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Every new plumbing and gas piping system and every part of an existing system that has been altered, except for ordinary repairs, shall be inspected and tested to determine compliance with code requirements except that the commissioner may promulgate rules authorizing a certification from a master plumber for minor work that was performed in accordance with applicable codes in lieu of the two day inspection notification requirement of section 27-920 of this article and the inspection reporting requirements of subdivision a of section 27-922 of this article. In no event shall such certification be allowed for any new installation, or any alteration to an existing as piping system.
(a) New, altered, extended, or repaired systems. Every new plumbing and gas piping system and every part of an existing system that has been altered or repaired except for minor alterations and ordinary repairs, shall be tested as hereinafter prescribed to disclose leaks and defects. However, testing may be waived in the following cases:
(1) In any case that does not involve replacement, alteration, or relocation of any water supply, drainage, or vent piping.
(2) In any case where plumbing equipment may be set up temporarily for exhibition purposes.
(b) Representation at test.
(1) Tests required by section 27-922 of this article shall be conducted in the presence of the commissioner or an authorized plumbing inspector of the department.
(2) The commissioner may also authorize such test to be witnessed by architects, engineers, master plumbers or representatives of utility companies, each of whom must be acceptable to the commissioner. Persons performing this function shall have had at least five (5) years experience in inspection and testing of gas piping systems, or hold a current master plumbers license. Such tests may be conducted without any verifying inspection or tests by members of the department, provided that verified statements and supporting inspectional and test reports are filed with the department within one working day of such tests.
(c) Exposure of work. If any plumbing system or part thereof is enclosed before it has been inspected, tested, and accepted as prescribed in this subchapter, such system or part thereof shall be uncovered upon the direction of the commissioner.
(d) Retesting. If, upon inspection and tests, any of the work fails to meet the test requirements, the necessary corrections shall be made before any reinspections or retests are conducted.
(a) Drainage and vent systems.
(1) Rough Plumbing. Except for outside leaders and perforated or open jointed drain tile (subsoil drains), the piping of plumbing drainage and venting systems shall be verified as to materials and shall be tested upon completion of the rough piping installation and proven to be watertight. The commissioner may require the removal of any cleanout plugs to ascertain that the prescribed pressure has been reached in all parts of the system.
a. Water test. A water test shall be applied to the drainage system either in its entirety or in sections after rough piping has been installed. If applied to the entire system, all openings in the piping, except the highest opening, shall be tightly closed and the system filled with water to the point of overflow. If the system is tested in sections, each opening, except the highest opening of the section under test, shall be tightly plugged and each section filled with water. No section shall be tested with less than a ten foot head of water. In testing successive sections, at least the upper ten feet of the following section shall be tested, so that no joint or pipe in the building (except the uppermost ten feet of the system) shall have been submitted to a test of less than a ten foot head of water. The water shall be kept in the system or in the portion under test for at least fifteen minutes before inspection starts; the system shall then be tight at all points.
b. Air test. An air test may be used only when permission for this type of test is obtained from the commissioner. The air test shall be made by attaching an air compressor testing apparatus to any suitable opening and, after closing all other inlets and outlets of the system, forcing air into the system until there is a uniform gauge pressure of five psi. This pressure shall be held, without introducing additional air, for a period of at least fifteen minutes.
(2) Finished Plumbing. After the plumbing fixtures have been set and their traps filled with water, the entire drainage system shall be verified as to materials, and shall be tested and proven gastight by either a smoke test or a peppermint test.
a. Smoke test. The smoke test shall be made by filling all traps with water and then introducing into the entire system a pungent, thick smoke produced by one or more smoke machines. When the smoke appears at stack openings on the roof, these openings shall be closed and a pressure equivalent to a one inch water column shall be maintained for the period of the inspection.
b. Peppermint test. The peppermint test shall be made by introducing two ounces of oil of peppermint into the roof vent terminal of every line or stack to be tested. The oil of peppermint shall be followed at once by ten quarts of hot water (one hundred sixty degrees Fahrenheit or higher), whereupon all roof vent terminals shall be sealed. The detection of the odor of peppermint at any trap or other point in the system shall determine the location of any leaks. Persons who have come in contact with the oil of peppermint shall be excluded from the test area.
(b) Building house sewer. The building house sewer shall be tested by inserting a test plug at the point of connection with the street sewer before such connection is made. The building house sewer shall then be filled with water under a head of at least ten feet. The water level at the top of the test head of water shall not drop for at least fifteen minutes.
(c) Water systems. Upon completion of a section of a water system or of the entire water system, the completed section or system shall be verified as to materials, and shall be tested and proven tight under a water pressure at least twenty-five percent greater than the working pressure under which it is to be used. The water used for tests shall be obtained from a potable source of supply.
(d) Gas piping systems. Upon completion of the installation of a section of a gas system or of the entire gas system, and before appliances are connected thereto, the completed section or system shall be verified as to materials, and tested and proven tight as follows:
(1) Gas distribution piping:
a. Distribution pressures up to and including one-half psig. The completed piping is to be tested with a non-mercury gauge at a pressure of three pounds per square inch gauge (psig) for a minimum of thirty minutes.
b. Distribution pressures over one-half psig through three psig. The completed piping is to be tested at fifty psig for a minimum of thirty minutes.
c. Distribution pressures over three psig through fifteen psig. The completed piping is to be tested at one hundred psig for a minimum of one hour.
d. Distribution pressures above fifteen psig. The completed piping is to be tested to twice the maximum allowable operating pressure, but not less than one hundred psig, for a minimum of one hour.
(2) Meter piping shall be pressure tested in accordance with the requirements of the serving utility. These requirements shall be either the same as those for testing distribution piping in paragraph one of this subdivision, or if different, the piping shall be certified by the local utility as being tested in compliance with their requirements.
(3) Notwithstanding the above, all coded or wrapped pipe shall be pressure tested at a minimum of ninety psig. For testing, the piping shall be filled with air or an inert gas, and the source of pressure shall be isolated before the pressure readings are made. All test duration time periods are to be measured after stabilization of testing medium. Fresh water may be used as the test medium only where the required test pressure exceeds one hundred psig.
(4) The commissioner shall publish a list of non-mercury gauges certified by a nationally recognized testing lab or promulgate rules with standards for non-mercury gauges within one hundred and twenty days of the effective date of this paragraph.
(e) Other piping systems. All other piping systems shall be tested in accordance with the requirements prescribed in reference standard RS-16.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 2001/017.
Article 8: Minimum Water Closets In Places of Public Assembly
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 2005/057.
For the purposes of this article only, the following definitions shall apply in conjunction with the definitions found in sections 27-232:
a. "Convention hall" shall mean any building or space utilized, during the major period of occupancy, for the holding of exhibitions or conventions.
b. "Specified place of public assembly" shall mean any arena, bar, as such term is defined in section 17-502 of this code, concert hall, convention hall, motion picture theatre, public dance hall, stadium, or theatre open to the general public.
c. "Public dance hall" shall mean any building or space utilized, during the major period of occupancy, for dancing, and where alcoholic beverages are permitted to be served.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 2005/057.
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