Florida Building Commission Votes to Protect Consumer

Orlando, Florida – December 10, 2025 – On December 9, 2025, in an 11–4 vote, the Florida Building Commission (FBC) rejected a proposed plumbing code modification to Section 718.1 of the Florida Building Code, Plumbing, relating to cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) rehabilitation.

The proposal would have banned the "gaaping" or "stop and start" CIPP method, effectively requiring Florida plumbing contractors performing CIPP lining to use remote-control robotic cutting devices—often costing in excess of $150,000—for work at branch or service connections. As described by opponents of the proposal, such a mandate would have immediately excluded many small and mid-sized contractors from the CIPP market based solely on capital cost, reducing competition and driving up costs for homeowners, HOAs, and businesses statewide.

In real-world CIPP practice, multiple safe, established methods exist for addressing service connections while meeting applicable performance expectations. One method is conventional replacement of service connections prior to liner placement—removing and replacing deteriorated fittings so the liner terminates at new, sound fittings rather than unnecessarily lining healthy pipe. A second method is the installation of pre-made epoxy-resin fitting liners at service connections, reinforcing and sealing the fitting and tying into the mainline liner to create a smooth, watertight transition. A third method is the “gapping” method, where a precisely measured cut-out in the liner tube allows inflation at the joint connection; upon inflation, epoxy resin flows and cures to form a tapered or feathered protective layer to the existing fitting, rehabilitating the damaged host pipe while preserving sound existing fittings. These methods have been used safely and effectively in the industry for decades.

The proposed modification would have functionally prohibited these alternatives by advancing a “no gaps” concept at branch or service connections and treating robotic reinstatement as the only acceptable approach. Opponents argued this would convert one useful tool into a de facto statewide mandate, regardless of project-specific conditions or cost-effectiveness.

A central point of dispute involved the meaning of “continuous” and “continuous liner.” Some interpretations asserted that “continuous” requires a liner to cover every inch of an entire building plumbing system with no breaks, gaps, or transitions at any service connection. Opponents argued that this is not what ASTM F1743 requires. ASTM F1743 states: “The finished CIPP shall be continuous over the entire installation length. The CIPP shall be free of dry spots, lifts, and delaminations.” Under that text, continuity is defined by reference to the “installation length” selected for rehabilitation—not an entire building system end-to-end.

Opponents further argued that adopting a “no gaps anywhere in the plumbing system” interpretation would, as a practical matter, bar targeted or partial CIPP rehabilitation unless an entire system were lined and every service connection reinstated robotically—dramatically increasing costs and making CIPP impractical for many owners and associations.

The FBC’s vote preserves the availability of multiple code-compliant, proven methods for addressing service connections, and rejects an approach that would have imposed a single capital-intensive method as a statewide requirement. The decision maintains competition, supports innovation, and aligns code interpretation with the performance-based expectations reflected in the referenced ASTM standard.