Brewpub Tenant Improvement: When the Field Work Exceeds the Permit Scope
A 2,800 sq ft retail space in a 1978 masonry building is being converted into a 90-seat brewpub. The plumbing portion of the issued permit reads: "Replace two water closets in existing restroom; all other plumbing existing to remain." The mechanical and electrical sheets show new equipment, but there is no plumbing plan sheet in the approved set. On the first field visit the inspector finds a three-compartment sink and two hand sinks roughed in 30 feet from any existing drain; a new 2-inch under-slab floor drain; a 40-foot run of 1 1/4-inch black steel gas piping terminating at a 200,000 Btu/h range; a 100-gallon water heater relocated onto a mezzanine platform; and a 1,000-gallon exterior grease interceptor set into the public sidewalk, with the trench scheduled for backfill at 2:00 p.m. the same day. The general contractor says all of it is "minor and already covered" and calls the interceptor "just a tank."
1. Which portions of the field work fall outside the approved permit, and what is the correct sequence of actions at this visit, including the disposition of the trench?
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Everything except the two water closets is outside the permit scope. The permit text is the legal limit of the approval, and the inspector cannot expand it in the field because the work "looks minor." The three-compartment sink, the hand sinks, the new under-slab drain, the relocated water heater, the new 40-foot gas run and the exterior interceptor are all regulated plumbing/gas work requiring plumbing plan review and a supplemental permit. Sequence: (1) issue a written correction/stop-work notice limited to the out-of-scope items; (2) require the designer to submit a plumbing plan sheet and revised plans and obtain the supplemental permit and plan review before any further installation; (3) do not allow backfill of the interceptor trench, because underground piping and the interceptor must be inspected and tested while exposed. If the trench is covered before inspection, the inspector may require it to be re-excavated, and the contractor bears that cost. Separately, the change from mercantile to assembly occupancy is a building official determination affecting occupant load, egress and fixture counts; the plumbing inspector should flag it in writing rather than decide it.
2. What inspections and tests must be completed before the underground drain and the gas piping are approved, and what would you accept as the gas test?
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The 2-inch drain and interceptor require an underground inspection before backfill: bedding, continuous slope toward the building sewer, joint assembly, cleanout placement, and the interceptor's inlet/outlet arrangement and accessibility. Then a rough-in inspection of the water, drain-waste-vent and gas piping before concealment, followed by a final.
The gas line requires its own test. The common code requirement is a test pressure of at least 1.5 times the proposed maximum working pressure and never less than 3 psi, held for the duration specified in the adopted fuel gas code, with all joints exposed and a gauge whose range makes the reading meaningful (a 0-200 psi gauge reading at 3 psi proves nothing). A soap-bubble check at working pressure is not a substitute. Verify the 1 1/4-inch steel will deliver 200,000 Btu/h over 40 feet under the code capacity tables for the gas delivered and the allowable pressure drop, that a sediment trap and shutoff are at the appliance, that the pipe is supported, and that the gas piping is bonded per the electrical code.
3. The grease interceptor sits in the public sidewalk. What approvals and installation details must be verified before you can accept it?
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First, jurisdiction: an interceptor in a public sidewalk is in the right-of-way and needs the local agency's encroachment or right-of-way permit and structural design for the cover loading. A traffic-rated frame and cover is mandatory, and the device must remain accessible for pumping and inspection, which often conflicts with sidewalk grades.
Second, sizing and documentation: the manufacturer's rated capacity and the basis for sizing must be submitted and must match the local pretreatment ordinance, which frequently sets minimum capacity and detention time different from the plumbing code. A precast box with no rating data is not approvable. Verify the inlet and outlet baffles or sanitary tee, the vent, the flow control or air-gap arrangement serving the fixture connection, and that the structure is watertight and tested for exfiltration.
Third, the fixture arrangement must be reinspected after the supplemental permit is issued, and as-built record drawings should be required because the device is buried and will be maintained by others.