In November 16, 2018 our committee visited 2 new DRC water heater installations -- one of the first floor and one on the fifth floor. The one of the first floor was done by a plumber from R.S. Andrews Plumbing and included the installation of a new thermal expansion tank. The tank was placed horizontally between the top of the new hot water heater and the bottom of the air conditioner using push-on connector fittings. This installation was done under a City of Decatur building permit and it is assumed it was inspected and found to be in compliance with local plumbing codes.
A water sensor alarm placed on the concrete floor next to the water heater should be installed to catch any leaks. It is disappointing that the installation did not include a water heater pan -- likely not required by code because this unit was not over another residential unit (bottom of stack). Even though our building does not support a pan drain on the first floor, a pan would provide another place to put a water alarm sensor. I do not know if the old gate valve was changed out or a new ball valve installed here.
The second water heater installation we saw on the fifth floor did not include a thermal expansion tank or valve. I think a new gate valve was installed, even through the owner had requested a new ball valve. The owner has requested additional work on the water heater plumbing, which has not been done at this time. This installation did not include an expansion tank or valve and was likely done without a building permit.
These two water heater replacement installations are vastly different, and demonstrate the importance of some standardization in accomplishing this somewhat complex plumbing job.
The plumber who accompanied us said that instead of thermal expansion tanks, code would allow us to install thermal expansion pressure valves when new water heaters are installed and suggested a Watts 530C. Given our AC closet space limitations, I think this is a may be a better solution. Here is a Watts LF530C (no lead) from Amazon ==> Click Here (adjustable from 50 to 175 psi).
We visited the condo pump room and talked about a build-wide thermal expansion tank. The plumber offered to check with a plumbing engineer to see if that was feasible. The tank currently in the pump room was judged not to be an expansion tank -- although I don't remember what it is. We did not consider it at the time, but we should likely explore the option of installing a thermal expansion valve (rather that a tank) in the condo pump room which could accommodate all units with a single expansion device.
Here are some other expansion valve options from Amazon:
Combo expansion valve and water heater cutoff valve ==>
Click Here (Factory set and sealed at 125 psi -- need to know what
condo needs)
Legend brand expansion valve ==>
Click Here
Washing machine pans would be a good leak deterrent when equipped with a water sensor alarm, however, installing the pans under either existing or new laundry equipment would be challenging. I would recommendation that when laundry equipment is replaced, pans should be installed, without overflow drains. Laundry rooms do not have access to floor level drain lines for pan overflow.
There was a brief discussion about the disadvantage of not having water cut-off valves for each condo stack. If there was a cut-off for each stack, the stack water could be shutoff to work on a single unit within the stack, and the entire building would not need to be cut-off and drained. It was considered that there may be stack cut-offs, but it was discovered that none existed. Further investigation led to the best solution being to install two main shutoff valves on the third floor front hallway -- one for stacks 01-08 (not sure if this 08 is correct) and the other for the remained of the building. These cutoff valves were subsequently installed and used for conversion of gate valves to ball valves.