2018 Uniform Plumbing Code

2018 Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC®)

The 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC®) provides comprehensive requirements and industry standards for the design, installation, inspection, and maintenance of safe and sanitary plumbing systems. Developed through the ANSI Consensus process and designated as an American National Standard by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the 2018 UPC incorporates expertise from consumers, code officials, installers, manufacturers, labor representatives, testing laboratories, researchers, and other plumbing industry professionals.

The 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code is designed to promote safe and sanitary plumbing systems while allowing flexibility for innovation, new technologies, and modern plumbing practices.

Key Updates in the 2018 UPC

The 2018 edition introduces important new and updated provisions throughout the code, including:

• Chapter 3: New sound transmission provisions for plumbing piping systems.
• Chapter 4: New product standards for wall-hung fixtures, waste fittings, lavatories, showers, bathtubs, whirlpool bathtubs, flushometer valves, sinks, eyewash stations, and signage for single-use toilet facilities.
• Chapter 5: New provisions addressing connector capacities for elbows, minimum storage water heater capacity, and clearances to combustible materials.
• Chapter 6: Updated backflow protection provisions for chemical dispensers, material requirements for pipes, tubes, fittings, and joint methods, along with new pressure testing requirements for hot- and cold-water supply systems.
• Chapter 7: New material requirements for drain, waste, and vent (DWV) pipes and fittings.
• Chapter 10: New provisions for trap seal primers using potable water supply.
• Chapter 11: New provisions for engineered storm drainage systems.
• Chapter 12: Updated requirements for piping materials, overpressure protection, and gas piping installation for fuel gas systems.
• Chapter 13: New requirements for medical gas and vacuum systems based on the latest edition of NFPA 99.
• Appendix M: A new peak water demand method and calculator for estimating water supply demand loads in single- and multi-family dwellings using water-conserving plumbing fixtures, fittings, and appliances.