Yellow corrugated stainless steel tubing

Local Inspection Issues California Home Inspectors
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Just in case y’all California inspectors have not see this:

Home inspectors in California are governed by the Business and Professions Code 7195-7197
which reads in part:

(a) If a home inspector observes any shade of yellow corrugated stainless steel tubing during a home inspection, the home inspector shall include that observation, and the following notification, in the home inspection report:

“Manufacturers of yellow corrugated stainless steel tubing believe that yellow corrugated stainless steel tubing is safer if properly bonded and grounded as required by the manufacturer’s installation instructions. Proper bonding and grounding of this product can only be determined by a licensed electrical contractor.”

(b) For purposes of this section, “corrugated stainless steel tubing” means a flexible, stainless steel pipe used to supply natural gas and propane in residential, commercial, and industrial structures.

*(c) The degree of care specified in Section 7196 shall be used in determining whether a home inspector has complied with the requirements of subdivision (a)a

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If this is anything like in Oklahoma, it applies only to Yellow CSST, not appliance connectors.

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Same here.

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Does this mean you have to defer any home with yellow CSST to an electrician, even if you can see it is properly bonded?

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Maybe I’m wrong, but I thought that only applied to home inspectors in Ohio. :wink:

No names need be mentioned.

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In California, only an electrician can verify it’s bonded given the way the law is written.

Kind of dumb to expect the inspector to call it out but not be allowed to say if it’s bonded.

However, I’ve yet to see CSST properly bonded anyway.

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I believe I’ve only found it bonded one time. I have two different callouts, one for if I can see all the CSST and can verify it is not bonded, and one for if some of the CSST is hidden from view and can not verify with 100% certainty it is not bonded.

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Here’s a case where the building code could require the bonding be visible. That costs the builder nothing but makes it inspectable.
(I’m not in favor of extra complexity in the building code, but 100% for making compliance and checking readily apparent).

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Person in video claims the CSST was bonded.
I question whether it was “properly” bonded?
I suspect not!

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This is what CA states and it sounds pretty clear that we need to include this in our inspection reports if we observe CSST on an inspection and we are not a licensed electrical contractor.

Thanks for the reminder! I made some changes to my narratives :slight_smile:

Edit: Just pulled this infographic from: https://www.iccsafe.org/wp-content/uploads/membership_councils/CodeNotes_2015IFGC.pdf

Image 1-2-24 at 20.44
Image 1-2-24 at 20.441322×1478 144 KB

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All of this applies in Maryland as well. Same disclaimer, can only be verified by a “Master Electrician”.

CSSTxGround
CSSTxGround800×600 56 KB

§09.36.07.07 (plumbing)
B. (4) The presence of CSST with the recommendation that the bonding of the
CSST be reviewed by a licensed master electrician.

§09.36.07.08 (electrical)
C. (3) Presence of CSST gas piping with the recommendation that the bonding of
the CSST be reviewed by a licensed master electrician.

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Same in Oklahoma. I always tell my client to get the invoice/receipt of bonding by an electrician from the seller. That way if they sell the house they have proof of proper bonding by showing the receipt.

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Since this bonding is not part of the NEC here in New Jersey CSST bonding is not under the purview of an electrical contractor, is not under an electrical permit, and is not part of the electrical inspection.

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I agree.

I don’t know about other areas, but in my area it’s the utility (Duke) that requires the bonding be performed by a “qualified” individual and the inspected by the AHJ or Duke.

Duke Energy - CSST Guide.pdf (895.4 KB)

CSST Bonding.PDF File.pdf (167.6 KB)

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Required by National Fuel Gas Code, the International Fuel Gas Code and the Uniform Plumbing Code. Also the manufacturer’s installation instructions.

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Yup and not required by the NEC which is why in many jurisdictions the electrician has nothing to do with the CSST bonding.

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I posted the wording of the MD SOP and it says simply to note the presence of CSST “with the recommendation it be reviewed by a licensed master electrician.” I’m sure it’s rarely ever done and I make my own note of proper bonding or not (along with the required verbiage).

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Ian, just a heads up…your blog link states SB-998 but when I look up that bill, it has nothing to do with CSST:

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB998

*What is the SB 998?

Senate Bill 998 (SB 998), signed into law in September 2018 and is referred to as “The Water Shutoff Protection Act”, sets new restrictions on residential water service termination for nonpayment of a water utility bill.

SB 998 requires all public water systems to have a written policy on water service discontinuation for nonpayment which must also be available in several languages. Specifically, the provisions of the bill require the adoption of a written policy. The policy would be applicable to all residential water customers which will result in expanded notification procedures prior to service shut off for nonpayment.

Edit: Bryce is correct that it is part of California Business and Professions Code and the exact code is 7196.2. I do see an SB 988 at the bottom of the link below but I can’t even find reference anywhere to CSST on that one either…

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Interesting. I now see an article that states the original bill was SB 988, not SB 998. Maybe I made a typo.

But as they re-use bill numbers every few years, SB 988 now refers to Compassionate Access to Medical Cannabis and not CSST either. :rofl:

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