PSA: That fancy restaurant with the open ceiling pipes? Yeah, I noticed.

Went to a new taproom downtown last night and saw exposed copper lines running above the bar. Looked cool but they had no insulation on the hot water return. That's a 3 degree heat loss per foot easy. Has anyone else walked into a place and spotted code violations in the decor?

2 comments

2 Comments

price.tyler19d ago

Question if that's even a real code issue or just some internet myth that got repeated. Most commercial places get inspected before they open and nobody's gonna let a 3 degree heat loss slide if it was an actual violation. Sounds more like someone trying to seem smart about something that doesn't really matter in practice.

paul_morgan19d ago

Wait, are you saying you've actually seen this enforced somewhere or are you just guessing? Honestly, I used to think this whole 3 degree heat loss thing was just people being nitpicky online, but then I saw it come up in a real commercial remodel. The inspector flagged it because the HVAC duct was running through an unconditioned space without enough insulation, and they made them redo it before signing off. So it's not a myth, it's just that most places don't run into it because the ductwork is usually inside the conditioned area. I get why people think it's overblown, but once you see it enforced, it changes your mind about how serious code officials can be about these details.