OT - HVAC / Building Code Question

[Guest]

A friend is having a new roof installed.
She said that the roofers put a nail through a line set in the attic.
Roofers say the line set was too close to the roofline and that no nail plates were there to stop the nail.

Is there a national code for nail plates or distance from sheathing in attic for refrigerant lines?

 

[The Mechanic]

Re: OT - HVAC / Building Code Question

Should have been their responsibility to inspect for hazards including electrical. They need to step up and fix it.

 

[BOLTRIPPER]

Re: OT - HVAC / Building Code Question

this happened to me.....

the ac company install was many years past,,,,so it helps to know a fellow hide member that is a HVAC pro.....

the roofer picked up the tab......

 

[The Shottist]

Re: OT - HVAC / Building Code Question

There is no national code requirement for protective plate since the under side of the roof is exposed in most situations.
In finished walls, the line sets are to be centered in the wall between the inner and outer walls. When the line set passes through a stud, then there is to be metal nail guards on both sides of the stud to protect the copper.

 

[Queequeg]

Re: OT - HVAC / Building Code Question

A Roofer can not be expected to know what is under every square inch of roof surface. If it is in a contract that deems such an event as the responsibility of the contractor then maybe your friend has a leg to stand on.

As it is, unless the roofer shot a nail through a punky part of the roof sheathing or between planks, that zipped down and punctured a refrigerant or condensate line: one he should have known would not hold the nail in question, then yeah he might be accountable. Sometimes roofers make frame and sheathing repairs and patches so it may not be quite so simple as a roofing nail punching into a improperly situated pipe.

That said, there should be nothing contacting the underside of the roof sheathing other than the rafters, trusses or other framing they are nailed to.

Refrigerant lines, like plumbing and electrical pipe (And Wires) should be attached to framing members or braced in the center of walls and protected from fasteners installed by people who have no way to know exactly where they are.

Was there a permit pulled for the original A/C work? What about for the roof work? Are the roofers insured?

Carpenters are not typically held responsible for puncturing pipes or conduit when nailing or screwing base, crown, trim, fixtures or hardware. Nor are cabinet installers. The reason being that we don't have fucking X-Ray vision!

Roofers have been held accountable for many bonehead things but accidentally puncturing a line they did not have good reason to assume was tight against the underside of the roof (It should not have been) doesn't seem like one of them. Unless they were using unusually long nails, seems like the A/C repair is on the homeowner.

 

[T2CH]

Re: OT - HVAC / Building Code Question

Permit does not matter as the inspectors office is not accountable regardless.
When things in walls and ceilings/floors have a nail or screw driven through them it is just an accident, no ones fault.
I would try to get the repair bill split in half with the roofer.
If the line set was run parallel with the joist then he should not have been nailing there.

 

[Guest]

Re: OT - HVAC / Building Code Question

My thinking was that the roofer would not be accountable for the damage to the line set.
I don't think roofers do a full attic space inspection for such hidden dangers.
That's why I was asking about code.
It seems to me that it would be moronic to run a line set that close to the underside of the sheathing material, so perhaps the AC installer should be liable.

 

[Dakota_Mike]

Re: OT - HVAC / Building Code Question

I'd say it is the homeowners responsibility. If anything it's probably the HVAC company's responsibility if it was truly attached to the underside of the roof as they should know it will be reshingled at some point.

 

[Queequeg]

Re: OT - HVAC / Building Code Question

T2CH, you are mistaken. Building departments are often held accountable for work that is not code compliant, which was permitted and thus was inspected in many municipalities and counties. St. Pete is a shining example! Homestead Florida witnessed a severe backblast directed at the Dade county Building department when the wreckage of Post Hurricane Andrew revealed the horrifying degree of non compliance that was tolerated by inspectors during the building of the homes that were destroyed in August 1992.

My question about permitting related to the frequency with which people hire unlicensed, marginally qualified, rarely insured and almost never background checked, people to work in their homes.

Non permitted work is almost never inspected, thus work that is not code compliant may look and work properly but often it just such details such as improperly suspended pipe that are left unnoticed by laymen who don't know better.

I typically have less sympathy for people who hire unqualified contractors and Handy people.