Classes on code changes a must for some workers

NORFOLK

Teachers aren't the only people who need to take refresher courses to keep up their licenses. Now, tradespeople such as plumbers and electricians do, too.

On Wednesday night, 10 plumbers became students in a fifth-floor classroom at Tidewater Community College on Granby Street. Walter Pope, a plumbing inspector for the city of Virginia Beach, offered them pointers from the proper height of urinal dividers to the proper term for grease traps.

In January, the state began requiring electricians, plumbers, gas fitters and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning workers to undergo training on code changes to renew their two-year licenses. The change affects 38,000 workers.

"It's important, as new things come up, that we have an avenue for the license to keep up with those changes," said Eric Olson, executive director of the Virginia Board for Contractors in Richmond, which mandated the training. "If an electrician comes to your house and is not following the new code, then it's possible that you could be putting the family at risk."

This week, the fall cycle of code classes began at TCC, one of a half-dozen locations in Hampton Roads authorized to give the courses.

Nearly 300 people have taken them so far this year at TCC, said Mary Greer Landon, the college's associate vice president for work force development. The charge at TCC is $70 for the gas-fitter session, which lasts an hour, and $125 for the other classes, which are three hours each.

Pope warned during class Wednesday that many of the latest revisions in the International Plumbing Code involved verbiage: "Grease traps" are out; "grease interceptors" in.

Other tips were more substantive: Building permits generally are not needed for work on electric water heaters. The code also has gotten pickier about urinal dividers: They have to start no more than 12 inches off the ground and reach no less than 60 inches from the floor.

"Privacy is beginning to be a big thing," Pope said.

During a break, Steve Lane, a plumber from Virginia Beach, complained, "I think Big Brother is sticking his nose in my business. I don't need the state of Virginia to teach me how to read the code book."

Some grumbled about the cost of the class, but others said it offered worthwhile reminders.

"I've been a journeyman for 25 years, and there's a couple of things that I wasn't aware of," said Mike Larson of Norfolk. "It helps bring you up to speed.... You don't want to have egg on your face when you're out in the field."

On Tuesday night, Mark Wood reviewed changes in the National Electrical Code with 19 electricians at TCC, such as new types of breakers in bedroom circuits.

"There are always going to be people that resist change," said Wood, an electrical inspector for the city of Portsmouth. "But these guys want to learn about these changes so they can have them right before the inspector shows up."

Workers must take the code classes every two years before their licenses come up for renewal. The cost of renewing a license is $40, Olson said.

The state began licensing trades such as plumbing and electrical work in 1995, Olson said. Workers need a license if they are "not working under the supervision of a licensed tradesman or for a contracting company," he said. The requirements for a license generally include education, experience and passing a written exam.

Before, Virginia cities had differing rules. "This makes one set of regulations that are enforced equally," Olson said. "The concept of licensure is to ensure public protection. The people that are allowed to perform work met a minimum level of competency."

Philip Walzer, (757) 222-3864, phil.walzer@pilotonline.com