Essential Advice for Owner-Builders
(Page 4 of 6)
December 2006/January 2007
By David Eisenberg
Passing the Inspections
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Once your plans are approved, you will receive a permit with a list of required inspections. Let the work begin! The inspections are sequenced to make it as easy as possible for work to flow naturally and still allow the building inspector access to all work that needs to be inspected. Don’t inadvertently cover up work that has yet to be inspected, because you will be required to re-expose it.
Remember that inspectors have many sites to visit in a day and a large territory to cover. Not everyone is happy to see them. Make your job site an exception. Most inspectors have worked in the building trades; respect them for what they know.
If you fail an inspection and don’t understand why, ask for the specific code requirement so you know what needs to be done. If the problem is that the work doesn’t match what is called for on the plans, find out if the work as done still meets the code. If so, you may choose to go to the building department and get approval for the change rather than redo the work. If inspectors want you to do something that differs from the approved plans, they will need to resolve the issue with the plans examiner. If it is the inspector’s personal opinion or preference rather than the code, you should point this out and if necessary, bring it to the attention of the building official.
In most cases, when something needs to be corrected, just do it gladly and move on to the next thing. There will be lots of minor items that need to be changed or fixed, and a good relationship with the inspector will speed the whole process.
After you pass your final inspection, you will get a certificate of occupancy, meaning you can move into your new house! The final inspection doesn’t cover certain aspects of the finish work such as paint, trim, floor and window coverings, interior doors (except a door into a garage, which is required for fire separation), and some other minor work that does not require a permit or inspection. You may even choose to move into your new home before it is totally finished, though most owner-builders will tell you that it’s much easier if you finish it all before you move in. On the other hand, they’ll also tell you that a house is never really finished anyway.
Building Codes, Old and New
The first known written building code was enacted by Hammurabi in Babylon in 1758 B.C. Literally written in stone, the harsh penalties of the code established that people who are designing and building for others are accountable for the quality of their work. Though the code provided no guidance on how to build, it stated, “If a builder has built a house for a man and his work is not strong, and if the house he has built falls in and kills the householder, that builder shall be slain.” Such penalties surely inhibited innovation, but they also kept most builders honest without licensing, detailed codes or permits. Also noteworthy is that this code did not apply to people building for themselves or their own families.
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