What are the earthquake strap requirements for water heaters?
Unfortunately, divergent methods and opinions abound among those who install, inspect, or approve various kinds of strapping. At the root of the problem is a lack of adequate notification by the state agency responsible for the advent of current seismic standards. Since 1982, the Uniform Plumbing Code has mandated seismic safety straps for most water heaters. The purpose of this requirement is to prevent fire, explosion, or water damage if a water heater should topple during an earthquake. Originally, the code merely stated that water heaters “shall be anchored or strapped to resist horizontal displacement due to earthquake motion.” But no installation standards were included with this code. Types of hardware and methods of attachment were left to the discretion of the installer. In the 1990’s, strapping requirements were upgraded. According to the newer code, “Strapping shall be at points within the upper one-third and lower one-third” of the water heater. To date, this is all the plu
Unfortunately, divergent methods and opinions abound among those who install, inspect, or approve various kinds of strapping. At the root of the problem is a lack of adequate notification by the state agency responsible for the advent of current seismic standards. Since 1982, the Uniform Plumbing Code has mandated seismic safety straps for most water heaters. The purpose of this requirement is to prevent fire, explosion, or water damage if a water heater should topple during an earthquake. Originally, the code merely stated that water heaters “shall be anchored or strapped to resist horizontal displacement due to earthquake motion.” But no installation standards were included with this code. Types of hardware and methods of attachment were left to the discretion of the installer. In the 1990’s, strapping requirements were upgraded. According to the newer code, “Strapping shall be at points within the upper one-third and lower one-third” of the water heater. To date, this is all the plu
