A majority of plumbing inspectors in the country’s major metro areas consider the Uniform Plumbing Code as the most “efficient and least confusing” plumbing code in the country, according to a survey conducted by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations for the Plumbing Industry Council.

The survey, titled “National Report on Plumbing Licensure, Codes and Quality of Workmanship,” gathered information from inspectors in 74 major metropolitan cities. More inspectors also believe that the UPC protects quality plumbing and workmanship “extremely well” on commercial sites (89.5 percent of those surveyed) and residential sites (90 percent) than do so about other codes.

Other survey findings include:

• Most respondents reported a preference for the work of licensed plumbers over that of certified or noncertified/nonlicensed plumbers (90.1 percent). In addition, more respondents indicated that the licensing standard protects quality workmanship “extremely well” when each journeyman was licensed, rather than when one plumber was licensed or the contractor only was licensed.
  
  
• A majority of respondents (65.8 percent) indicated they’d like to see the commercial and residential codes combined. Of those who stated a preference, nearly twice as many said they’d prefer that be done under the UPC as those who favored other codes.

Data was collected from September 2007 to November 2007 via an online questionnaire. For more information or to obtain a copy of the full report, contact Plumbing Industry Council Chairman Gary Hamilton at 202/628-5823.