As a plumber, especially a teacher, I really take pride in knowing as much as I can about the plumbing code and every other part of plumbing. I read all kinds of literature from other codebooks, plumbing designers, ASPE manuals — really anything I can get my hands on. 

I’m even trying to network with others just to be able to ask them a question or two every now and then. This is something that I started way too late into my career. It’s not that I didn’t want to show someone how knowledgeable or unknowledgeable I was, it’s that I just didn’t want to put myself out there. Now, I do it all the time, to me it’s the best way to learn. You’ll be amazed at how many different ways of thinking there are about certain installs.  

When I have a question or a scenario of an install that I want to install, I usually just go to my mentor. I feel very fortunate that I have a mentor that is willing to give me everything I could possibly ask for. This goes from anything to taking phone calls on nights and weekends, helping me find a certain code citation to back up my install, to even giving me his learning activities to give to my students, he always asks, “Why reinvent the wheel?” I know that not everyone has this, and I know that every plumber is not willing to give up their knowledge and experience.

WHERE TO GO

So, what if we don’t have this great mentor that we can throw questions and ideas to? I know a lot of people go to forums such as Reddit for their questions or even a picture of their install. However, most of the replies are just ruthless. 

There are way too many different plumbing codes used throughout the USA or even in different cities in the same state for someone in the replies to immediately say that it is wrong or not code-compliant. It may actually be code compliant for that install in that area and not code-compliant in your area. I don’t usually check out these simply because of the definitions and terminology that people use. 

I am very particular in the definitions and terminology that I use. I try not to deviate from the same terminology used in our codebook. I try not to use any slang at all because we all know that different plumbers call the same thing multiple different names, and that’s incredibly confusing to me.   

Asking our mentor — or even a Reddit page — about a certain install that we are unsure of the answer to can be a very good idea. Now what about if we are physically doing an install that we feel really confident in, and after it is all done we call for inspection and the inspector thinks it doesn’t meet code? This has happened to every plumber, whether we want to admit to it or not. For example, you both have differing interpretations about the same install and same code. You obviously think that it’s code complying and the inspector does not. What’s the next step?  

WORKING WITH INSPECTORS

Just because they are the AHJ, does that automatically mean you have to rip out your install and do it their way? This is a dilemma that we have to deal with every day. Now, just to put myself out there, I am very much for inspection/inspector. We need to give our customers the peace of mind they deserve through qualified inspections. However, that doesn’t mean that they are always right when we have differing interpretations of the same install.  

Some plumbers think it’s up to the inspector to prove they are right and some inspectors think the plumber has to prove their install is right. I think it’s up to both parties to make sure it’s correct. If you are an inspector and you feel the install is not code compliant, you should have to prove it in the codebook. In retrospect, if you’re a plumber installing something a certain way you should have to also prove it in the codebook.  

In Wisconsin, we have our own code and a statewide agency that issues our plumbing licenses and is the AHJ for the entire state. They also can give us some interpretations at the state level, so we can limit the conflicting interpretations at the local level. Talking them through the install over the phone can be confusing and not get proper results. I usually email them and I usually like to add an isometric drawing with my question just to make sure we both know exactly what the install looks like and the exact pipes in question.  

The one bad thing about this is that they are received by the agency when they have a little bit of free time, and if you submitted the same question five times, it could be read by five different individuals. That means we can have five different interpretations of the exact same install, which may or may not get us anywhere if they are conflicting.

Maybe this is why having a mentor is so vital to our career in plumbing. They have “been around the block,” so to speak. They may even have a good relationship with the inspector and can communicate to them without emotions from being part of the install.

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Ken Dickerson teaches plumbing apprenticeship at Waukesha County Technical College. He is the 2022 Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin Instructor of the Year, a U.S. Air Force veteran and proud husband and father of two. To reach Dickerson, email editor@plumbermag.com.