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  1. K

    supply or return duct smoke detector

    That's what the requirement is, installed upstream of any fresh air connections or filters. I think the idea to have it in the return instead of the supply is to detect the smoke before it can get diluted with any outside air. If the detector was in the supply, the smoke will potentially be...
  2. K

    Code Compliant Water Heater?

    Flex is awesome. You can do anything with it!o_O
  3. K

    Gas Line Over Driveway

    I would disagree. Black iron pipe elevated away from the earth outdoors will get a coating of rust on it and typically that's as far as it will go. Where in contact with the ground is a different matter. Prolonged exposure to wet conditions, contact with whatever minerals or chemicals are in...
  4. K

    Gas Line Over Driveway

    Wow! IFGC 404.9 covers outdoor above ground gas piping. It needs to be elevated not less than 3 1/2" above the ground and located where it will be protected from physical damage.
  5. K

    Remote, Florida Certified/Licensed Residential Inspector

    Definitely some problems in those pictures... That's why we always reserve the right to require an on site inspection if we're not satisfied with the virtual. Some of the old granite basements in older parts of town cause reception issues. Had one the other day where it turned out the...
  6. K

    An average day

    Right! That's what I call a delayed response, I had to look back to se what he was talking about. The post being replied to was posted when my daughter was in middle school. She's been teaching high school for two years now....
  7. K

    Mechanical Room adjacent to Bedroom

    Electric or direct vent appliances won't be a problem. If there's any fuel fired appliances that take combustion air from the space the door between the bedroom and mechanical room needs to be self closing, gasketed and solid core not hollow core. All combustion air will have to come from the...
  8. K

    Remote, Florida Certified/Licensed Residential Inspector

    We do remote inspections for HVAC/plumbing replacements, simple remodels, etc. They are done live via FaceTime or Google Meet with the installer on site. If there are any lighting issues they have to have a flashlight. If we can't see well enough whether from dim lighting, bad connection, or...
  9. K

    ENORMOUS GENERATOR AND EXHAUST AT MY DOORS AND WINDOWS

    Unless there's something more in the manufacturer's instructions, all the IMC requires is 10' from the lot line, IMC 804.3. Exhaust system terminations don't apply because while everyone calls it exhaust, its actually an appliance vent covered in chapter 8 of the IMC (not the IFGC since its...
  10. K

    Clearance to roof sheathing

    If it truly is a new code, you shouldn't expect it to have been enforced on a building old enough to be getting re-roofed....
  11. K

    catastrophic failure during erection

    "When he looked up, he saw a hangar as tall as 3 ½ to 4 stories tall collapsing in on itself and part of the crane on top." I'm guessing the building wasn't designed to take the impact of a crane landing on it?
  12. K

    Is a damper needed here?

    The problem is that if your separation is the ceiling membrane, each duct penetration is an opening in it that needs to be protected. In the IMC, there are no exceptions for duct penetrations of rated horizontal assemblies.
  13. K

    Is a damper needed here?

    Definitely needs a ceiling radiation damper with this setup, both at the mechanical closet lid and at the register locations. The other option would be to maintain the dwelling unit separation up through the attic to the bottom side of the roof deck if that's even possible based on trusses/rafters.
  14. K

    The Building Code Forum Recommended Tools for Inspectors

    Yaktrax. $25 on Amazon. Just used them last week for the first time, on a rubber roof. They worked great and they don't have spikes.
  15. K

    Guards/fall protection IMC 304.11

    The cable disappears into the snow under the copper pipes in the second picture and runs under the pipes all the way past the second unit on the left, by the person in the picture. Beyond that, it re-emerges for the 4 foot stretch visible to the right of the unit in the third picture, then is...
  16. K

    Guards/fall protection IMC 304.11

    Nope, that's gas piping with supports resting on the roof surface, not actually anchored down.. There is an ANSI z359 anchor system on the roof.....
  17. K

    Guards/fall protection IMC 304.11

    Fall protection anchorage system was used instead of rails. Can you see it? :)
  18. K

    A few mistakes.

    Answers based on 2021 IMC/IFGC 1. No trap on the condensate line. IMC 307.2.4/Manufacturer's instructions (unless its located on the other side of the unit) 2. No drip leg/sediment trap on the gas line. IFGC 408.2/408.4. 3. Condensate drain needs support every 4' and to maintain slope (elbow...
  19. K

    Fall protection @ roof

    The problem I have is I have so far been successful in getting the exception removed locally but have been informed that will no longer happen. I've asked my CBO how to enforce it if the exception is used, and told that if an anchor point is on the roof, it is provided and meets the exception...
  20. K

    Fall protection @ roof

    So I can reject it until the architect provides documentation that anchor placement meets the ANSI standard?
  21. K

    Fall protection @ roof

    So the location is completely up to the architect? Does it need to be within 10' of the unit? 20'? Would one anchor point at the hatch 50' away meet code?
  22. K

    Fall protection @ roof

    100% agree, but the exception is still in the code unfortunately. As an inspector how do I enforce this section on a new building if the architect wants to use the exception? What constitutes proper placement of the anchor point? Neither the mechanical code or OSHA give any guidance.
  23. K

    Guards/fall protection IMC 304.11

    The mechanical designer is sometimes at the mercy of the architect with unit placement. Structure needs to be able to support the unit, or in the case of the fans above it is placement of elevator and stair tower shafts in the building. Then the architect doesn't want ugly rails on their...
  24. K

    Fire Separation

    Not sure how you would even separate the maintenance area behind the dryers from the customer area in front with a rated assembly. The front of the dryer is in the customer area, the back in the maintenance area. You would have an unprotected hole in the wall the size of however many dryers go...
  25. K

    IMC 1101.9 Access caps?

    $300?? How many is he getting for that? The "our price" shown here is pretty typical when searching online for either 1/4" or 5/16".
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