Cheap Vacuum Breakers Don't Meet Code

Vacuum breakers (aka - backflow preventers) have always been one of those pesky Truth-In-Housing repairs for homeowners in Minneapolis and Bloomington, but those aren't the only cities where they're required.  They're actually a requirement of the Minnesota State Plumbing Code, section 4715.2100 (D).

Cheap Vacuum Breakers Don't Meet Code

Part of the requirement for a vacuum breaker says any new device must be field testable. The minimum standard for a vacuum breaker meeting this requirement is ASSE 1052.  Vacuum breakers that conform to this standard are about twice the size of the really cheap vacuum breakers that you'll find at most home improvement stores, and they cost about four times as much.


At left is a vacuum breaker conforming to ASSE 1052.  You can see that it's about twice the size of the cheap vacuum breakers that conform to ASSE 1011, shown at right.

Cheap Vacuum Breakers Are Still Allowed...

So why do you see the cheap vacuum breakers all over the place in Minneapolis and Bloomington, and why are they allowed for Truth-In-Housing evaluations?
Minneapolis and Bloomington allow these because they don't want to place too large of a burden on homeowners.  They want homeowners to be able to pick up a cheap vacuum breaker at the neighborhood hardware store for a couple bucks.  They figure it's better than nothing.

...But Not On New Construction

If you look at any new construction home or at any sillcock that has been recently installed with a plumbing permit, you'll find the larger vacuum breaker, or the sillock will have an integral vacuum breaker.  If the sillcock has an integral vacuum breaker, it doesn't need to be field testable.

The photo at left shows a standard sillcock with an integral vacuum breaker, and the photo at right shows a frost-free sillcock with an integral vacuum breaker.  Both of these sillcocks meet the minimum requirements of the Minnesota State Plumbing Code.

Why Just Minneapolis and Bloomington?

So why is it that only Minneapolis and Bloomington require vacuum breakers for their Truth-In-Sale of Housing programs?  I suspect there has been too much complaining from residents in other cities.  Even though this is the cheapest, easiest 'repair' item required in Minneapolis and Bloomington, I hear more complaints about this one item than anything else.

RELATED POST: Why Do I Need A Vacuum Breaker?

Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections - Email - Bloomington Home Inspections



    

Gas Leaks: A Quick Follow-Up Video

About a month ago I posted a blog complaining about how the gas company will frequently come out after we've done a home inspection and they won't be able to find a gas leak that we've identified.

In example #2, I wrote: At another home inspection I did last month in Bloomington, I could clearly smell gas while standing at the water heater.  I bent down and smelled a significant leak at the union.  I put some leak solution on the union, and it quickly blew a bubble about the size of a quarter.  This was so obvious that I didn’t even bother marking the location of the leak… but I’ll never make that mistake again.  The Bloomington seller called Centerpoint Energy, who came out and said there was no leak.  We then called Centerpoint Energy, talked to the technician that went out the first time, told him exactly where to find the leak, and he still couldn’t find it the second time he was out.  Unbelievable.

Here's a quick follow-up video of that same gas leak that we found at a Bloomington Home Inspection, taken yesterday.

(Don't Try This At Home)

Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections - Email - Bloomington Home Inspection





    

The Most Common Dishwasher Installation Defect

An improperly installed drain hose is by far the most common defect that I find with dishwasher installations, but it's also one of the easiest things to get right.  In the photo below, which was featured as a Structure Tech Photo of the Day, there are several plumbing defects, two of which are related to the dishwasher drain.

Can you spot them?

Wrong side of trap

Problem number one is that the drain is connected to the sewer side of the trap.  The water that always sits in the bottom of the P-trap is what prevents sewer gases from coming in to the house.  The dishwasher drain must be connected before the P-trap, not after it, which is what was done here.  With this improper installation, sewer gases have the potential to come back in to the dishwasher.  The diagram below right shows a proper installation.

 

No high loop

In the diagram above, right, you'll notice that the dishwasher drain makes a high loop underneath the kitchen sink.  This is the minimum requirement on every dishwasher drain installation - it's required by every manufacturer of dishwasher, and it's also required by the Minnesota State Plumbing Code (section 4715.1250).  In fact, our plumbing code says "as high as possible under the countertop."  An alternative to installing a high loop is to install an air gap at the kitchen sink, but I can't imagine why you would do this if you didn't have to - how ugly.  I've heard that these air gaps are required in California.  Too bad for them.

 

Although new dishwashers come from the manufacturer with the drain looped up at the side of the dishwasher, every installation manual still requires this high loop underneath the sink.



I've heard different reasons for why an additional loop is required under the sink, so I decided to contact the manufacturers directly.

I sent out an email to eight dishwasher manufacturers, asking them this question:

"In the installation instructions for all of your dishwashers, a high loop is required on the dishwasher drain. What is the purpose of this? Doesn’t the high loop that is incorporated in to the side of the dishwasher achieve the same thing? Any insight or commentary in to this matter would be greatly appreciated."

Here are the responses I received:

• Kenmore: "The high loop or air gap must be used to prevent potential backflowcontamination of the dishwasher. Local plumbing codes generally dictate the requirements in your area. Section 807.4 of the Uniform Plumbing Code states: "No domestic dishwashing machine shall be directly connected to a drainage system or food waste disposer without the use of an approved dishwasher airgap fitting on the discharge side of the dishwashing machine. Listed airgaps shall be installed with the flood level (FL) marking at or above the flood level of the sink or drainboard, whichever is higher, or separately trapped with the airbreak located on the stand pipe."
• GE: "If an air gap is not required, the drain hose must have the high loop from the floor toprevent backflow of water into the dishwasher or water siphoning out during operation."
• Bosch: The high loop in the drain hose of your dishwasher is to keep water from settling in the hose if it were hanging down any lower or horizontally. This keeps the drain hose dried out and keeps any odors from backing up into the dishwasher.
• Viking: In testing our dishwashers, we have found that the additional high loop in the back of the dishwasher is required for proper draining of the water.  We have seen when this piece is not applied that over time the consumer will have issues with the water back up and causing issues with proper drainage and water pooling in a particular area.
• Maytag: No response after 29 days.  Boo.
• Whirlpool: No response after 29 days.  Boo.
• Amana: No response after 29 days.  Boo.

To summarize, the reasons for the high loop are to prevent potential backflow of water in to the dishwasher and to prevent improper drainage of water.  Even though dishwashers come from the factory with the drain looped up high against the side of the dishwasher, this is not an acceptable substitute for the high loop underneath the kitchen sink.

In Minneapolis, the lack of a properly installed high loop under the kitchen sink requires repair for their Truth-In-Sale of Housing evaluations.

Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections - Email - Minneapolis Truth In Housing





    

Coon Rapids Deck Collapse - Why It Happened

If you watched the news this weekend, you probably heard about the deck collapse that happened in Coon Rapids on Friday.  On WCCO news, they even had an expert speculate that the deck collapsed because it wasn't properly secured to the house.  When I hear news stories about a deck collapses, they usually say they'll come back to the story once they learn what the problem was, but they never do...
so I decided to inspect this Coon Rapids deck myself.  Here's what I found:

Epic Fail

According to WCCO, there were only five people on this deck when it collapsed.  The problem wasn't that the deck was improperly attached to the house - this deck was completely missing a post.
I marked up two photos to show exactly what went wrong.  Click on the photos to get a large version.





As you can see, one corner of the deck wasn't help up by anything.  The floor joist that was closest to house is what was actually holding up that entire corner of the deck.  It's a wonder this deck even supported it's own weight.

While most advice about deck safety deals with proper bolts, nails, brackets, etc, it's just as important to take a step back and look at the big picture.  Proper nails and bolts aren't a substitute for a proper load path back to the ground.

Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections - Email - Minnesota Deck Inspections



    

Caulk At The Toilet Base: Hiding Or Preventing A Problem?

As standard procedure for every home inspection that I perform, I check the toilets to make sure they're properly anchored to the floor.  Almost every time I find a toilet that's loose, I also find missing caulk at the base of the toilet.  The two go hand in hand.
 When I find a loose toilet I tell my client to properly secure the toilet to the floor and to caulk around the base of the toilet, but I frequently get clients that tell me they've heard otherwise.

The thought process behind not caulking the toilet to the floor is that if the toilet leaks at the floor, you'll quickly find out about the leak as long as the toilet isn't caulked.  If it is caulked, the thinking is that if the toilet flange leaks, you'll end up trapping water between the toilet base and the floor in an area that you can't access.

In reality, toilets rarely leak on to the the floor.  More often, they leak through the floor around the flange.  I've found plenty of toilets that leak down in to the basement, but very few that leak on to the bathroom floor.

There are two great reasons to caulk your toilet to the floor:

• Caulk prevents a fouling area.  If mop water, tub water, or something even worse (I have a son who is potty training right now...) gets underneath the toilet, there is no way to clean it up.  Caulking around the base of the toilet prevents this from happening.
• Caulk helps to keep the toilet secured to the floor.  As I mentioned before, toilets that are caulked at the floor are rarely loose.  Caulk does such as good job of keeping toilets secured to the floor that you could probably rely on caulk alone to keep a toilet secured... not that I would try this.

Some people prefer to caulk all around the toilet and leave about a one inch gap in the caulk at the back of the toilet to allow water to escape out in the event of a leak.  It's already tough enough to caulk behind a toilet, so if this is what you want to do, God bless.

Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections - Email - Minnesota Home Inspector