By: Barry Stone
Dear Barry,
Our condominium complex was built in the early 1990s, and we have already experienced several leaks in the water piping. That wouldn't be so bad if each condo had its own water supply shutoff valve. Whenever a leak is repaired at one unit, the water to all units must be turned off. Our owners' association requested that separate valves be provided but we were told that this is not required by code. What should we do? --Roger
Dear Roger,
Someone is pulling the collective legs of your condo association membership. The Uniform Plumbing Code specifically requires "that supply piping to a single family residence be controlled on one valve." If your condo complex does not have a separate water supply valve for each living unit, then the builder messed up and the building inspector failed to identify the problem prior to approving the project. If the persons responsible for this mistake are not convinced that separate valves are mandated, have them read section #605.2 of the plumbing code. If they're using the old code, that's section #1005(b).
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