Question regarding CA or Federal codes.

[thomasortega]

Folks, A few days ago I received a notice that the City of Los Angeles will be inspecting the property I live (actually all the houses on the block received the same notice.)

My landlord is somewhat desperate fixing some little things that I don't see as a imminent danger and for me I'd simply ignore (for example a tiny crack on the driveway that the inspector can consider as a tripping hazard).

Anyway, I'm concerned about the Six Flags room (I call my Laundry room Six Flags and Kevin's Disneyland).

There is only ONE washer hookup and 24 washers, 7 dryers, etc, etc, etc. Do I need to say that behind the machines there is a world of hoses, Y connectors, power strips etc? Electrically there's a giant overloaded circuit, but of course I'm not stupid to run all the washers at once (and I also don't need to because who would have laundry enough to run 24 washers at once?

2 gas dryers are installed without the vent (My laundry room is extremely open and it's always windy).

Anyway.... I know I'll have to "get rid" of the dryers for one day. I mean, I'll disconnect them completely and just leave them in the laundry room. Some of the machines I'll move to the garage next to the laundry room and simply say they're stored there.

What about the washers? Disconnecting all of them will be a PITA. What if I simply unplug them and get rid of the power strips?

It's my first time ever passing through an inspection. What do they really look for?

My neighbor mentioned that this kind of inspection is to make sure that the landlord (i mean, the property) has everything made to the code, but they don't mind what the tenant does, i mean, what goes after the outlets and taps, is not their business.

What do you guys think? Should I spend two days disconnecting absolutely everything (and leaving only one washer and one dryer neatly connected) or not?

 

[lowefficiency]

Does your landlord know about "Six Flags", and would they be comfortable backing you up?
The LAST thing you want is for the landlord to escort the inspectors in, and have BOTH of them be surprised.

There are so many ways this could go sideways for you. You're going to have to take a step back and think about how the situation appears from an outsider's perspective.

With 31 machines, they're immediately going to assume you are either running an unlicensed/unpermitted laundromat, or at best an unlicensed/unpermitted commercial repair business. Both could be much larger issues for you (and your landlord) than things like whether the water supply is plumbed correctly.

Some possible other concerns:
* Electrical capacity
* Water supply & drain capacity
* Venting
* Noise
* Structural concerns (Are you on a ground-floor slab?)

This is just my opinion, but on this point:
>> "2 gas dryers are installed without the vent (My laundry room is extremely open and it's always windy). "
I would absolutely rectify this. Not disconnect the dryers for the inspection, but properly vent them to keep you (and the other building tenants) safe.

You could end up with zero machines instead of 31 if you don't handle this properly.

 

[DADoES]

 
Perhaps related ... we don't have ongoing private property inspections but I had trouble with an insurance policy inspector last year.  I changed carriers, they sent a property inspector.  I had a 6yo gas range on my patio from one of RJ house-refurb purchases that he wanted cleaned up for sale or donation.  Also an old washer in process of parting-out.  The insurance company required that both appliances be removed, photos submitted to confirm for file records, and I had to sign a declaration that I would never again have possession of such items without express consent of the insurance company.

They didn't ask anything about the circumstances of the appliances.  There's NO gas service at my house (all-electric) so I couldn't make use of a natural gas range even if I wanted to do so ... but they didn't ask or consider any of that.

I imagine they would have stroked-out if they had seen what's in my garage and master bathroom ....

Of course, I changed insurance again for 2019.

 

[rp2813]

It depends on the type of inspection.

 

I have a friend who owns a 4-plex.  After he made some improvements to one of the units, he had an inspection.  They found that all of the three-prong outlets weren't grounded.  I think these outlets may have been installed before he even owned the place.  Since it was a rental unit, they made him put labels on every outlet that read "NOT GROUNDED."

 

He has one tenant who gets Section 8 assistance.  The inspections for that unit occur whenever occupancy changes or if there's a rent increase, as Social Services needs to determine whether they'll cover the entire increase or not.  They base it on things like whether there's a dishwasher or laundry hookups, etc. but wouldn't even inquire about whether outlets were grounded or not.

 

Then there's the type of city inspection you might be dealing with.  This Section 8 tenant has a window A/C unit in his bedroom.  It's not allowed, because that window is considered an egress option.  Every time these inspections happen, this becomes an issue and the tenant has to remove the A/C unit in advance.  He puts it back after the inspection has been completed.   These inspections seem to be more about health and safety than anything else.   I think it's a case of the luck of the draw with which inspector you get, but if they think you're overloading a circuit enough to cause an electrical fire, you'll need to make it look like you're storing the machines and not using them -- the dryers in particular.  Not venting those is going to be viewed as a health hazard at the very least.  You'll have to make your case that the machines are being stored, not used.

 

[maytagbear]

Uh,

Truth? Tell them that you are actively employed in the laundry appliance industry, and this is your studio???

Bonne chance!

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[ea56]

I agree with reply #1, you would be well advised to do some damage control ASAP. If your landlord doesn’t know about what you’ve got going on, I would tell him first, and ask him what the perimeters of the inspection are going to be all about. Then invite him over to access the situation. If he’s caught off guard about this he could very well evict you if he gets fined or his insurance is cancelled.

The main concern would be fire hazard from overloaded circuits and too many dryers, and dryers that aren’t vented properly. Even if they aren’t all connected to power, it won’t look good for you if there are power strips waiting to be plugged in. Even if you tell them you never run them all at the same time, they may be hesitant to believe this. At the very least this situation could get your landlords insurance cancelled, something he won’t be pleased with.

If it were me, I’d be moving all but one washer and one dryer into temporary storage until the inspection has been done. Then when I moved them back, I’d be very careful so that any impromptu inspection in the future wouldn’t call into question any safety/fire hazards.

Good Luck Thomas, sounds like you will have some unexpected hassles coming your way.

Eddie

 

[thomasortega]

My landlord not only knows about the laundry, but also LOVES it.

The laundry room is on ground floor, right next to the garage (it was actually one of the three garages before) and the floor is pure concrete, so no issues at all with the weight load.

My landlord is so cool that he once mentioned that if someday I find a bolt down bendix just like the model his grandmother had originally, he'd help me restore it and build the concrete block for it.

 

[ea56]

Well, Thomas sounds like you’ve already cleared your biggest hurdle, having your landlords approval. Just get everything to look like only one washer and dryer are connected and being used, and the rest are being carefully stored and you should be good to go.

Good Luck.

Eddie

 

[launderess]

Just to be clear

Even with property owner's consent, if something doesn't fly with an inspection, then that is that. In other words if it violates some code, ordinance, rule or whatever not even a LL signing off can alter facts.

Just off top of my head only two main potential issues one sees is venting gas dryers indoors, and potential overloading of electrical circuits. This includes extensive or what could be considered improper use of extension cords/power strips.

We've all had to make do with what we've got to accommodate our little hobby. So far we're all still here, nothing had burned down.....

To be on safe side I'd disconnect the gas dryers or make it seem somehow they aren't in use. Yes, it could be a huge pain, but less so than being potentially told to get rid of them; rather more like your LL (as property owner) being held in violation.

That last bit sadly comes with the territory of being a renter. Regardless of what promises an LL makes various agencies don't normally go after tenant, but owner of property instead. Which then puts him between a rock and hard place. OTOH he obviously wants to keep a good tenant, but on the other once something has been found at inspection it must be dealt with as LL is the one responsible.

It often comes down to particular inspector and what bee he has in his bonnet. Will say when day arrives be very circumspect about answers/giving information. Best to speak only when spoken to and volunteer answers that address the question and no more.

 

[thomasortega]

Thanks for all the advice.

Today I did the last loads in "half laundry", so the washers will have time enough to dry and even gather some dust.

DUring the week I'll slowly disconnect them and move some of them to the garage, while turning others "backwards" to make them look just like "stored" but not in use.

All hoses, power strips, etc will be hidden in my car's trunk or even taken to Kevin's house or my father in law's house just in case.

My landlord is more concerned about the earthquake structural reinforcement (the property wasn't retrofitted with those seismic tiles but it has proven it was well built because it survived at least 12 major earthquakes in the last 100 years, including Northridge in 1994 when the backhouse on my neighbor's property (immediately next to my unit) collapsed completely and was "temporarily" replaced by a 40 ft container (and his grandson still lives there, like a canned sardine OMG!)

Being a designer, of course I'll mention the truth (The laundry room is in fact my personal studio where I eventually work on my designs or run simple tests) and yes, I was already thinking of keeping my mouth shut and answer only what is asked.

 

[arbilab]

One thing CA inspectors will thrombo over, gas water heaters MUST be strapped down (rthqake).  No gas, no worries.

 

[dustin92]

I wouldn't worry about a thing. Leave one set hooked up and say you are a collector and rotate them in/out of service! Your landlord gave you permission to have them, it's not up to ANY city how many appliances you can posess!

 

[thomasortega]

@arbilab

Yep, my heater is up to code...

It actually goes beyond the code as there are FOUR brackets and the heater is outside.

The brackets actually worked very well (they had to) about 2 months ago.

 

[thomasortega]

Inspector left 3 minutes ago.

This was the oddest inspection I've ever seen in my life.

He checked if the bathroom vanity was sturdy, if the windows opened ok, if the smoke and the CO alarms were operational (he tested the smoke alarms with that spray)

Then he went to the laundry room, (my heart went straight to my throat) he literally spent 15 seconds in there. He ONLY checked if the outlet near the hookups was GFCI.

Veredict.

Everything passed. He recommended that i had a escape ladder installed in one of the bedrooms and an additional large fire extinguisher in the laundry room and a small extinguisher in each bedroom. (not a violation but just a recommendation)

The only serious but not so serious violation found was the water heater emergency discharge pipe missing. (it has to end 6 inches away from the floor) My wonderful landlord called his plummer immediately and scheduled it for today.

Now I'm pissed off because i had to disconnect everything, my laundry room is a mess, Kevin had to come here to lend me his football player arms to release those F-word gas pipes, now I'll need him again to help me redo everything. It will take me probably several weeks until i can have everything back in order.

And all that for that SOAB spend 15 seconds and don't even look to the washers? He just went straight to the outlet, didn't even come too close to it. When he saw it was a GFCI he turned around and left the room. God bless his little heart.

 

[ea56]

Well Thomas,

All’s well that ends well! I didn’t think you would have any problems passing this inspection. You are a detail oriented person, and took the pains to make a good showing. That’s probably why the inspector didn’t look to closely at the laundry room situation,

Congratulations!

Eddie

 

[launderess]

Anger Duly Noted

But as myself and others mentioned you cannot predict behavior of local inspectors in advance. Thus sometimes it is best to plan for worse, then be happy things didn't come to such a point.

For every inspector that breezes through, you'll get another eager beaver who insists on poking his/her nose into everything, asking questions, taking notes and writing up even the most minor infractions.

One always treats such events as good chance to tidy up behind/around appliances. This and or maybe do little things had been meaning to do but never got around.

Best of all the thing is done, and you've come out unscathed. Peace once again restored (well once you've put everything back in place, *LOL*), God is in his heavens and king on his throne. *LOL*