All piping, traps and fixtures of a plumbing
system shall be inspected by the proper administrative authority to
ensure compliance with all the requirements of this chapter and the
installation and construction of the system in accordance with the
approved plans and the permit.
A.
It shall be the duty of the plumber to notify the
proper administrative authority and the owner, or his authorized agent
in writing, not less than eight working hours between the hours of
9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. before the work is to be inspected and tested.
B.
It shall be the duty of the plumber to make sure the
work will stand the test prescribed before giving the above notification.
C.
If the proper administrative authority fails to appear
within 24 hours of the time set for each inspection or test, the inspection
or test may be deemed to have been made, provided that the plumber
shall, within 24 hours after the hour set for inspection, file with
the proper administrative authority an affidavit that the work was
installed in accordance with this chapter, the approved plans and
permit, that it was free from defects, that the required test had
been made by him, that the system was found to be free from leaks,
and that the owner or his authorized agent was present when such inspection
or test was made or had been duly notified.
D.
At the time the permit is taken out, a written waiver
by the owner of notification may be filed with the proper administrative
authority.
The equipment, material, power and labor necessary
for the inspection and test shall be furnished by the plumber.
All the piping of a plumbing system shall be
tested with water or air. After the plumbing fixtures have been set
and their traps filled with water, the entire drainage system shall
be submitted to a final air pressure test. The proper administrative
authority may require the removal of any cleanouts to ascertain if
the pressure has reached all parts of the system.
A.
The water test may be applied to the drainage system
in its entirety or in sections. If applied to the entire system, all
openings in the piping shall be tightly closed except the highest
opening above the roof and the system filled with water to the point
of overflow above the roof.
B.
If the system is tested in sections, each opening
shall be tightly plugged except the highest opening of the section
under test and each section shall be filled with water; but no section
shall be tested with less than a ten-foot head of water. In testing
successive sections, at least the upper 10 feet of the next preceding
section shall be retested so that no joint or pipe in the building
shall have been submitted to a test of less than a ten-foot head of
water.
C.
Under any test the water shall remain constant for
not less than 15 minutes without any further addition of water.
The tests may be made separately, as follows:
No drainage or plumbing system or part thereof
shall be covered until it has been inspected, tested and approved
as herein prescribed.
If any house drainage or plumbing system or
part thereof is covered before being regularly inspected, tested and
approved as herein prescribed, it shall be uncovered upon the direction
of the proper administrative authority.
If the inspection or test shows defects or inadequacies, such defective or inadequate work or material shall be replaced within three days and another inspection and test shall be called for as provided in § 152-132. A fee of $5 for every reinspection shall be paid at or before issuance of a certificate of approval.
If a stable or garage or any part of a stable
or garage is to be used for human habitation, the same inspections
and tests of plumbing and drainage systems thereof shall be made as
in the case of an ordinary dwelling. Otherwise, all stable and garage
drains shall be inspected but need not be tested.
Upon the completion of the entire water distribution
system, it shall be tested and proved tight under a water pressure
not less than the maximum working pressure under which it is to be
used.
Upon the satisfactory completion and final test
of the plumbing system, a certificate of approval will be issued by
the proper administrative authority to the plumber, to be delivered
to the owner. No plumbing work for which an inspection or test is
required by this chapter shall be used unless a certificate of approval
has been issued.
No tests or inspections shall be required where
a plumbing system or part thereof is not used for toilet purposes
but is set up merely for exhibition purposes and is not directly connected
to a sewage disposal system; nor after the repair or replacement of
an old fixture, faucet or valve by another one to be used for the
same purpose; nor after forcing out stoppages and repairing leaks.
