Is this up to code?
Question:the house i am renting in palm springs california is on a subfloor(like a manufactored home but not) it sits about 3 feet off the ground and has NO insulation in the floor. should it?? can i get a link that would show me the codes? also its windy and the pilot light on the water heater goes out daily. have to relight it all the time. is that against some code? thanks.
Answers:
Is the house on posts or pillars? Is the area under the house enclosed with an exterior wall, or just open? Doesn't make a bunch of differance I guess, I was just wondering cos most heat is lost and gained through the ceiling and walls... Being in Palm Springs I would guess if anything, your floor would not be a huge contributor to temerature fluctuation? As far as the hot water heater there are two possibilities that I can think of... one being the thermocoupler is getting bad, (those are less than $10), and is a pretty easy fix... the other thing being, since you said it was windy there, is that the "stack" that goes through the ceiling and out the roof has the wrong kind of cap on it. There are a few types to choose from and if you know the diameter of the stack, a local hardware store would surely be able to sell you an appropriate style that would not allow the wind that passes over the top of the pipe to extinguish the flame of the pilot light... It could be blowing it out from wind entering the pipe, or sucking out the oxygen from the area where the pilot light is located, therefore not allowing the pilot to remain burning? Either suggestion is relatively inexpensive to fix, and I agree with the advice from the "landlord's" answer, that there is no sense in pissing off your current landlord with something that's easy to fix... save your anger for something more worthwhile...
I'm not aware of any codes that require insulation in the floors. Your water heater should be protected from drafts by being located in a utility room. Newer gas water heaters are much better at protecting the pilot light and use an electric igniter (kinda like propane grills). Most larger cities have a link to their codes at their website. Many just use the latest version of the Universal Building Codes which you should be able to find at the library.
Having been a landlord, I would suggest respectfully asking your landlord to address your concerns before you call the codes department. Once you piss him off, don't give him any legal reasons to evict you becaus he'll be looking for one!
The last time i had a problem with my water heater it was because a leak was putting out the pilot light. I would check for leaks.
check water heater thermocouple
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