The legacy code
The State of Maine Internal Plumbing Code (Chapter 238)
Maine’s legacy internal plumbing rules were a state-written code, not an adopted national model. For much of their life they were administered on the health side of state government — the Division of Health Engineering within what became DHHS — reflecting plumbing’s roots as a sanitation program. The rules were eventually carried in the Plumbers’ Examining Board’s rule set as Chapter 238, the State of Maine Internal Plumbing Code.
The Secretary of State’s rule index still lists Chapter 238 with the annotation “replaced by Ch. 4” — the formal record of the handoff from Maine’s homegrown rules to the adopted Uniform Plumbing Code that now lives in Chapter 4, Installation Standards.
Character of the old rules, as working plumbers remember them:
- Prescriptive and local. Written for Maine conditions — seasonal camps, shallow bury depths in ledge, long private water lines, unheated buildings — rather than as a national consensus document.
- Drawn from the NSPC lineage. Maine’s state-written text historically borrowed from the National Standard Plumbing Code tradition with heavy state modification, which is why some old Maine details never matched either the UPC or the IPC.
- Thinner on engineered options. Modern UPC editions carry alternative engineered design paths, expanded material tables, and referenced standards the old rules simply predated.
The Chapter 13 question
Three things “Chapter 13” can mean in Maine plumbing
“Chapter 13” comes up constantly in Maine plumbing conversations, and it rarely means the same thing twice. Here are the three legitimate referents — sort out which one your counterpart means before you argue about it:
| Referent | What it is | Status in Maine |
|---|---|---|
| UPC Chapter 13 Health Care Facilities |
The model code’s chapter on plumbing in hospitals, clinics, and similar occupancies (special waste, medical gas interfaces, fixture requirements). | Not adopted. Maine’s Chapter 4 excludes it, along with the fuel-gas chapter and the appendices. Health-facility plumbing in Maine is governed by the adopted chapters plus facility licensing requirements — not by UPC Ch. 13. |
| Maine Fuel Board Chapter 13 02-658 CMR Ch. 13 |
“Installation of Propane and Natural Gas Burning Equipment” — the gas-side rule that governs appliance installs, and whose installation section (§ 658-13-4) hands water-side work back to the plumbing rules: piping and safety controls on water heaters, domestic water connections to boilers, and condensate disposal must follow Plumbers’ Examining Board rules, with condensate neutralized and drained through an air gap to sanitary drainage. | Active. This is the “Chapter 13” that gas technicians and plumbers actually share jobs under today — the boundary line between the two trades on every boiler and on-demand water heater install in the state. |
| The old state rules, colloquially | Veterans sometimes use old chapter numbers as shorthand for the pre-UPC state-written rules generally — the era when Maine’s internal plumbing code was its own document with its own chapter scheme, formally recorded as rule Chapter 238 before repeal. | Repealed and replaced. Historic reference only; governs nothing new, but explains what you find opened up inside older Maine walls. |
Then vs. now
What changed when the UPC arrived
| Topic | Legacy state-written rules | Current Maine 2021 UPC |
|---|---|---|
| Source document | Maine-drafted text (NSPC-influenced), rule Ch. 238 | National model code (IAPMO UPC) adopted by reference in rule Ch. 4, with Maine amendments |
| Updates | Amended ad hoc by state rulemaking | Tracks the UPC’s 3-year model cycle; Maine adopts editions on its own schedule |
| Materials & methods | Narrower approved-materials lists | Broad referenced-standards tables (PEX, PP, PVC/ABS DWV, press fittings, etc.) |
| Venting | Conventional venting, Maine-specific quirks | Full UPC venting chapter plus Maine’s future-vent and snow-height amendments |
| Interpretation | State officials and local inspectors | Board + LPIs, with the national UPC commentary ecosystem behind it |
The practical upside of the switch: Maine plumbers, engineers, and suppliers now work from a document the rest of the UPC-family states share, with training material, commentary, and listed products keyed to it. The cost: Maine-specific knowledge moved into the amendment document, where it’s easy to miss if you learned the code somewhere else.
Plain-language guide, not legal advice. This site summarizes Maine plumbing statutes, board rules, and the adopted plumbing code for general information. Code editions, amendments, and fees change; municipalities may apply stricter local requirements. Always confirm current requirements with the Maine Plumbers’ Examining Board, your Local Plumbing Inspector (LPI), and the adopted code text before performing or specifying work.