Well- I'm a California Plumbing & HVAC business owner, so I'll shed some light on your concerns.

Earthquake straps have been required here for more than 20 years. It's nothing new. This is earthquake country so strap it! When the Northridge quake hit- many older tanks were either not strapped or wrapped with flimsy plumbers tape. Get a house swaying w/ a water heater on a platform full of water- something will give which means the tank will be on the floor if quake is big enough. Broken water pipes, broken gas lines, fires- I saw them all during Northridge.

Asbestos vents should be replaced & have been for the last 20 years. That doesn't mean all contractors or homeowners are doing it though. Problem with asbestos vents are stack temperature. As the water heaters become more efficient, the stack temp drops & if it get's low enough, it will produce condensate which is extremely corrosive.
A triple wall flue is not required on a storage type water heater. B vent (double wall) is approved for that application. Triple wall is usually stainless & is reserved for instantanous water heaters w/ no stroage (tankless on demand).

Ball valves are not a requirement. Most water heaters over 10 years old equipped w/ a gate valve we find are usually stuck open. It should be replaced as a part of the installation with either a gate or ball valve. Ball valve are better & nearly the same price as a gate. They did good.

Surge tanks have always been required but were rarely enforced in the past. If your home has a pressure regulator installed in the main water supply to your home- you now have a closed system. With the closed system & a water heater heating & expanding the water & no faucets open- the added pressure needs a place to go. In some cases it will open the pressure & temperature relief valve. The tank has a bladder in it & is 1/2 charged with air. It will safely handle pressure fluctuations.

Prices. Even contractors complain about water heater pricing! Steel prices shot through the roof & so did the cost of tanks. Requirements changed in 2004 on a Federal level- not just California for sealed burner compartments & again last year for radient burners. This adds up to more money!


Very little of this has anything to do with California. It's all in the Uniform Plumbing Code which is nationwide.