Legislation related to Plumbing, Drainlaying and Gas fitting

Introduction to legislation

Many laws regulate how we live and work. This section is about the laws that have a direct effect on the licensed plumber and gasfitter.

To carry out work in our industry it is important that you have an understanding of the standards of conduct and the standards of work that must be met.

A thorough knowledge of:

• Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Act 2006,
• Gas Act,
• New Zealand Building Act 2004
• Safety in Employment Act

is required by tradespersons licensed as ‘Licensed Plumbers or Licensed Gasfitters’. Some knowledge is required of the many of Acts and Regulations available, with a thorough knowledge required to qualify for Certifying status.

The Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Act 2006 is designed to give the public assurance that the person who is carrying out the plumbing or gasfitting work at their building is well trained and competent.

The status of that person is held on a register by the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board.

Licensed plumbers and gasfitters must work under the supervision of a Certifying Plumber or Gasfitter unless of course they are Certifying themselves.

The main obligations of the Plumbers, Gasfitters, Drainlayers Board (‘the Board’) under the PGD Act are:

• to protect the health and safety of the public
• to regulate people working in the industry.

 Access legislative documentation from this link

Changes and amendments to legislation

It is the practitioner’s responsibility to keep informed of changes to legislation governing the trade, so a practitioner should regularly check for amendments, updates and replacements of applicable:

• Standards
• Acts
• Regulations
• Gazette notices.

Check the PGD Board’s web site for notifications.

By not complying with the requirements of the Act and Regulations, any work carried out as outlined in the Act or Regulations would be seen as illegal and could lead to prosecution or infringement notices (fines) being imposed. Insurance companies could also decline a claim either by the home owner or by you as a result of illegal work.

Legislation - Key terms

The Acts, Regulations and other documents that we use set the minimum standard for conduct and installation work.

Sound trade practice means “established trade practice of sound repute, competently executed with materials, practices and processes that are adequate for ensuring durability and efficiency in service, operation or performance.”

This statement was the benchmark when prosecutions and disciplinary actions were taken when defective or dangerous plumbing and gasfitting work was discovered. All plumbers and gasfitters should seek knowledge and training to be able to not only meet the minimum requirements of the acts and regulations, but also to produce a standard of work that satisfies the expectations of the customer.

Master Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers NZ Inc is the national association for plumbers, gasfitters and drainlayers. It and similar organisations have a Code of Conduct or Code of Ethics that also requires standards of conduct and work that will be greater than the minimum set by the government.

With the introduction of the Building Act 2004 the principles of ‘sound trade practice’ have been expanded and specific detail added. In many instances the expected standard of work has been reduced. However, the health and safety of the customer and community is safeguarded with specific tests applied to each part of the New Zealand Building Code you may use. The Building Act 2004 is designed to set standards for all parts of a building.

 
  PGDB Legislation

The Building Act 2004

Is the legislation that governs the building industry in New Zealand. The Act aims to improve control of, and encourage better practices in building design and construction.

The Objectives of the NZ Building Code correspond to the purposes of the Building Act 2004. The Code defines how a building must perform, and consists of a number of clauses.

Means of compliance

The Building Code is made up of a number of clauses. Each clause sets out the ‘objective’ of the clause, the ‘function’ or how well it must work and the ‘performance’ or what the minimum standard is that must be achieved.

One example is G13. This clause includes compliance documents for the supply of sanitary plumbing and includes two Acceptable Solutions, that is G13 AS1 and G13 AS3 (AS/NZS 3500.2).

An Acceptable Solution is a recognised way of carrying out a job.

Any work on hot water services that you do must conform to this clause of the code. The following list is a summary of Clause G12 AS1’s ‘performance criteria’ (mandatory requirements) which expects hot water services to:

• be delivered at a temperature that avoids the likelihood of scalding
• have adequate flow rates to sanitary fixtures and sanitary appliances
• avoid the likelihood of leakage
• allow reasonable access to components likely to need maintenance, including a means of isolation
• be capable of being controlled to prevent the growth of legionella bacteria
• have vessels used for producing or storing hot water to be provided with safety devices that:
• relieve excessive pressure during both normal and abnormal conditions, and
• limit temperatures to avoid the likelihood of flash steam production in the event of rupture.

The methods of hot water supply covered in this text book will be of sound trade practice and the acceptable solutions of the New Zealand Building Code. It is not intended to cover alternative designs which are at Certifying level.

An Alternative Solution is a proposed way of carrying out a job and needs approval before the work can be done.

Building Code Requirements

To obtain a Building Consent for a water heating installation, the installation must be shown to comply with the relevant sections of the Building Code. Relevant sections of the Building Code for water heating systems are Clauses:

B1 — Structure, B2 — Durability, E2 — External Moisture, G12 — Water Supplies, H1 — Energy Efficiency.

Some of the Codes that may be relevant when installing sanitary fixtures and appliances are listed below.

B1 Structure

The structural integrity of the building must be considered when:

• notching or boring through structural parts of the building
• locating water flushing tanks in ceilings
• relying on framework to support sanitary fixtures.

B2 Durability

All components of the sanitary plumbing system must be durable as they are subject to constant use over the life of the building.

The durability requirements are:

• 50 years for plumbing difficult to access, such as pipework cast in concrete or under slabs
• 15 years for plumbing moderately difficult to access, such as plumbing behind wall linings
• 5 years for surface mounted plumbing such as fixtures and appliances.

G1 Personal Hygiene

Functional requirement — Buildings shall be provided with appropriate spaces and facilities for personal hygiene.

Important considerations under G1 are:

• the number of sanitary fixtures required in a building determined by the number of people using the building
• accessible facilities required for disabled people
• privacy — line of sight into sanitary rooms
• protection from unpleasant odours and offensive matter
• installation to provide ease of cleaning
• location and dimensions for sanitary rooms
• required layout and dimensions of accessible toilets and shower rooms.

G13 Foulwater

Requirements under G13 are:

• convey foulwater from a building to a drainage system
• prevent foul air entering a building
• avoid the likelihood of blockages.

G12 Water Supplies

Functional Requirement — Buildings provided with water outlets, sanitary fixtures or sanitary appliances must have safe and adequate water supplies.

Important considerations under G12 are:

• safe hot water temperatures at fixtures
• cross connection hazards
• backflow prevention requirements for sanitary fixtures and appliances
• fixtures and appliances for utensil and personal washing to be provided with hot water in houses, retirement homes and early childhood centres
• acceptable water supply flow rates to sanitary fixtures.

Building Codes continued

E3 Internal Moisture

Objective of E3:

• to safeguard people against illness, injury and loss of amenity (a feature which provides comfort or convenience) resulting from the accumulation of internal moisture
• to protect other household units in the same building from overflow or spillage. When installing sanitary fixtures the following must be considered:
• adequate ventilation to remove moisture
• overflow provisions (see floor drains)
• impervious (waterproof) and easily cleaned floor and wall surfaces
• impervious and easily cleaned fixture surfaces
• fixtures sealed in position to prevent water becoming trapped or penetrating into concealed spaces

It is therefore important to ensure that:

• fixtures such as toilet pans are well secured and sealed to the floor or wall.
• concealed spaces such as behind basins, urinals, showers and around baths and so on, must also be well sealed.

G2 Laundering

This code clause covers the requirements for providing laundry facilities in buildings.

G3 Food Preparation and Prevention of Contamination

This code sets out the requirements for hygienic space and facilities for storage, preparation and cooking of food in domestic, commercial and industrial facilities.

G4 Ventilation

This code ensures that buildings have adequate fresh air.

• It requires that cooking fumes and odours, moisture from laundering, washing and bathing, and odours from sanitary rooms are removed to outside the building. This can be achieved by natural ventilation (opening windows or trickle ventilators) or mechanical ventilation.

F2 Hazardous Building Materials

Safety glazing is required in sanitary rooms to fixtures such as shower doors.

Windows must be outside a ‘fall zone’ (where people will cut themselves if they come into contact with glass). This may be by using safety glass or some type of barrier.

F8 Signs

Signs shall be provided to identify accessible routes and the availability of facilities for disabled people.

D1 Access Routes

Siting of accessible sanitary fixtures must take into account access to allow people with disabilities to be able to use the facilities.

C1, C2, C3, C4 Fire Safety (The C Docs)

These codes are relevant when pipework serving sanitary fixtures penetrates a fire separation. Collars or fire wraps must be used as required by the fire protection engineer to ensure the integrity of the fire wall.

G14 Industrial Liquid Waste and G15 Solid Waste

These codes are particularly relevant in commercial and industrial installations.

F7 Warning systems

To achieve Code Compliance for all household building work smoke alarms must be located to wake sleeping occupants. They must be positioned within three metres of a bedroom door.

Schedule 2 of the New Zealand Building Code

This schedule lists buildings which require facilities for disabled persons.

Generally any building to which the public are admitted requires accessible facilities to be provided.

H1 — Energy efficiency

Clause H1 — Energy efficiency covers all aspects of a building structure in terms of energy efficiency. With regard to water heating systems, it sets out the requirements in terms of insulation of hot water storage vessels and pipes. This clause also refers to NZS 4305 which deals with domestic type electrical and gas systems having a storage water heater capacity up to 700 litres. Larger systems and the associated piping and controls are not controlled by the NZBC. Clause H1 includes a means of minimising pipe runs to conserve water and energy.

Schedule 1 of the New Zealand Building Code

This schedule is relevant as it identifies building work (including plumbing work) for which a building consent is not required. Even when a Building Consent is not required, plumbing work must be undertaken by a suitably qualified tradesman, and a certifying plumber is required to supervise work carried out by licensed plumbers and limited certificate holders (apprentices). The NZ Building Act 2004 requires that work that is exempt from the need to obtain a Building Consent must still be carried out as if a consent had been obtained.

The Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Act 2006 is designed to give the public assurance that the person who is carrying out the plumbing or gasfitting work at their building is well-trained and competent. The status of that person is held on a register by the Plumbers Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board. Licensed plumbers and gasfitters must work under the supervision of a Certifying plumber or gasfitter unless of course they are Certified themselves.

It is an offence for a homeowner or member of the public to undertake sanitary plumbing or gasfitting with or without the supervision of a certifying plumber or gasfitter.