How high should I be in Washington State?

Lets talk about high, or better yet do you even have to be high.

I was doing a 1 year warranty home inspection for a client on a new construction home and up comes the infamous how high should the “electric” water heater bottom element be when placed in a garage?

This is one of those items that depends on how local building official/AHJ interprets the code it will be enforced. Here in my local counties the building officials have decided that an electric water heater does not need to be 18 inches off the floor. This item was in enforcement up to a few years ago.

But this runs us into a bit of a dilemma for us as home inspectors in Washington State, per WAC 308-408C-180- for attached garages or carports we are to report any water heater, gas or electric, less than 18 inches off the ground.

                                     (Typical Stand for a Water Heater)

Here is how the WAC rule reads-

WAC 308-408C-180 - Report as a fire hazard the presence of any ignition source (gas and electric water heaters, electrical receptacles, electronic air cleaners, motors of installed appliances, etc.) that is within eighteen inches of the garage floor.

So per our SOP it pretty cut and dry that a water heater, gas or electric needs to be elevated and reported if it is not elevated.

Then we have the mechanical code, from the 2012 IRC-

M1307.3 Elevation of ignition source.

Appliances having an ignition source shall be elevated such that the source of ignition is not less than 18 inches (457 mm) above the floor in garages. For the purpose of this section, rooms or spaces that are not part of the living space of a dwelling unit and that communicate with a private garage through openings shall be considered to be part of the garage.

Exception: Elevation of the ignition source is not required for appliances that are listed as flammable vapor ignition resistant.

This may not be a huge deal in the scheme of things, but it can turn into one when the home inspector comes in and makes a recommendation that becomes an issue for the builder who is looking to poke holes in the report and looking to discredit the inspection report.

“If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.”

Red Adair

NCW Home Inspections, LLC  is a Licensed Washington State Home Inspection service located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, Oroville, Cle Elum, East Wenatchee, Quincy and many more…  

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