Washington Indoor Air Quality Code

WASHINGTON STATE BUILDING CODE
10/7/97

Emissions Standards for Masonry Fireplaces
(with proposed change)

3102.7.14 Emission Standards for Certified Masonry and Concrete Fireplaces.

After January 1, 1997, new certified masonry or concrete fireplaces installed in Washington State shall be tested and labeled in accordance with procedures and criteria specified in the UBC Standard 31-2.

After January 1, 1997, no new masonry or concrete fireplace shall be installed in Washington State unless it is certified and labeled in accordance with procedures and criteria specified in the UBC Standard 31-2.

Exception: One of a kind custom masonry or concrete fireplaces will be permitted provided a letter is attached with the permit application stating that no certified fireplace of similar opening size and/or configuration exists. Non-certified masonry fireplaces will be subject to applicable burn ban restrictions.

Reason: The Technical Advisory Group (of which I was a member) that developed the Washington Fireplace Emissions Standard last year intended to permit "one-of-a-kind" custom masonry fireplaces but did not intend for all, or even very many, builders of production fireplaces to use this provision as a "loophole" to avoid regulation. The TAG originally recommended that all masonry fireplaces - certified and non-certified - be labeled, but that was struck by the State Building Code council as unmanageable.
The proposed language would accomplish two objectives:
1) Make it more clear that the intent of the fireplace emissions standard is to regulate masonry fireplace emissions while permitting the occasional one of a kind, custom non-certified masonry fireplace.

2) Make compliance with the fireplace emissions standard just as easy as non-compliance by requiring a letter of justification to be submitted with the application for a permit for a non-certified fireplace.

Washington Emissions Law
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