John…where is my shut off?                                         Chelan Home Inspection Services

Well I will never be a plumber. This is one of those trades that I hold in high esteem. There is much more to proper plumbing and good workmanship than most will ever give them credit for.
So here we have an interesting case. During a recent home inspection I come upon one of the main bathroom fixtures “The John”.

The John gets its name from the godson Queen Elizabeth I, the nobleman Sir John Harrington. He invented the toilet in 1596. It was said that Sir John recommended flushing the toilet once or twice a day.

Well today we flush our privy a few more times than that. Since we do flush so often we need a water supply, and one requirement for such a supply is a shut off valve.

The IRC (International Residential Code) states:
P2903.9.3 Fixture valves and access.
Valves serving individual fixtures, appliances, risers and branches shall be provided with access. An individual shutoff valve shall be required on the fixture supply pipe to each plumbing fixture other than bathtubs and showers.

But like most codes there is an exception or another rule-

P2903.8.5 Valving.
Fixture valves, when installed, shall be located either at the fixture or at the manifold. If valves are installed at the manifold, they shall be labeled indicating the fixture served.

So we will not need a valve if there is a manifold and it is properly marked.  Manifolds are pretty common when using PEX plumbing.  These are much like a service panel with breakers for the electrical.

The one main difference being that the electrical breaker has a build in safety device. Something that goes wrong it may shut itself off. This is not true of the plumbing valves.

But like all things the codes are a minimum, good practice would be to install a shut off at each fixture for servicing or if an issue happens. An amazing amount of water can be produced at a broken line (unfortunately I know this to be very true). When you are flooding running to the manifold can seem a long ways away.
 

“You can't trust water: Even a straight stick turns crooked in it.”

W. C. Fields

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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