Maintenance and Repair

Maintenance and Repair

Reference text for the maintenance and repair area. Every rule below is stated from a printed line of

the 2024 International Plumbing Code (IPC 2024) that carries it, or from a line of the Georgia rule

110-11-1-.26 that a Georgia candidate is examined on, and the address of the line is given with the

rule. Numbers appear only where the printed line carries them.

This area asks about work done on plumbing that is already in place. The code is written as an

installation code, so its repair rules are fewer than its installation rules, and they sit in three

places: the applicability section that says what an existing system may keep and what a repair must

meet, the chapter provisions that put access and clearance into an installation so that it can later be

serviced, and the chapter provisions that govern a part which is serviced or replaced as part of its

normal life. Section 8 of this text names the subjects the pieces filed here do not carry, so that

nothing is asserted about them.

1. What an existing system may keep, and what a repair must meet

A plumbing system lawfully in existence when the code was adopted may have its use and maintenance

continued, on two conditions: the use, maintenance or repair is in accordance with the original design,

and the system creates no hazard to life, health or property (IPC 2024, 102.2). The code's own word for

that continuing duty is printed beside it. Plumbing systems, materials and appurtenances, both existing

and new, and parts of them, are maintained in proper operating condition in accordance with the original

design in a safe and sanitary condition; and the devices or safeguards the code requires are maintained

in compliance with the edition of the code under which they were installed (IPC 2024, 102.3). The same

section places the duty on a person rather than on the work: the owner or the owner's authorized agent

is responsible for the maintenance of plumbing systems, and the code official has the authority to

require any plumbing system to be reinspected to determine compliance (IPC 2024, 102.3).

A repair is not a free pass from the code. Additions, alterations, renovations or repairs conform to

what a new plumbing system requires, without the existing system having to be brought up to all the

requirements of the code; they must not cause an existing system to become unsafe, unsanitary or

overloaded; and minor additions, alterations, renovations and repairs meet the provisions for new

construction unless the work is done in the same manner and arrangement as the existing system, is not

hazardous and is approved (IPC 2024, 102.4). Where the work relates to the building or its structure,

another code takes over: additions, alterations, renovations or repairs related to building or

structural issues are regulated by the International Existing Building Code (IPC 2024, 102.2.1). And

the repair of a system is still work on a plumbing system under the code that adopts it: nothing in the

code nullifies any provision of local, state or federal law (IPC 2024, 102.10).

Georgia prints the maintenance duty in its own code as well, in the general applicability section the

state adds, and the wording is the state's. All plumbing systems, materials and appurtenances, both

existing and new, and all parts of them, are maintained in proper operating condition in accordance with

the original design in a safe and sanitary condition, and all devices or safeguards required by the code

are maintained in compliance with the code edition under which they were installed; the owner or the

owner's designated agent is responsible for maintenance, and the code official has the authority to

require any plumbing system to be reinspected (GA-rule, l. 156). The state's reuse rule is also

stricter than the model code's, and it matters in a repair: materials, equipment and devices are not

reused unless they have been reconditioned, tested, placed in good and proper working condition and

approved (GA-rule, l. 160) — where the model code requires only that reused elements be in good working

condition and approved (IPC 2024, 104.9.1).

2. Access and clearance: what the code requires so that a system can be serviced

The largest part of what the code says about maintenance is said about the installation. A system that

cannot be reached cannot be maintained, so the code fixes distances, clearances and openings.

Cleanouts are the drainage system's maintenance opening, and the code states both where they are and

how they are reached. Cleanouts for piping 6 inches (153 mm) and smaller have a clearance of not less

than 18 inches (457 mm) from, and perpendicular to, the face of the opening to any obstruction, and

cleanouts for 8-inch (203 mm) and larger piping have 36 inches (914 mm) (IPC 2024, 708.1.10). Required

cleanouts are not installed in concealed locations — the section names the inside of plenums, within

walls, within floor/ceiling assemblies, below grade, and crawl spaces whose clear height along the path

from the crawl space opening to the cleanout is less than 24 inches (610 mm); a cleanout opening in a

finished wall has its face within 1 1/2 inches (38 mm) of the finished surface; a cleanout below grade

is extended so that the top of the plug is at or above grade; and a cleanout in a floor or walkway

without a trim cover has a countersunk plug flush with the finished surface (IPC 2024, 708.1.11). A

threaded cleanout opening is not to be used to add a fixture or extend piping except where another

cleanout of equal size with the required access and clearance is installed (IPC 2024, 708.1.12). Georgia

tightens the spacing on the sewer itself: building sewers are provided with cleanouts not more than 100

feet (30480 mm) apart measured from the upstream entrance of the cleanout, with an additional cleanout

within 10 feet (3048 mm) of the public right of way, and sewers 8 inches (203 mm) and larger are provided

with manholes at each change in direction and at intervals of not more than 400 feet (122 m) (GA-rule, l.

934). At the junction of the building drain and the building sewer there is a cleanout, outside the

building wall unless otherwise approved and brought up to finished ground level, and an approved two-way

cleanout at that location is allowed to serve both (GA-rule, l. 940).

Fixtures and their parts are reached on the same principle. Plumbing fixtures are installed so as to

afford easy access for cleaning both the fixture and the area around it (IPC 2024, 405.2). All parts in

a flush tank have access for repair and replacement (IPC 2024, 415.3.4), and access is provided to the

vacuum breakers on flushometer valves (IPC 2024, 415.2). A whirlpool bathtub's circulation pump has

access in accordance with the fixture or pump manufacturer's instructions, and where those instructions

do not fix the size of a field-fabricated opening, an opening of not less than 12 inches by 12 inches

(305 mm by 305 mm) is installed, increased to 18 inches by 18 inches (457 mm by 457 mm) where the pump is

more than 2 feet (609 mm) from the opening; the opening is unobstructed and large enough to permit

removal and replacement of the pump (IPC 2024, 426.5).

Water heaters and appliances carry a service space rather than an opening: access is provided for

inspection, service, repair and replacement without disabling a fire-resistance-rated assembly or

removing permanent construction, other appliances or piping and ducts not connected to the appliance

being worked on, with a level working space not less than 30 inches by 30 inches (762 mm by 762 mm) in

front of the control side (IPC 2024, 502.5). Interceptors and separators, which are maintained by

removing what they collect, have access provided to each of them for service and maintenance (IPC 2024,

1003.10). A pressure-reducing valve or regulator has to be serviceable without cutting into the

installation: those valves, regulators and strainers are constructed and installed so as to permit

repair or removal of parts without breaking a pipeline or removing the valve and strainer from the

pipeline (IPC 2024, 604.8.2), and the valve is designed to remain open to permit uninterrupted water flow

in case of valve failure (IPC 2024, 604.8.1). Traps are set level with respect to the trap seal and,

where necessary, protected from freezing (IPC 2024, 1002.7).

3. Obstructions, backflow of sewage and leaks

The code's rule on obstructions is a rule about the shape of what is installed: fittings have no ledges,

shoulders or reductions capable of retarding or obstructing flow in the piping, threaded drainage pipe

fittings are of the recessed drainage type, and the section does not apply to tubular waste fittings

conveying vertical flow upstream of the trap seal liquid level (IPC 2024, 706.2). Georgia revises the

fittings section on the same subject: fittings are installed to guide sewage and waste in the direction

of flow, a change in direction is made by fittings installed in accordance with the code's table, a

change in direction by combination fittings or increasers is installed in accordance with that table

based on the pattern of flow the fitting creates, and double sanitary tee patterns are used only for dry

venting or for fixture drains 2 inches (51 mm) or smaller in diameter (GA-rule, l. 918); the state also

deletes the heel- or side-inlet quarter bend section without substitution (GA-rule, l. 924).

Where sewage could come back into a building, the code requires a device that is itself serviced: on a

floor whose finished elevation is below the elevation of the manhole cover of the next upstream manhole

in the public sewer, fixtures are protected by a backwater valve installed in the building drain or the

horizontal branch serving them, and fixtures above that elevation do not discharge through a backwater

valve — with an exception permitting fixtures above that elevation to do so in existing buildings

(IPC 2024, 714.1). The valve complies with one of the standards the section prints (IPC 2024, 714.2) and

is installed so that access is provided to the working parts (IPC 2024, 714.3), which is what makes

cleaning it possible. Storm drainage systems are provided with backwater valves as required for sanitary

drainage systems (IPC 2024, 1101.9).

Locating a leak in a drainage or vent system is done by a test the code names, and its terms are in the

testing section rather than in this one: where a smoke test is used as the final test, all traps are

filled with water, a pungent, thick smoke is introduced into the entire system, the stack openings on the

roof are closed when the smoke appears at them, and a pressure equivalent to a 1-inch water column

(248.8 Pa) is held for not less than 15 minutes (IPC 2024, 312.5). A part of a system that has been

repaired is tested again: new systems and parts of existing systems that have been altered, extended or

repaired are tested as the testing section prescribes to disclose leaks and defects, with the printed

exceptions (IPC 2024, 111.4.1).

4. Repairing the water supply, and disinfecting what was repaired

Repairs to potable water piping are governed by the joint rules of the chapter that owns it, and Georgia

states the soldered joint rules for its own code: solder joints are made in accordance with the printed

ASTM method, with a flux conforming to the standard the rule names, cut tube ends reamed to the full

inside diameter of the tube end, joint surfaces cleaned and the joint soldered with a solder conforming

to the printed standard; the joining of water supply piping is made with lead-free solder and fluxes, and

« lead free » means a chemical composition equal to or less than 0.2-percent lead (GA-rule, l. 839,

GA-rule, l. 845). The model code's own rule on repairs to a solvent-cemented joint is equally specific in

Georgia: joint surfaces are clean and free from moisture, a purple primer conforming to the printed

standard is applied where the solvent manufacturer requires a primer, cement conforming to the printed

standards is applied to all joint surfaces, the joint is made while the cement is wet, and solvent-cement

joints are permitted above or below ground (GA-rule, l. 908). A joint between different materials is made

by the printed transition rule of the chapter rather than by an improvised connection (IPC 2024, 605.23).

The rule that closes a water supply repair in Georgia is the disinfection rule, and the state's wording

is what makes it a repair rule: the section is revised to read « new or repaired potable water systems »

shall be flushed and purged of deleterious matter and disinfected prior to utilization, the method being

the one prescribed by the health authority or water purveyor having jurisdiction (GA-rule, l. 892) — so a

potable water system that has been repaired is disinfected before it is used, exactly as a new one is

(IPC 2024, 610.1).

Work on a water supply system also has a pressure answer rather than a repair answer. Where the static

water pressure within a building exceeds 80 psi (552 kPa), an approved pressure-reducing valve or

regulator with strainer is installed — with an exception for service lines to sill cocks and outside

hydrants, and for main supply risers where pressure from the mains is reduced to 80 psi (552 kPa) or less

at individual fixtures (IPC 2024, 604.8) — and that is the valve whose parts are arranged to be repaired

or removed without breaking the pipeline (IPC 2024, 604.8.2). Georgia adds one location to the shutoff

valve rules of the same chapter: shutoff valves serving a refrigerator with an automatic icemaker have

access on the same floor as the refrigerator (GA-rule, l. 855).

5. Servicing a water heater

The safety devices of a water heater are what a service call touches, and the code gives each its

requirements. A storage water heater operating above atmospheric pressure has an approved self-closing

pressure relief valve and temperature relief valve or a combination conforming to the printed standard,

and the relief valve is not used to control thermal expansion (IPC 2024, 504.4); the valves bear the

label of an approved agency, have a temperature setting of not more than 210°F and a pressure setting not

exceeding the manufacturer's rated working pressure or 150 psi, whichever is less, and have a relieving

capacity equalling or exceeding the heat input to the heater or tank (IPC 2024, 504.5). A drain valve for

emptying is installed at the bottom of each tank-type water heater and hot water storage tank (IPC 2024,

501.3), the system has automatic temperature controls adjustable across the intended range (IPC 2024,

501.8), and the heater is located and connected so as to provide access for observation, maintenance,

servicing and replacement (IPC 2024, 501.4). Where a Georgia water heater exceeds the printed threshold,

another authority's rules take over: the State's minimum requirements for boilers and water heaters and

pressure vessels over 200,000 Btu/h (58.61 kW), 210 degrees Fahrenheit or 120 gallons capacity are

established by O.C.G.A. Title 25, Chapter 15 and the rules of the Office of Insurance and Safety Fire

Commissioner (GA-rule, l. 460).

The discharge piping from those valves is printed in Georgia in the state's own words, and a service

technician works to it: the piping serving a pressure relief valve, temperature relief valve or a

combination is not directly connected to the drainage system; is not smaller than the diameter of the

valve outlet and discharges full size to the air gap; serves a single relief device and is not connected

to piping serving any other relief device or equipment; discharges to the floor, to the pan serving the

water heater or storage tank, to a waste receptor or to the outdoors; discharges without causing personal

injury or structural damage; terminates where the building occupants can readily observe it; has its low

point drained where it is trapped; terminates not more than 6 inches (152 mm) above and not less than two

times the pipe diameter above the floor or flood level rim of the waste receptor; has no threaded

connection at its end and no valves or tee fittings; is made of the materials listed for water

distribution pipe or of materials tested, rated and approved for the use; and is one nominal size larger

than the relief valve outlet where insert fittings are used, the outlet end being fastened in place

(GA-rule, l. 470). A water heater awaiting replacement also has a printed instruction that reaches

maintenance: where leakage would cause damage, the heater stands in a pan that is at least 1 1/2 inches

deep, large enough for the dripping or condensate, and drained by an indirect waste pipe of at least

3/4 inch (IPC 2024, 504.7, IPC 2024, 504.7.1).

6. Servicing an interceptor, and replacing a sewer

An interceptor is maintained by taking out what it has collected, and the code says so directly: access

is provided to each interceptor and separator for service and maintenance, and they are maintained by

periodic removal of accumulated grease, scum, oil or other floating substances and solids deposited in

them (IPC 2024, 1003.10). What is put into one is regulated too, because it changes the maintenance: a

food waste disposer does not discharge to a grease interceptor (IPC 2024, 1003.3.2), and dispensing

systems that discharge emulsifiers, chemicals or enzymes to a grease interceptor are prohibited, only

microbial dispensing systems being permitted where the interceptor manufacturer's instructions allow them

and the system conforms to the printed standard (IPC 2024, 1003.3.3).

A sewer that is worn out is replaced or relined, and the code gives each method its own section. The

replacement of existing building sewer and building drain piping by pipe-bursting methods is governed by

that section (IPC 2024, 716.1), the relining of existing building sewers and building drainage piping by

its own (IPC 2024, 717.1), and the cure-in-place rehabilitation of building sewer piping and sewer

service lateral piping is performed in accordance with the printed ASTM standards for sectional and

main/lateral rehabilitation, with hydrophilic rings or gaskets conforming to the printed standard where

they are used to ensure water tightness and eliminate ground water penetration (IPC 2024, 718.1).

7. Maintenance of a nonpotable water system

A nonpotable water reuse system is put into service with the paperwork that keeps it maintainable: the

manual required for the system provides a schedule and procedures for all system components requiring

periodic maintenance, and consumable parts, including filters, are noted along with their part numbers

(IPC 2024, 1302.13.3). Georgia adds one source to that chapter that is used rather than maintained by a

plumber: reclaimed water from a treatment facility permitted by the Environmental Protection Division may

supply water closets, urinals, trap primers for floor drains and floor sinks, water features and other

uses approved by the authority having jurisdiction, and may supply systems that can use a lesser quality

of water such as water chillers, carwashes or an industrial process (GA-rule, l. 1006).

8. What these pieces do not carry

outline (GA-bulletin, l. 419, GA-bulletin, l. 420) and they are gas rules, not

plumbing rules. The code's scope states that the installation of fuel gas distribution piping and

equipment, fuel-gas-fired water heaters and water heater venting systems is regulated by the

International Fuel Gas Code (IPC 2024, 101.2), and the general applicability section Georgia adds

repeats that sentence as the first sentence of its scope (GA-rule, l. 151). No gas pressure, leak

detection fluid, burner adjustment or thermocouple rule is stated in this text: the pieces filed here

do not carry them.

printed as outline items (GA-bulletin, l. 422, GA-bulletin, l. 431) and are not carried by the

plumbing code either: what the code states about an electric water heater is stated above as the

relief valve, the drain valve, the temperature controls and the service space (IPC 2024, 504.4,

IPC 2024, 501.3, IPC 2024, 501.8, IPC 2024, 502.5), and nothing further is asserted here.

maintenance (GA-bulletin, l. 310), and it is the state's location law for underground utilities; no

requirement of that law is reproduced or paraphrased here.

personal safety including trenching (GA-bulletin, l. 444) — and the pieces filed here carry it as a

subject, the state trenching law standing in the regulations list (GA-bulletin, l. 321) and 29 CFR

Part 1926 (OSHA) in the reference list (GA-bulletin, l. 735). Nothing of either is asserted here.