Adjusting Placement of Existing Tub/Shower Valve

[Veronica Mendez]

Hello,


Does anyone happen to know exactly which code in the California Universal Plumber's Code guide that states you cannot adjust or move an existing tub/shower valve without replacing it with a new one?


Thank you,

Veronica

 

[cda]

Is someone telling you this ?? Who

A plumber?

Might be easier to move pipe and install a new valve vs trying to reuse old

Or being an ex calif might be you need low flow stuff??

 

[cda]

Welcome also
You should get a few more answers from the experts

 

[Veronica Mendez]

I work for a company that does Acrylic Tub and Shower renovations. My installers are telling me that it is against code for us, as a company, to relocate an existing valve. I believe them since this is what they do day in and day out, however, my boss wants proof of this and so I am trying to locate this code in order to prove to him that we should not be doing this.

 

[fatboy]

Must be a Cali thing..........ICE?

 

[cda]

Need a plumber to do the work??? Maybe
And your company hats no licensed plumbers??

 

[north star]

$ ~ $

Section 301.1.3 [ from the `13 CPC ].



The AHJ in question has the legal right to make a determination
of any plumbing system as to compliance with the CPC, ...their
local ordinances, ...anti-scalding protection & low flow
requirements of the fixture.

IMO, ...someone from your office should schedule a meeting
with the AHJ to discuss.


$ ~ $

 

[conarb]

Yes they are right, Governor Moonbeam issued an executive order in April of 2015 requiring all water fixtures to be water saving devices, this kicked in immediately upon the issuance of any permits and is due to be required in all homes within a few years (I have no idea how thye intend to enforce that).

California Takes the Lead on Water Efficiency Standards (as of October 2015)

California faces the most severe drought in the state’s history. From low snowpack levels in the Sierra Nevada mountains to dry fields, the worsening conditions have led to the state’s first mandatory water restrictions in order to reduce usage by 25 percent.

On April 1, 2015, Governor Jerry Brown released Executive Order B-29-15 mandating emergency regulations that would improve the efficiency of water appliances—including toilets and faucets in new and existing buildings.

The executive order enabled the California Energy Commission, the agency responsible for adopting new efficiency standards, to speed approval on water appliance standards and to implement a temporary statewide rebate program for these appliances. The Commission approved the new efficiency standards on April 8, 2015. These newly adopted standards changed the required maximum flow rates for the following water appliances:

Urinals from 0.5 gpf to 0.125 gpf.
Residential faucets from 2.2 gpm to 1.2 gpm.
Kitchen faucets from 2.2 gpm to 1.8 gpm with possible capability to increase to 2.2 gpm. Public lavatory faucets shall not exceed a flow rate of 0.5 gpm.

California now leads the nation with standards that are more stringent than the EPA’s WaterSense Program. The new water efficiency standards could save over 10 billion gallons of water in the first year and eventually over 100 billion gallons of water per year according to the California Energy Commission.

In the 2015 session, California lawmakers continued to look at ways to conserve water, considering at least eight bills directed towards water efficiency or conservation. These bills included programs that fund water conservation and efficiency projects, create tax breaks and financial incentives to promote the use of water efficient fixtures and regulate water efficiency standards on state owned property.¹

In the Bay Area several CBOs had a meeting and decided to exempt certain 'socially desirable' permits from compliance, those were solar panels, earthquake retrofitting, reroofing, repainting, and some others, but not including changing faucets like you area doing. I went to my local building department and they had a handout describing the exemptions.

I have retired and don't have the latest codes but since differing jurisdictions have adopted different application policies I would visit every jurisdiction you work within and ask for a policy handout. You don't hear that much about it since plumbers almost always change out fixtures when moving them and all plumbing fixtures sold in California must be compliant so it isn't an issue.

Just to let you know what others are doing from a practical standpoint, they aren't getting permits. I built a home for a prominent attorney in '78 and remodeled it extensively in '03 and '05, he wanted his master bath remodeled recently but did not want low flow fixtures, after I informed him of the law he decided to proceed without a permit and reuse all existing fixtures, he found another contractor who would do it without a permit, when he sells the home he will check two boxes on the real estate disclosure form, 1) Work was done without a permit, and 2) The home does not comply with all applicable codes, he will then attach a letter explaining the two statements and have the buyer sign the disclosure.

¹ http://www.ncsl.org/research/enviro...ter-efficient-plumbing-fixtures635433474.aspx