Building Regulations: A Self-Help Guide For The Owner-Builder

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Don't fight 'em, join 'em. The more severe the code, the snore lenient the inspector knows he has to be with variations. Your house is going to be loaded with variations, in fact it won't be anything else but.

You are going to be an asset to the community. You have money to spend and will be able to pay taxes Your house as planned will beautify the town, not sully it. You will find that the building inspector is a fine source of information on soil conditions, seasonal ground water changes, prevailing winds, and local sources of good quality lumber. You will find the members of the building appeals board most sympathetic with your ambition to put up a fine, big, handsome house by construction methods of your own choosing.

Don't ever sneak into town and start digging without letting city hall know. City hall will throw the book at you. Smile at city hall, ask its approval, and you'll get it, with growing friendship and a lot of good advice thrown in.

River, in her book Dwelling, recorded some very pertinent conversations with owner-builders and their approach to building inspectors:

Clancy, well-known builder of code and non-code dwellings, says:

"As a builder, I can't help asking the inspector lots of questions he'll have to look up, or questions he just doesn't know about. Then you can help him out by changing the subject. After a time you'll be leaning on the table saying, 'what if I do this?'and he'll be saying, 'I don't

know. . . ' " Fil Lewitt: "My initial encounter with the inspector went like this: He drove his truck through my property-there was no gate at the time. There he was, right in the middle of the yard. I was building the cabin and he said, 'What are you doing?' and I said, 'I'm building.' He said, 'Yo it need a permit for that.' And I said, 'You've got to be kidding.'He said, 'No, but well just consider that you didn't know. 'So I went in and got a permit to build a studio. And then turned the building into what I wanted. That was the only time they came to the farm. The barn was built before they changed the rules: Now, anything over $100 needs a permit—which is everything.

I only got mad once. The inspector carne in the gate and Barbara met him. He said he wanted to take a look around. Barbara told him he'd have to come back when the owner was there. Angry, I called the inspector and said 'As far as I'm concerned, you're working for me, not the other way around' He said he had a complaint about a non-code building and that he could legally check on it any time during business hours. I said, 'The hell you cart! Don't come unless you make an appointment.' So my advice is, deal with the building inspector as quickly and efficiently as possible. Never be obsequious. I called them and told them to stay out of the farm unless they were invited in. Nobody can appear at the farm without calling me. Since that call, no one has come.

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