Plummer Bummer "The worst yet" Inspection disaster

Newsflash: BOTH

Just found out that a gas line under the kitchen floor was done incorrectly. What is upsetting about this is it PASSED THE BUILDING INSPECTOR'S INSPECTION!!!! ( As did the faulty electric that had to be completely redone by ripping out the entire second floor flooring. Theleaky plumbing in both showers, The gas connection for the propane water heater that was passed but done for a natural gas connection not propane and many other over sites that have cost me dearly in money and loss of use as in the kitchen island)

So what does this mean? Well don't trust the inspections! If you can't even trust the inspector then who do you turn to? YOURSELF


Be in formed. Read everything you can get your hands on about the work that is being done. Take matters into your own hands. Just like the medical field ask questions, follow your instinct and read the codes. It does not matter or effect the contractor or the inspector when something is done wrong. The ultimate victim is you so don't allow your money to be wasted and your fate to be left in the hands of anyone who is not directly impacted by their work.


In this case the line was run in conduit with a flexible gas line OKAY ACCEPTABLE ( if not in conduit it has to be copper line). BUT what they forgot to do is to VENT the line to the outside!!! And it is required to be sealed which it is not!

This is CRITICAL. Without a vent to the outside the gas has nowhere to go . If it leaks it leaks into the home. If God forbid it ruptures then it EXPLODES in the Room when it is located.


So not only do you have to watch the contractors you have to make sure the inspector knows what he is doing. AND guess what. Your tax dollars are paying for the inspector to do his job right or wrong. He has no accountability . He is the final voice in any municipality and the only recourse to his FINAL decision is the courts! How is that for a mixed up set of rules and values?

In this case this is the second MAJOR screw up for this inspector. The first was the electrical service that had 37 lights, 14 receptacles and 4 ceiling fans connected to ONE ONE ONE circuit breaker and electrical feed line. IT PASSED with flying colors. Once passed I was obligated to pay the contractor and now he is long gone. SO WE PAID TWICE AS WE WILL WITH THE GAS LINE FOR THE WORK TO BE DONE



It should not be that way but it is and everyone needs to know that you trust NO ONE but YOURSELF. The codes are difficult but they are on line and once you get used to them they become easier and they are your best friend.

Opps!!!

He mentioned that he would have found it on the final??? Then what even more expense than what was incurred since a final would and could not be given until everything is up to code.

The Plumbing Saga drags on...

Gas pipe is the yellow flex pipe closest to the slab and entering the conduit installed within and terminating in the block wall.

The plumber has again violated the current building code and installed a gas piping line incorrectly to the Island in the kitchen

The piping was installed in a non vented conduit under the floor. The conduit used was originally installed for water lines. The conduit was installed UNDER the concrete slab.


Section 404.11 Florida Fuel Gas Code® 2007 FINAL DRAFT violations...

The space between the piping where the conduit emerges from the ground is not sealed, The conduit does not extend beyond the building and is not vented above grade. The conduit terminated in the West wall coming up out of the footer and and terminating in the block wall.

The improper installation of this gas line was putting the occupants and the building at serious risk and had to be disconnected to properly pass code. (Even though the building inspector never caught it we chose to follow the code for our safety)

Thanks to the keen eye of the plumber hired to fix all the bummer mistakes we averted a possible tragic event in the future.

But......

The island has now lost its ability to have gas appliances.

So far the island has lost gas cooking , the ability to have downdraft venting and decreased hot water flow because of the inadequate demand water heater installation.

The cost to repair the line was $255.00. The loss of usage of the appliances $900 for a gas wok and $600.00 cost of the down draft system . The island had to be completely redesigned.

The cost of installing a new and adequate water heater will be around $1500.00

Total potential loss on this 1 mistake $3300.00

The additional mistake of not terminating the vent line for the downdraft posed additional problems for the island. But then that is another story altogether.





Florida Fuel Gas Code® 2007 FINAL DRAFT

404.6Pipinginsolidfloors.Piping in solid floorsshallbelaid
inchannelsinthefloorandcoveredinamannerthatwillallow
accesstothepipingwithaminimumamountofdamagetothe
building.Wheresuchpipingissubjecttoexposuretoexcessive
moistureorcorrosivesubstances,thepipingshallbeprotected
inanapprovedmanner. As analternativetoinstallationin
channels,thepipingshallbeinstalledinaconduitofSchedule
40steel, wrought iron, PVCorABSpipewithtightlysealed
endsandjoints.Bothendsofsuchconduitshallextendnotless
than2 inches (51 mm) beyond the point where the pipe
emergesfromthefloor. Theconduit shall beventedabove
gradetotheoutdoorsandshallbeinstalledsoastopreventthe
entryofwaterandinsects.
404.7Above-groundoutdoorpiping. All pipinginstalled
outdoorsshallbeelevatednot lessthan31/
2inches(152mm)

404.11Pipingundergroundbeneathbuildings. Pipingin-
stalledundergroundbeneathbuildings is prohibitedexcept
wherethepipingisencasedinaconduitofwroughtiron,plas-
ticpipe,orsteelpipedesignedtowithstandthesuperimposed
loads.Suchconduitshallextendintoanoccupiableportionof
thebuildingand, atthepointwheretheconduitterminatesin
thebuilding,thespacebetweentheconduitandthegaspiping
shallbesealedtopreventthepossibleentranceofanygasleak-
age.Wheretheendsealingiscapableofwithstandingthefull
pressureofthegaspipe, theconduitshallbedesignedforthe
samepressureasthepipe. Suchconduit extendability less
than4inches(102mm)outsidethebuilding, shall bevented
abovegradetotheoutdoors,andshallbeinstalledsoastopre-
venttheentranceofwaterandinsects.Theconduitshallbepro-
tectedfromcorrosioninaccordancewithSection404.8.

Some Finished and Some finished with Problems Pending

Toilet valves leak and is set up 1" off the floor creating a problem for the finished floor. Sink does not drain correctly But we are working on solutions. The big problem is when you flush it sounds like a jet engine has just crashed on your head!!! REALLY!!!

THIS IS PERFECT AND NOTE CUSTOM DRAWER BELOW
I already washed dishes in it!!
I made My secret drawer compartments!!! Gosh I'm good! It slides in and fits perfectly around the disposal. Now all I have to do is make a shelf and pipe screen below. I also have room for a garbage can to slide in under the sink. Much better than a cabinet costing a lot more but lets see how it looks when the cabinets are in. We can change it anytime if it does not look right but

I LIKE IT!!

Some semi-final plumbing

Guest Bath trim on Window and shelf
Tub Trim out to cover ugly seams and bad edge and cracked marble
Finished Guest shower with Hand Held
Finished Master shower

OH No ! The Plummer Bummers Keep On Coming!!!

More problems with the powder room toilet drain.


It is not level causing the toilet to have to be shimmed up 1 1/2 " OFF THE FLOOR.

The pipe was put into the ground crooked as were several other pipes in the house.

So the end result is that we have to figure out a way to cover the gap$$$$$.

That makes it complete. EVERY pipe put in the ground before the slab was poured is either crooked, in the wrong place ( like a wall instead of room) or the pipe runs through the wall at an angle causing use to either abandon the use or build out the wall to accommodate the pipes crooked placement. Vent pipes included ALL placed in the wrong place and one still has to be periodically resealed on the roof. That one was put through a standing seam roof (and he could not have been more accurate) perfectly in the MIDDLE OF THE SEAM!! I wonder why he could not have been that accurate on all the other pipes. But then he is a master plummer. Next time I will hire the unexperienced kid right out of school. No better yet maybe my grandkids could have done a better job eh Mr. Plummer. Hope you are reading this because if not now you will be reading it in a court room!!

So today ( and we aren't finished yet) we have three major problems, We also have a problem with the master shower spray unit. It was installed incorrect. The valves need to be EXACTLY the same size and distance as the valves on the opposite side. The distance between the sides mus also be EXACTLY the same distance from the center control valve. Of course they are not causing the 4 body sprays to be stronger on one side and weak on the other.



Patience all good thing come to those who wait!!!