PVC Plumbing Pipes in a 4-story
I went through a house I am planning to buy with an engineer yesterday and he pointed out that the current owner seems to have redone a lot of the plumbing with PVC piping and that PVC is not legal for 4 story row houses and that I might run into trouble if I want…
I went through a house I am planning to buy with an engineer yesterday and he pointed out that the current owner seems to have redone a lot of the plumbing with PVC piping and that PVC is not legal for 4 story row houses and that I might run into trouble if I want to change the C of O (which I do) when the building inspector comes in.
He mentioned that PVC will probably be deemed OK for 4-stories in the coming years, but that as of now the random-ish cut off is 3-story structures.
Does anyone know anything about this? Is an inspector going to give me a hard time about PVC plumbing?Are there plans to make PVC legit? I’m feeling pretty knowledgable about the other problems with the house, but this one would be a real bitch if it’s a serious problem. HELP!
Master Plvmber is be referencing the old plumbing code.
The new height limit is five stories.
However, if they used PVC when it wasn’t code, they probably cut other corners, and an inspectors still might not like it because they may have needed to file and obviously did not.
OP here — thanks for all the advice. I’m glad I asked. I guess that’s another fun thing to add to the contract negotiations.
Master Plvmber (or anyone else) — do you know if this aspect of the code is changing any time soon? My engineer guy said there is a new code coming out in the next year.
The main DOB expediter for Brooklyn told me it’s 3 stories or less. I renovated a 3 fam. with permits/inspections and didn’t have a problem
The main DOB expediter for Brooklyn told me it’s 3 stories or less. I renovated a 3 fam. with permits/inspections and didn’t have a problem
It’s simple.
No PVC for water piping anywhere in the city.
No PVC for drainage or venting in any building housing more than two families or greater than three stories in height.
Building code is more complicated on this. Even plumbers, architects and expediters are confused on this point and there is a lot of folklore on the topic as to what is and is not allowed. My sense, but I can’t vouch for this, is that it is allowed in low rise buildings for waste and vent only, but that the key factor is the number of stories in the building. I think it used to be three and now it’s five, but I can’t be certain.
I have heard the toxic fume rationale, too. The height requirement may be tied to whether firefighters can fight the fire from the ground. Others say its to preserve a plumber’s monopoly on the work.
But go to the code for the answer. DOB website may have a link to plumbing code provisions.
I don’t think it’s just multi-family, I think it’s all buildings in NYC. The fire/fumes issue is nominally the reason PVC is banned but there has always also been a good deal of pressure from the Plumbers’ Union to maintain the embargo because cast iron or steel piping is more difficult to install and thus gives their members more work. Of course, as I write this, I know that some wise-ass is going to see my name, associate it with my previous pro-union posts elsewhere in this blog, and give me a hard time. Go ahead, knock yourself out.
I agree with your engineer that this situation could prove to be a very significant problem. Obviously whatever work that was done was done without a permit and, who knows, maybe it extended beyond the plumbing. The DOB inspector could have you ripping out a whole bunch of un-permitted stuff before you know it.
From what I understand, PVC is illegal in multifamily dwellings because if a fire starts, the fumes from burning PVC are deadly. Could be that in taller buildings, people on upper floors are more likely to suffer longer exposure to this toxic gas.