed properly, but they do not prevent the evaporation of the trap. They can be easily removed, and if a trap-priming valve is omitted in lieu of installing one of these devices, the traps will dry out and sewer gas odors will be a problem.
Slip lining of lead water pipes
Slip lining of older lead water service pipes is being done to minimize lead exposure in building water service pipes. The slip lining is being done with an NSF approved polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic piping material in Europe and is now available in the United States. For information visit www.flow-liner.com.
Epoxy lining of older plumbing piping systems
There are several new companies that offer services to rehabilitate existing piping systems in place. This technology minimizes the removal and replacement of drywall, trim and associated repairs. Using an epoxy lining for existing, rusted or corroded water or drain pipes in buildings is cheaper than replacing the pipes. The epoxy lining process includes a systematic process of gaining access to several points in a piping system and using a pump for flushing of the old pipes with an abrasive slurry. The pipes are rinsed, dried with hot air and then a liquid epoxy is pumped through in one or more coatings to re-line the interior of the piping system. Hot air is again used to dry and cure the epoxy. Several companies offer this process, including Ace Dura-flow (888/775-0220), Nu-Flow (888/683-5691) or Cura-Flow (888/260-1733). Currently, there is no code language addressing this technology or the process used to line the pipes with epoxy.
Sanitary waste valves
Last year, an American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) plumbing materials and equipment task group working under the A112 main committee developed a new standard for a sanitary waste valve. The standard, ASME A112.18.8-2009 recently approved by ASME, is titled Sanitary Waste Valves for Use as an Alternate to Tubular P-Traps for Plumbing Drainage Systems. One company has been manufacturing these valves for use in the RV industry for many years and is now ready to introduce them to the plumbing industry. Because these devices are used in tubular brass traps, they are limited in size to 11/4-inch and 11/2-inch fixture drains only. They work to allow waste and air to flow downstream through the device, and they prevent sewer gas from migrating back upstream and out of the fixture drain.
Sound-reducing plastic drainage pipes
European manufacturers have been designing double- and triple-wall polypropylene plastic drainage pipe fittings to minimize the noise associated with plastic sanitary waste and vent piping. Plastic piping has often had a couple of disadvantages when compared to cast iron pipe. It has a very high rate of expansion, which must be accounted for with expansion joints in stacks and offsets in horizontal drains. Another issue with plastic drainage piping is noise. When waste is flowing in plastic piping you can hear it, because the piping is not very dense so, as the water splashes around in the pipe, it makes a waterfall or flowing water sound. This has always been a drawback in high-end construction, because no one wants to hear the flushing sounds. The development of higher density multiple layer fittings should reduce these noises but may not eliminate them. Cast iron piping is very dense and has always been a good material choice when noise is a concern.
Look for this multi-wall plastic drainage piping technology to make its way into the U.S. market soon. Once again, there will need to be a standard for the product, and the performance criteria for the standard will need to be identified. Stay tuned.
Push-fit type pipe fittings
Over the last several years, a push-on type pipe joining technology has evolved, and a standard has been developed for push-fit fittings through the American Society of Sanitary Engineers (ASSE 1061 standard). Bill Chapin has done a great job chairing this working group.
These types of fittings use tiny stainless steel teeth to grab the pipe and hold onto it, and o-rings are used to make a pressure seal. The technology is new, and some models of these devices have a ring that allows you to lift the teeth so that the fitting can be removed from the pipe. These types of connections are being used on copper, CPVC, PEX and other pipe materials as approved by the manufacturers.
I have heard that a joint with one of these fittings failed when a plumber unfamiliar with the technology put a wrench on the fitting and tried to unscrew it. Apparently, the teeth were damaged, and the joint failed. Better education is required in the industry or identification of the fitting is required to minimize this type of failure. Push-fit or push-on type fittings have many advantages, and they will allow pipes to be repaired without the use of torches or epoxy cements.
PEX piping systems
PEX piping systems are flexible plastic piping systems made of cross-linked polyethylene plastic pipe material, which has a linear molecular construction. You might be familiar with this material if you have drunk from a polyethylene plastic beer cup. If you have ever crushed one of these cups or torn it, you noticed that, because of the linear molecular arrangement, the cup tears in a linear form.
Manufacturers have learned how to take multiple layers of this material and weave it into an extrusion machine so that the different layers of the pipe are cross-linked. The resulting material is very strong and durable. It is a great product; however, with every new thing, there is a learning curve. Some piping manufacturers have concentrated only on making the pipe and have relied on others for the fittings. They have recently experienced problems similar to those that plagued the manufacturers of polybutylene piping materials a couple of decades ago. The piping is fine but, in a few isolated incidents, the joints have experienced failures.
The joint failures have mostly been attributed to batches of non-code compliant fittings. Some brass fittings came from Chinese importers and were apparently made with whatever scrap metals were handy and dumped into the furnace. It was mostly brass, but the Chinese foundries apparently did not have any quality control with reference to materials in the fittings. They had high levels of zinc and other materials. The zinc (or aluminum or other low quality materials) corroded when immersed in water, sacrificing itself to the more noble brass material and leaving a very brittle sponge-like material under magnification. This brittleness is called a dezincification process. The dezincification may take several years.
PEX piping is flexible, and it is not always restrained properly in residential applications. There have been complaints about noise associated with coils of the piping moving in the ceiling, causing bumping and sliding sounds. This occurs when the solenoid valves associated with dishwashers and clothes washers cause water hammer in the piping system; the pipe moves and bumps or makes a sliding sound when it comes into contact with drywall. The inherent movement associated with flows starting and stopping in the flexible PEX piping system has caused many joint failures, which result in water damage to the drywall.
Caution must be used with these new pipe materials to assure that the pipe is properly secured, that water hammer arrestors are installed and that fittings are stamped with the proper standard listed in the approved pipe fitting table in the codes. The fittings should be purchased from a reputable manufacturer. This should insure a very reliable system.
One model plumbing code?
A few years ago the two model plumbing and mechanical code organizations ICC and IAPMO came together at a “One Code Summit” in Denver, Colorado, to discuss merging into one model code organization. They held meetings over a period of about a year and a half, and they came very close to having one model code. The presentation made by each organization showed that there was an enormous amount of money spent on the “code wars.” Money was spent flying model code representatives to meet with and lobby for adoption of the model codes in many battleground states. It was determined that this money could be better used and could go toward educational programs.
In the end, the two sides came very close to merging, but the sticking point had to do with which organization would control the plumbing code. The voting process and the makeup of the committees would not have been consistent between the codes. One group would control the makeup of the plumbing code committee and the voting processes independent from the standardized procedures for all the other codes. Since that time, the two organizations have continued with business as usual. I for one would like to see one model code in the future, but I am not sure that I will see it in my lifetime. I sure hope that I am wrong.
2012 code release schedule
The 2012 edition of the International codes is through all of the hearings and in the process of being published in book and electronic format. The 2012 International Codes are scheduled to be published around April 30, 2011. This should give local governments plenty of time to review the 2012 code and adopt the codes through local ordinances in late 2011 or early 2012.
2015 International Codes
The 2015 edition of the International codes will soon be in the code development process. Following are the deadlines for the 2015 code development cycle as of this date:
Committee application deadline: June 1, 2011
Group A code deadlines
Group A codes = International Building Code, International Fuel Gas Code, International Mechanical Code, International Plumbing Code, International Private Sewage Disposal Code
1. Code change proposal deadline: January 3, 2012
2. Web posting of proposed changes to the I-codes: March 12, 2012.
3. Code development hearings: April 29 – May 6, 2012, Sheraton Dallas Hotel, Dallas, TX
4. Web posting of the Report on the Public Hearing: June 8, 2012
5. Deadline for receipt of public comments: August 1, 2012
6. Web posting of public comments in final action agenda
7. Annual conference: October 21 – 24, 2012, Portland, Ore. Convention Center
8. Final action hearings: October 24 – 28, 2012, Portland, Ore.
Group B code deadlines
Group B codes = Administrative sections from all codes, International Existing Building Code, International Energy Conservation Code, International Fire Code, International Green Construction Code, International Performance Code, International Pool Code, International Property Maintenance Code, International Residential Code, International Wildland/Urban Interface Code, International Zoning Code
1. Code change proposal deadline: January 3, 2013
2. Web posting of proposed changes to the I-codes: March 11, 2013
3. Code development hearings: April 21 – 28, 2013, Sheraton Dallas Hotel, Dallas, TX
4. Web posting of the Report on the Public Hearing: June 7, 2013
5. Deadline for receipt of public comments: August 1, 2013
6. Web posting of public comments in final action agenda: September 9, 2013
7. Final action hearings: late Oct/early November, location TBD. n
Ron George is president of Ron George Design & Consulting Services. He has served as Chairman of the International Residential Plumbing & Mechanical Code Committee. To contact Ron, write him at rgdc@rongeorgedesign.com.