While boilers aren’t commonly used for new homes in Minnesota, there are still plenty of houses in Minneapolis and Saint Paul that rely on boilers for heat.  I’m a big fan of boilers – so much so that I even wrote a blog about why I like them more than furnaces (boilers vs furnaces)

For Minneapolis homes that have boilers, the most common required repair for Truth-in-Housing Evaluations is a missing or improper backflow prevention device installed on the water line that feeds the boiler.  This repair also requires a permit.

The photos below show improper installations that would require repair. Click on the photos for a larger version.

Backflow preventers are needed on boilers to prevent the water that flows throughout the radiators from potentially mixing with the city’s potable water supply and contaminating it.

In Minnesota, the minimum type of backflow prevention device required for a boiler in a one or two-family home is a Double Check Valve with an Intermediate Atmospheric Vent(DCVIAV).  These are often referred to as “9D Valves” because Watts makes one of these valves, and their part number is 9D.  You know you have the market cornered when everyone calls the product by your part number, right?

Dual Check Valve with an Intermediate Atmospheric Vent

These valves are special because they’re almost 100% fail-safe.  Even if both of the internal check valves were to become fouled and stuck in an open position, the vent would still prevent any water that was subject to backpressure from potentially contaminating the potable water supply – this water would just leak out of the vent.

Because the vent has the possibility of leaking water, most plumbers will install a pipe off the vent to direct water to a location where it won’t cause damage.  This is also part of the installation instructions for these valves.

For anything other than a one or two-family home, Minnesota requires a Reduced Pressure Zone (RPZ) valve on the water supply for the boiler.  These are also required when any chemicals are added to the system, such as glycol.  RPZ valves must be tested every year, and must be re-built every four years.  When I inspect larger multi-family dwellings in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, I check the RPZ valves to make sure they have appropriate documentation showing that they’ve been properly serviced.

For a full list of the types of backflow prevention devices required in Minnesota, click here https://www.revisor.mn.gov/rules/?id=4715.2110 .

For more information on common Truth In Sale of Housing defects, click on any of the links below.

• Smoke Detectors
• CO Alarms
• Vacuum Breakers (backflow preventers)
• Toilet Ballcocks
• Floor Drains
• Missing Jumper Wire

Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections - Email - Truth In Housing Minneapolis

The city of Saint Paul is going to start making Truth-In-Sale of Housing reports available online!  Like Minneapolis has been doing for the last two years, Saint Paul will be providing easy access to TISH reports online.  While the reports won’t be ‘created’ online the way that Minneapolis reports are, they will still be available in a pdf format.

To look up reports, go to www.StPaulOneStop.com .  Click on “Property info and Permits by Address”.  Now type in the address that you want to look up.  For example, try 2117 Highland.  Now click “Submit”.  Under the “List of Activity” on the next page, you’ll see that the most recent activity for this property was a Truth In Sale of Housing Inspection, and there is a link to this report at the bottom of the box.   That’s all there is to it.

There are some limitations - only new reports will be available online.  Reports filed before May 1st, 2009 generally won’t be available online, but there will still be a record of it.  You’ll need to call the evaluator to get the report if it isn’t online.  Also, not all reports will be available.  Saint Paul is allowing evaluators that are stuck in the dark ages to continue mailing or faxing their reports in, and these reports won’t be available online.  This shouldn’t last long though – the old school evaluators will soon be required to submit reports electronically like everyone else.

Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections – Email – Saint Paul Home Inspector

RELATED POST:

Useful Links To Public Property Information

The City of Robbinsdale has implemented a new Truth in Housing program which becomes mandatory May 1^st. Robbinsdale will call this a Point of Sale program. The Robbinsdale Point of Sale program will be almost identical to the Hopkins Truth in Housing program. Below are the main points – this is a summary of the most important parts to know, but obviously does not include every detail about the program.

• When: By May 1st, all homes listed for sale are required to have a Point of Sale inspection performed. This includes one, two, and three family homes, condominiums, and townhomes.
• Exceptions: New construction homes, and sales to an owner or relative. For purposes of this exception, relatives shall be defined as a husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, grandson, granddaughter, grandfather or grandmother
• Who: Inspections will be done by private evaluators that are certified with the City of Robbinsdale, such as myself. If repairs are needed, a Robbinsdale city inspector (Building Official) will inspect the repaired items.
• Repairs: Items identified as potentially hazardous to occupants will be marked as “RR” – Repair / Replace. The seller is responsible for correcting these items before selling, or in some cases the buyer may accept responsibility for the repairs.

I have been in contact with the City of Robbinsdale to provide input on this program and to clarify issues that have not been clearly spelled out in the ordinance or in the evaluator guidelines. Please contact me with any questions; if I don’t know the answer, I’ll find out.

Included below are links with specific information.

Repair / Replace Items

Point of Sale Ordinance

Evaluator Guidelines

Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections – Email – Robbinsdale Point of Sale Evaluator

Vacuum Breaker

This is one of the most common questions I get from homeowners that I do Truth-in-Housing Evaluations for.  If you’re selling your home in Minneapolis or Bloomington, you will likely hear about this.  A vacuum breaker, commonly referred to as a backflow preventer, is a device that prevents the potable water in your home, and possibly even your neighborhood, from getting contaminated.

How could your water get contaminated? Picture this scenario: I want to mix up some vegetation killer, so I buy the concentrated stuff, pour it in to a bucket, then put the garden hose in the bucket to fill it.  I turn the water on, but I get sidetracked with a plumbing project.  I shut off the water to my house, and then open up the laundry faucet to drain the water out of the pipes.  This will create a siphoning effect, which could actually suck the nasty chemicals in the garden sprayer back in to my home, contaminating the potable water.  An even worse scenario would be the city doing work on the water pipes, and the chemical gets siphoned back in to the city’s water supply, contaminating a whole neighborhood!

While these occurrences are not likely, it has happened many times throughout the country, and the cost to fix a contaminated water supply for a city is huge. The cost of a vacuum breaker is very small – about five dollars.  While only Minneapolis and Bloomington enforce vacuum breakers, they’re still required throughout Minnesota by the Minnesota State Plumbing Code, section 4715.2100 (D).

The two most common places where these are installed are at sillcocks (what you connect your garden hose to) and at laundry sink faucets.  An external vacuum breaker is required at sillcocks if they don’t already have one built in.  How do you know the difference?  The photos below show one sillcock with, and one without an integral vacuum breaker.  If a sillcock doesn’t have the little mushroom cap, an external vacuum breaker is required.  At laundry sink faucets, a vacuum breaker is needed if there are threads present that a garden hose could attach to.

For more information on common Truth In Sale of Housing defects, click on any of the links below.

• Smoke Detectors
• CO Alarms
• Grounding Clamps
• Toilet Ballcocks
• Floor Drains

Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections - Email - Truth in Housing Evaluator

If you’re planning on selling a home in the Minneapolis or Saint Paul area, there is a good chance you will need to have a home inspection done before you sell your house (possibly several).   There are two types of home inspections, private and city.  Today I’ll talk about city inspections.

City inspections are required in 14 metro cities, including Minneapolis and Saint Paul.  At the Truth in Housing page I have a full list of these cities with specific requirements for each city.  These are inspections that must be done by a city employee or sub-contractor for the city before the house is sold, and in many cities, before the house is even offered for sale.  Some cities, such as Saint Louis Park, do code compliance inspections and require repairs to be made on things that aren’t up to code.  Other cities, such as Maplewood, require only a disclosure report, and no repairs ever need to be done.

These reports are commonly referred to as Truth in Housing, Time of Sale, or Point of Sale inspections, among many other terms.  I am calling these ‘city inspections’ for lack of a better term – it would be nice if every city could call their inspections the same thing.  While on that topic, it would also be nice if every city had the same requirements!  In Minneapolis, you need a working smoke detector on every level of the home.  Bloomington requires the same, plus a working detector in every bedroom.  In Saint Paul, you only need one working smoke detector in the home, but it needs to be hardwired.

Even though each city has specific requirements, there are some items that are fairly universal to all the cities that have repair programs:

Vacuum Breaker

• Vacuum Breakers – aka backflow preventers.  This is a device that can be purchased at most hardware stores, and should be screwed on to the end of any exterior sillcocks, or indoor faucets that could accept a garden hose thread (typically the laundry faucet).   These are basically one-way valves that protect the city’s water supply from potential contamination.  Note the set screw in the vacuum breaker pictured to the right – this set screw should be tightened down until broken off to make sure the vacuum breaker is permanently installed.
• Smoke Detectors are recommended in every bedroom and one in a common area on every level, such as a hallway.  Take time to test every detector in the house, install new batteries if needed, or replace the detector if defective.   Smoke detectors should ideally be located on the ceiling in the middle of the room, and never closer than four to six inches to a wall if mounted on the ceiling.  If mounted on a wall, follow manufactures instructions for location.
• Plumbing leaks and electrical hazards make up a large portion of the repair items.  Before having your inspection, take time to make sure there are no leaking plumbing fixtures.  To test the sink, fill the sink up with four inches of water, and then let it drain.  Look underneath with a flashlight to make sure there are no small drips, and also check the faucet handles for leaks – laundry faucets are the most common offenders.  To ensure no electrical issues, replace any missing cover plates at outlets and switches – check the outlet behind your fridge too!  Make sure there are no permanently installed appliances running on extension cords – the most common offenders are garage door openers and water softeners.

While these items make up only a small portion of what I look for during city inspections, these are certainly some of the most common repair items, and are often some of the easiest items to take care of ahead of time.  Feel free to contact me for any specific questions about these requirements.

Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections – Email – Truth in Sale of Housing Evaluator