# Just passed the texas nfpa 13d!



## NewSchool (Jan 8, 2012)

Just got notice that I am now certified in residential fire protection!


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## Mississippiplum (Sep 30, 2011)

Congrats man

sent from the jobsite porta-potty


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## PinkPlumber (May 20, 2012)

Dude....feels great, huh? What you going to do to celebrate?


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## Titan Plumbing (Oct 8, 2009)

Congrats! Do you have work lined up?


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## pilot light (Apr 21, 2012)

PinkPlumber said:


> Dude....feels great, huh? What you going to do to celebrate?


 He is buying beers for the whole bar!


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## TallCoolOne (Dec 19, 2010)

Titan Plumbing said:


> Congrats! Do you have work lined up?


Sounds good put I don't have any areas in D/FW where they are requiring this by code.

I hear the insurance industry is pushing this, and it is the plumbing board who want to cut the cost that sprinklers companies are charging by letting a plumber do residential fire systems, in my opinion.


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## RW Plumbing (Aug 16, 2010)

That's part of our license up here.


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## TallCoolOne (Dec 19, 2010)

RW Plumbing said:


> That's part of our license up here.


It's an endorsement they just added recently in Texas for single family

They are trying to preach to us here in Texas that there is a lot of money to be made in it.

As far as I know there are no cites in Texas that require sprinklers in houses...


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## user7551 (Oct 21, 2011)

TallCoolOne said:


> It's an endorsement they just added recently in Texas for single family
> 
> They are trying to preach to us here in Texas that there is a lot of money to be made in it.
> 
> As far as I know there are no cites in Texas that require sprinklers in houses...


The cities won't require this for a long time , but it is a great selling point when you are giving a bid for a house. Now you can offer them fire protection for their belongings and family.IMHO this a good thing.


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## RW Plumbing (Aug 16, 2010)

playme1979 said:


> The cities won't require this for a long time , but it is a great selling point when you are giving a bid for a house. Now you can offer them fire protection for their belongings and family.IMHO this a good thing.


Multi purpose piping systems, NFPA 13d, isn't designed as a property protection device. The sprinkler heads aren't sized to put out the fires, only to provide more time for the occupants of the home to evacuate. A good portion of the time, it winds up putting the fire out or saving a great deal of property, but you probably shouldn't use this to market your system as it is out of the system's design. Also, thanks to movies, people have the impression that when one sprinkler head goes off they all do. So you spend time explaining how the system actually works.


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## user7551 (Oct 21, 2011)

RW Plumbing said:


> Multi purpose piping systems, NFPA 13d, isn't designed as a property protection device. The sprinkler heads aren't sized to put out the fires, only to provide more time for the occupants of the home to evacuate. A good portion of the time, it winds up putting the fire out or saving a great deal of property, but you probably shouldn't use this to market your system as it is out of the system's design. Also, thanks to movies, people have the impression that when one sprinkler head goes off they all do. So you spend time explaining how the system actually works.


http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files/PDF/Sprinkler%20kit/Sprinkler_Safety_Talking_Points.pdf :whistling2:


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## RealCraftsMan (Dec 27, 2011)

I thought that they could not make anyone put one in by law or something in Texas. I'm might be dead wrong but seems someone posted that awhile back. Anyways I been thinking about doing it as well.

Congrats!


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

I do not agree that sprinkler system add value to home... no one want those ugly sprinkler heads or covers sticking out of the finished walls. 

When having sprinkler system, homeowners have to pay extorted amount of money to have it inspected yearly by city picked contractors.


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## Paddy (Sep 2, 2011)

When I sold my sprinklered home several years ago, 24 couples toured it. Not one of them noticed the sprinklers, and I had to point them out to the couple who purchased it! The "ugly" perception comes from people who are not familiar with residential sprinklers.

There is no such inspection requirement. Sprinklers have no moving parts, so there is nothing to wear out. Thus, there is no need for inspection or maintenance.


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## U666A (Dec 11, 2010)

I've also heard something to the affect that insurance can be more costly for a home outfitted with sprinklers. If a head were to rupture accidentally, or even to put out a small fire, a lot of water is discharged. Water definitely causes damage.


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## Paddy (Sep 2, 2011)

That is another myth. Insurance for large volume commercial sprinkler systems can have an additional premium for potential water damage. There is no additional premium for residential sprinklers, and I can supply a statement from the Insurance Services Office saying so.

Home sprinklers actually reduce insruance premiums from 10 to 40 percent, depending upon what state you live in.


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## NewSchool (Jan 8, 2012)

We do have some work lined up. 25 low income houses per year with cpvc loop systems in the ceiling. We are installing off of an engineered plan.


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## Paddy (Sep 2, 2011)

RW Plumbing said:


> Multi purpose piping systems, NFPA 13d, isn't designed as a property protection device. The sprinkler heads aren't sized to put out the fires, only to provide more time for the occupants of the home to evacuate. A good portion of the time, it winds up putting the fire out or saving a great deal of property, but you probably shouldn't use this to market your system as it is out of the system's design.


While the primary role of residential sprinklers is life safety, i. e., keeping the room of origin tenable to life for at least 10 minutes, they have also proved to reduce property loss by up to 90 percent. You can promote this by simply showing the facts.

The National Fire Protection Association sponsors a group called the Home Fire Sprinkler Initiative, and their web page contains material that you can use to market residential sprinklers. One note of caution. The group is mainly made up of sprinkler industry organizations, and does not address the advantages of plumbing-based systems. As more homebuilders get on the green building bandwagon, they will be asking for home-run plumbing because those systems conserve more water and energy. Home-run plumbing is the basis of plumbing-based sprinklers, which reduces installation costs by 50 percent. This can give you a big advantage when bidding against contractors who use traditional plumbing and sprinkler designs. For more information, see my posts about plumbing-based sprinklers at www.fdexcellence.com.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

> *What is the life safety record for fully sprinklered buildings?*
> 
> Aside from fire fighting and explosion fatalities, there has never been a multiple loss of life in a fully sprinklered building due to fire or smoke. Individual lives have been lost when the victim or his clothing or immediate surroundings became the source of the fire.
> 
> A National Fire Protection Association study for the years 1971-1975 found that approximately 20 lives are lost each year in this country in sprinklered buildings, as compared to approximately 4,000 per year in unsprinklered buildings. Some 68% of the lives lost in sprinklered buildings were due to explosions, and an additional 18% were due to the fact that the fire originated in an unsprinklered area of the building.


Sprinklers save lives and you can expect to see them become required by code... :yes:

Looks like New Hampshire now does...:thumbup:
http://www.nh.gov/safety/divisions/firesafety/building/plumbing/documents/2009IRCAmendments.pdf


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## WSH1852 (Mar 28, 2010)

Texas state law: Municipalities may NOT enact ordinances requiring the installation of a multipurpose residential fire protection sprinkler system or any other fire sprinkler protection system in a new or existing one- or two-family dwelling.

Texas Occupations Code

Sec. 1301.551. (i) Notwithstanding any other provision of state law, after January 1, 2009, a municipality may not enact an ordinance, bylaw, order, building code, or rule requiring the installation of a multipurpose residential fire protection sprinkler system or any other fire sprinkler protection system in a new or existing one- or two-family dwelling. A municipality may adopt an ordinance, bylaw, order, or rule allowing a multipurpose residential fire protection sprinkler specialist or other contractor to offer, for a fee, the installation of a fire sprinkler protection system in a new one- or two-family dwelling.

Licensed Plumbers can install multipurpose residential fire protection sprinkler systems if the hold a MULTIPURPOSE RESIDENTIAL FIRE PROTECTION SPRINKLER SPECIALIST ENDORSEMENT on their license.


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## pilot light (Apr 21, 2012)

TallCoolOne said:


> It's an endorsement they just added recently in Texas for single family
> 
> They are trying to preach to us here in Texas that there is a lot of money to be made in it.
> 
> As far as I know there are no cites in Texas that require sprinklers in houses...


 In Canada sprinklers is a another 4 years! steam too!


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## OldSchool (Jan 30, 2010)

pilot light said:


> In Canada sprinklers is a another 4 years! steam too!


Sprinkler fitter is a non mandatory license in Ontario.... Just like carpenter and drywaller

Sent from my miniature laptop


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## SewerRat (Feb 26, 2011)

Idaho has a residential fire code that requires sprinklers in homes with over 4500 square feet under roof (includes porches, garage, etc.). The only catch is that it is up to the fire districts to enforce it and very few do.


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## TallCoolOne (Dec 19, 2010)

WSH1852 said:


> Texas state law: Municipalities may NOT enact ordinances requiring the installation of a multipurpose residential fire protection sprinkler system or any other fire sprinkler protection system in a new or existing one- or two-family dwelling.
> 
> Texas Occupations Code
> 
> ...


I was told that almost all cities enacted this ordinance so it can be required in the future.

Only cities that have came into existance after 2009 will this include.


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## Paddy (Sep 2, 2011)

The law resulted from the home builders lobbying, but TX will come around in time. Home builders in other states are offering energy-saving homes for no increase in price. Home-run plumbing and plumbing-based sprinklers are some of the features. At some point, a production builder will recognize the marketing and cost advantages, and will offer sprinklered homes. As more home builders get on the sprinkler bandwagon, they will push to repeal the state law.


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## WSH1852 (Mar 28, 2010)

TallCoolOne said:


> I was told that almost all cities enacted this ordinance so it can be required in the future.
> 
> Only cities that have came into existance after 2009 will this include.


No, this includes any and all Texas cities. NO city in Texas can require residential fire sprinklers.


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## Paddy (Sep 2, 2011)

There are a handful of TX cities that require sprinklers in 1-2 family homes. The 2009 date allows cities that already had sprinkler ordinances to continue enforcing them.


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