Choosing to remodel your home is no small task. One doesn’t often decide on a whim to build another bedroom, add a guest house, or build a second story. Perhaps the kids moving back home? Or you’ve decided to take in your elderly parents? Or are you just addicted to those remodeling shows? Whatever the reason you’ve got a lot of planning in front of you. One commonly overlooked area is the plumbing. If you’re going to do so in Scottsdale, AZ, you need to know about some serious plumbing codes that could add thousands to your remodel budget. Read through these six quick plumbing regulation tips before you make plans to change your house. It may save you a bundle.
Plumbing Renovation Tips
- Review Your CC&R’s According to the City of Scottsdale, when you move into a neighborhood with Codes, Covenants, and Regulations(CC&R’s) you agree to comply with the regulations as adopted. CC&R’s represents a civil contract between the property owner and the property owner’s association and are legally binding on the participants. Violation of CC&R’s can be penalized and fined as set out in the legal section of the regulations. It is the responsibility of the property owner, not the city, to be aware of any CC&R’s as part of any proposed building modification or new construction. The city does not maintain or monitor CC&R’s. CC&R’s are civil in nature and as such are not enforced by the City of Scottsdale; however, it is your duty as a member of your neighborhood to make sure that your construction plans fall within the CC&R codes.
- Keep Your Remodel Under 50% If you are improving or adding 50% or more of the existing structure then the entire structure must be brought up to all current Building Code standards. This could mean redoing plumbing lines, electrical, and others. Stay under 50% to avoid the exorbitant add-on.
- Do You Need Fire Sprinklers? Going along with tip #2, if you are improving or adding 25% or more of the existing structure you must add fire sprinklers to your entire home – that’s the additional and the original structure. That will add quite a bit to your original remodel budget as you’ll need to have your house plumbed for the fire system.
- Determine if Extension of a Public Sewer Line is Required There are several cases where water & sewer extensions/connections may be required. For instance, for additions and renovations equal to or greater than 50% of the existing structures, water & sewer improvements may be required. This may also be necessary if the lot is undeveloped or redeveloped and public sewer is available within 660 feet of the nearest property corner or if the Maricopa County Environmental Services Department denies construction of, or modification to, an on-site wastewater treatment facility (septic system). For properties with multiple street frontages, such as a corner lot, you may be required to extend a public sewer line across all frontages (in accordance with Scottsdale Revised Code Chapter 49).
- Plan Ahead Water/Sewer extensions must be approved prior to plan submittal for the remodel; this process takes four to six months. In addition, the “average” cost to construct a water line extension is around $100 per linear foot; this can have a significant impact on your budget.
- Determine if Connection to an Existing Public Sewer Line is Required You may not need an extension of the sewer line if you are close to an existing line. A qualifying line runs along any adjacent street, alley, or easement. Keep in mind that this is assuming your remodel or addition is less than 50% of your existing structure. If larger, you’ll be required to upgrade the septic tank or wastewater connection pipes. You may be exempt from this is a registered professional engineer demonstrated that it is not physically possible to connect to an existing public sewer line.
How We Can Help
The city of Scottsdale is known nationally as a wonderful place to live, work, and play. Besides the great food establishments and pristine golf courses, the homes draw folks from everywhere. Some of the neighborhoods are new, but a large majority are classic older homes, which means Scottsdale residents may want to upgrade, remodel, or add-on to their properties. If you find that you are looking into remodeling your Scottsdale home, call our experts are Deer Valley Plumbing. We can help you navigate these tricky questions and determine exactly what, if any, plumbing upgrades you’ll need to make with your remodel.