it’s our hot water heater sitting on a stand with 3 legs and a piece of pvc pipe with no metal leg under it. our concern is that it could easily collapse and flood the garage. our hot water heater already doesn’t work and hasn’t since we moved in (in our brand new build rental) and we went out to investigate and found this-
Reminds me of people in the 1990s whose tube TVs would break so they’d get a new one and just set it on top of the old one to use. Indefinitely.
Like this probably was originally sitting on a tiny, old broken water heater and they decided that was tooooo trashy looking so this was the solution.
The tube tv would make a much better support for sure
This was my house in the late 70s...broken console tube tv with a new tv on top. I guess my parents felt that the console made for a good tv stand.
Or they didn't want to haul it out to the curb. They were heavy!!
Reminds me of people in the 1990s whose tube TVs would break so they’d get a new one and just set it on top of the old one to use. Indefinitely.
What are you talking about in the 1990s?
Hell, we did that in the 60s. You have the console TV that went bad, and you buy a portable and sit it on top of the broken console TV. NO TV stand necessary. 😷
With today's TVs you have the big one that went bad so you take the smaller one and sit it on the stand in front of the bigger one. I've been there and done that until I could afford an even bigger one than the broken big one.
In hindsight this was definitely an 80s thing for me, when the TVs from the 70s died because they still came in a sturdy wooden console. Good to know it’s a timeless trashy tradition, though. Lol
Methew. This is AMAZING!”
Definitely the work of a meth head "handyman."
Good Enuff Construction gives another satisfied customer!
Slumlord fix.
Your first step should be to send this photo to the landlord to document that you know about the problem and have reported it. It’s possible the landlord is not aware of this janky installation. Give them a chance to fix it. This is first and foremost a safety hazard. That could be 800-1000lbs of weight that could come crashing down on someone or onto a car if the PVC collapses.
It'd have to be at least an 80 gallon tank to hit those numbers. Assuming it's a fairly normal 50 gallon tank size, then we're probably looking around 550 lbs. Still a concern with the PVC, though. A simple piece of 4x4 PT wood would solve this issue - at the owner's expense of course.
Honestly the PVC looks stronger than the sheet metal table that its on, but. I'd be asking why it needs to be 3 feet off the ground to begin with
This is a major safety hazard and the person who did it should be ashamed of themselves. Like others have said, take a pic and send to your landlord along with text letting him know you are aware of the danger. Give him a very short time to do what's right and if he ignores you let him know you are going to call a plumber to come out and fix it and will be deducting the cost from your rent. Make sure to maintain a written record of all of your communication as well as any receipts and estimates.
Slumlord will not get it fixed.
Since no one wants to actually answer your question I will. Technically this can be up to code. In a lot of states its required a gas hot water tank be elevated 18 inches off the ground, which this is. To my knowledge there is nothing that mandates that platform to be completely metal. PVC is pretty strong and I'm guessing if its placed perfectly with the weight of the corner evenly distributed it should hold a completely full hot water tank. Due to the weight of a full hot water tank it should be pretty difficult to knock of the PVC if it was supported properly. With that being said it does look pretty jank and I would probably asked for then to replace the stand due to concern.
It doesn't look like there's a gas line into the heater, though, so any provision for a fired water heater wouldn't apply. Being "up to code" is highly dependent on the local AHJ and any amendments they made, as well as if they use IPC/IMC or UPC/UMC as a basis. 2024 IPC defers supports to IMC, which just says that the heater should be supported per the manufacturer's instructions. UPC just says it should have sufficient supports to prevent damage to the heater or the structure.
That said, everyone else here is right, document it and send it to the landlord. If in doubt, contact whoever the plumbing code authority is where you live.
LOL not at all. I would look for more of these "fixes" around the house.
I’d start looking around if this is the first thing you noticed wrong in your rental.
But that’s just me.
Safety third.
Meth first!
this stand thing makes me think it's california? their building code and landlord-tenant laws do not fuck around, if i remember right this is required to help harden against earthquakes. a PVC pipe definitely doesn't count for that.
tell landlord, if they don't fix it you could easily sic code enforcement on them.
Calling code enforcement is a good way to get your lease not renewed though. Personally I would talk to landlord if that doesn't work I'd accept it and maybe make sure my renters insurance is good to go for possible water heater damage.
after a year of tenancy in california, there are pretty strict requirements on non-renewals that a code complaint would make it very difficult for the landlord to prove it isn't retaliatory
This does not even have leak containment..
That's what she said
That's only required if it's in an attic or somewhere else where a leak may damage structure. This looks like a garage, so it wouldn't be required (whether that's best practice is up for debate).
It is up to code… the secret code.
More like the carny code.
I wonder what happened to the missing leg? Maybe hit it with a car?
there’s actually a metal pylon bolted into the concrete in front of it (the yellow thing) which makes this extra odd that they took the time to do that but not add a 4th leg
Yeah, I didn’t see the yellow pylon. I only looked at the first photo. Maybe they added the pylon later.
I wonder what happened
To the missing leg? Maybe
Hit it with a car?
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it's a good thing that it's not working - and it called out for attention!
it's also odd to see a hot water heater that far off the floor. but, in any case, it's an opportunity to make sure that both function and safety are addressed.
Most NG water heaters in garages had to be elevated before anti flammable gas ignition valves became standard.
Thank you!
(today i learned ...)
Guessing that they were missing the 4th leg in the kit for the base so they made do with what materials they had and cut a length of pipe.
Depends... which place's code? Smurf Village?
Someone please tell me what in the hell this is??? Like it doesnt prevent leaks - no pan. It decreases stability in an earthquake - up off the ground. It makes non sense to me. I think it is the epitome of the creation of the word nonsense. Please explain to me any reason this is in existence.
It’s standard practice to keep hot water tanks off the ground in case of flooding to prevent damage to the unit. Also, if it’s a gas hot water tank then a flood can cause the pilot light to go out, which can cause a gas leak.
Funny thing: I have a gas water heater. It’s up on a concrete ledge and I never knew that was by design! It just looked like part of the room and I assumed it had to do with our foundation being on a hill. I’ll take my nonsense back and thank you for the explanation/lesson!
A little to my credit our previous house’s gas hot water heater was just on the ground but it was old 1940 house and Im thinking not up to the latest codes. Thanks for enlightening me:)
You’re welcome! Even my electric one is up on some concrete in my basement, which technically it doesn’t have to follow that code but if it were to flood down there it could cause electrical damage , which is why it’s just usually common practice to elevate them in areas prone to flooding.
A. Not code. B. Probably not going to fail either. C. This owner janks.
Also check rental laws in your area. Some places require hot water be available or else the unit is deemed uninhabitable.
Tat pvc isnt even completely verticle. If you look at the bottom, there is a small gap showing that the weight is already uneven on it
To all, this is called a cheap LL, slumlord fix.
Actually I don’t think so. OP mentioned this is a new build, at least in my area this is literally the kind of stuff you find in brand new houses. The builders do some sketchy shit. They run out of parts and get them from the next house over, kicking the can down the road until they finally have to solve it and this is the result. Check the attic it’s probably got trusses broken, or not secured, half the insulation it should and vent pipes going to nowhere.
Not a new build, this has been like this for a time before he moved in and is a Slumlord cheap fix. You can call this whatever, but it is a slumlord cheap fix.
It's tilted. LOL. No. Adult better.
Oh hell no.
Slap an OSHA approved sticker on that bad boy
wow y pipes cover n blood??
Hot water heater doesn’t work? That in itself is a major violation
Of course it is.
Ummm, no
Guy code maybe lol
That is an awful idea. It may hold a while, until that pvc gets brittle and weak.
Lol no. Needs an actual leg. And needs to be double strapped.
Looks like someone tried to use it as a ladder..
The PVC is probably stronger than the cheap sheet metal. I'd put 3 more pvc pipes on that ;)
eh. As long as the tilt doesn't effect the operation, I would glue it to the base and call it a day. I'd tell the landlord of course to protect myself in case something happens they can't claim ignorance. But I pick my battles and a functioning water heat isn't something I want to waste my time on.
"up to code?" Depends on your location, but probably not, is it why your water heater doesn't work? No, not even in the realm of possible. Is it going to give way, collapse, or otherwise break or cause the water heater to fall? I mean never say never, but schedule 40 is some pretty robust stuff. I have never seen it break especially not from linear compression like that. And I've used 8'+ long pieces on a ratchet to get leverage even with a couple pretty strong guys on it, the bolts have broken before the PVC. Except one time it did break when I probably should have used my head not put any plastic on anything for leverage in sub zero temperatures. Edit to add: it's an electric water heater, if it's not working check your breakers, I bet it's off.
Absolutely not, I'm a Massachusetts plumber 30 yrs, I hope that isn't gas
Uuuhh...no, no its definitely is not to code in Texas! As a plumbers wife/assistant we raised water heaters all the time. Those cheap metal ones are very flimsy. We always built one out of 3/4 inch plywood and 4x4's before we went to the job.
I can see as a renter you might not wanna do that. Personally I'd be raising hell to the office about how dangerous that crap is!! Please do something before someone gets hurt by a falling giant log!! 😵💫
I think if you have to ask, the answer is No.
What in the slumlord is this....
I don’t know 99% about code, but using a PVC pipe as a supporting column, that might not be approved.
What in the hill-billy, trailer park, backwoods, redneck, it’s not stupid if it works, kind of LL special is this???