Tub & toilet pipes access panels illegal in NYC?

My downstairs condo neighbor is doing a reno and says his architect told him that the two ceiling access panels in his bathroom could not be in his new bathroom at all due to fire code regulations. This affects me, since this is access to my plumbing. Seems fishy, since they don’t seem any more likely to be a fire hazard than our vent heater/fans as far as being a hole in the ceiling that fire could conceivably come through, and there’s no such issue with these.

Since I’ve taken notice, I’ve seen ceiling access panels in plenty of fairly recent bathrooms but none have been very recent. Is this really the case, that new bathroom construction cannot use any kind of ceiling access panel to upstairs tub and toilet pipes, not even ones made to a fire code?

Appreciative thanks for any wisdom here.

jland

in Bath & Kitchen 5 years and 3 months ago

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jland | 5 years and 3 months ago

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Thanks, Urbandad. Yes, that I would end up carrying the burden of opening the sheetrock in the event of a plumbing fix after they made the choice to lose the panels is the main concern. It’s a 4 unit condo brownstone. So I will try to verify who would shoulder the extra cost in that case. Thanks for your post.

hkapstein | 5 years and 3 months ago

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Yeah it’s probably coming up because it’s a few bucks cheaper not to install them, they don’t like how they look, or some other reason they don’t want them. I’d tell them look, those panels are there for a reason, so the pipes above your fancy new bathroom can be inspected and repaired without cutting open the ceiling and making a mess. Suggest they use the fire rated panel. If they are refusing to use it, then you probably have to check the building rules to determine whether they have the option to close it off, but in general I don’t think they would be required to provide a panel. However, they most likely would be required to open the sheetrock if a leak occured.

jland | 5 years and 3 months ago

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Thanks, GT. My concern is that he’s being told that he has to eliminate ANY access panel due to code, which means I’ll have to cut into the ceiling just to look at it. And if it’s totally legal for fire rated panels then he’s being BS’d (maybe the architect doesn’t think they’re classy enough for his work) at my expense. I do see your point. My issue is that they’re doing something that I don’t want them to do and they’re claiming they have no choice, which doesn’t bode well for the next 85% of their reno! : ) Thanks. – J

GreenThinker | 5 years and 3 months ago

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There are fired rated access panels. But at the end of the day, it’s not a big deal either way, if your pipes start to leak, they cutting a hole in the drywall regardless.