Office of the Plumbing Inspector
Olean Municipal Building, Room 212
P.O. Box 668,101 E. State St.
Olean, New York 14760 (716) 376-5683, (716) 376-5707 (fax)
TO: City of Olean Licensed Master Plumbers
FROM: Robert W. Clarke, Plumbing Inspector
DATE: February 23,2005
Enclosed please find the recommendations of the New York State Plumbing Code book dealing with trenches dug parallel to existing footers. Trenches that encroach into the loadbearing distribution plane of any footer will not be permitted as per Section 307.5. Also, on the same page, take note of Section 307.4 pertaining to alterations to trusses.
One other code issue I would like to bring to your attention is on the enclosed page titled Section 705.14.2 dealing with the proper method of making solvent cement joints on pvc pipe. A primer is recommended by the pvc manufacturers, and a purple primer is required by the New York State Plumbing Code.
As I mentioned in my last letter, the web site maintained by the City of Olean is making some changes. If you want to check it out, go to www.cityofolean.com, click on Departments, click on Fire, Buildings & Emergency Services, click on Code Enforcement. There are several pages within the Code Enforcement site that may be of interest to you.
On a lighter note, I found the attached "History of Plumbing" interesting reading. Plumbing and plumbers have a long and respected past. If you find any or all of these attachments interesting, pass them along to your employees.
Remember, get a code book. Everybody should be on the same page. The current New York State Building Code, adopted in 2002, consists of eight books. You don't have to buy the entire set. You can buy only the books that fit your needs.
Tom Windus, Director of Public Works, is contemplating some changes in the way some things are done in the departments under his jurisdiction. Some of these things may effect the way you, as licensed plumbers, do your work. I will keep you informed of any changes as they occur.
RWC/kes