Skip to the page
Street to Drainfield
The lot

Street to back fence

  1. 1 Meter or well house
  2. 2 House and crawlspace
  3. 3 Water heater AI picture
  4. 4 Septic tank lids
  5. 5 Drainfield and yard

Or start from a worry

Home · Every page by worry · About

The water heater in the garage or crawlspace

A tank water heater in a garage, utility room or crawlspace needs earthquake straps under Washington's plumbing code, a pan where a leak would do damage, and a relief valve pipe that ends where you can see it. Gas and propane heaters have extra rules. If you smell gas, use no switches or flames, leave, and call 911 and the gas utility or propane supplier from outside.

Garage water heater in a drain pan, two wall-bolted straps, copper relief pipe ending outside the pan
Garage water heater in a drain pan, two wall-bolted straps, copper relief pipe ending outside the pan AI-generated pictureLook for: two metal straps around the tank, a pan under it, and a pipe from the relief valve running down toward the floor.

Washington's plumbing code, adopted statewide in 2024, calls for two straps on a tank heater, one in the upper third and one in the lower third; the earthquake straps page shows what that looks like. A heater in a garage or crawlspace has its own checks, on the garage and crawlspace page. When an electric heater goes cold, the no hot water page starts at the breaker and keeps it off for every step that follows.

Pages at this stop

Back toward the street: stop 2House and crawlspaceOn toward the back fence: stop 4Septic tank lids