Time to move away from water heaters, but let's stick with a different type of "plumbing" - natural gas plumbing. The building codes consider an "appliance" to be any mechanical device , such as gas furnace, water heater, fireplace insert - et cetera. While each of these appliances are different, they may share some common safety requirements...

True or False? All gas fired appliances are required to have an individual fuel supply shut off at the gas line connector.

TRUE - The building standards require each gas fired Appliance to has an individual shut off. An "Appliance" is defined as any mechanical device that utilizes fuel. Examples of Appliances include such items as fireplace inserts, water heaters, furnaces and cook top kitchen appliances. Each appliance must have a dedicated fuel (gas) shut-off valve which must be accessible and within the same room or enclosure as the appliance. Professional plumbers are usually very good about insuring proper installations, however, it is not uncommon to see an improper installation when the component has been installed by a "do-it-yourself" homeowner, or less well trained handyman.

Blake Morar at Destin Real Estate Company