Watch Your Step To Avoid Stumbling Over Building Code

November 03, 1996|By Lew Sichelman, United Feature Syndicate.

New-home buyers usually don't concern themselves with footings, framing, wiring, ventilation and the sundry other mundane structural items that go into a house. After all, those things are the province of the home's builder.

But when you're turning your carport into a garage, extending your kitchen another five feet or adding a second story to your 15-year-old rambler, you are the builder. And as such, you have to pay close attention to your local building codes.

A building code is a set of minimum design and construction requirements set forth to protect the public health, safety and welfare. They are rooted in ancient history. Back in the 18th Century B.C., for example, the Code of Hammurabi mandated death to the son of a builder whose building collapses and kills the son of the owner.

Today's codes don't carry such heavy penalties, but they are somewhat broader in scope. Generally, they cover structural design, foundations, exits, fire protection, sanitation; and roofing and electrical, plumbing and mechanical systems. Some even cover energy conservation.

The rules aren't particularly controversial, but they lack any kind of uniformity.

"It's a real mixed bag," says Robert Wible, executive director of the National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards.

That may be changing, though, because a movement is gathering steam to implement a single set of model codes for the entire country by the year 2000.

For now, however, only 30 states have mandatory statewide codes, while 19 of them allow local jurisdictions to make them tougher. The other 20 states do not require any kind of code at all, but some jurisdictions within their borders have enacted their own construction regulations.

Securing one or more building permits is often a time-consuming process, and an expensive one, too.

For one thing, you'll probably have to provide detailed construction drawings, maybe even multiple sets, and they might have to be drawn by a licensed architect.

In Osceola County, Fla., the minimum charge is $30 for any project valued at less than $1,000. For improvements worth $1,000 to $15,000, the fee is $30 plus $2.25 for each $1,000 of value. For those between $15,000 and $25,000, it is $61.50 plus $3.50 per $1,000. And it continues to rise as the improvements become more costly.

Because of the extra time and money involved, some contractors will suggest that you secure the permit instead of having them do it. Others will exhort you to skip the permitting process entirely. Neither is a very good idea, for several reasons.

While no jurisdiction will refuse to grant a permit to an owner-occupant who can prove he owns the house and lives in it, it normally doesn't cost any more if the contractor applies, and he can usually get in and out of the local building department a lot faster than you can.

"Our fees are the same for a contractor and a homeowner; they're all based on valuation," says Mary Ann Morris in the Osceola County Building Department. "And while nine out of 10 contractors only have to make one visit here, most owners have to come back at least once."

Just as important, if you apply and say you are doing the work yourself, all you have to do is to show your local building officials a tax bill or deed. But if the contractor applies, your local building officials will probably check to make sure his license is up to date and his liability insurance is in place.

In other words, they could protect you from hiring an unlicensed contractor who does not have the proper insurance.

Applying for a permit is also your assurance that your project will be done right, or at least up to minimum standards.

To a certain degree, the contractor-client relationship is built on trust. And while the head of the building department in some locales is also the guy who gives out dog licenses, it's best not to allow nonpermitted work done to your house, especially if you know little or nothing about construction.

"The risks do not warrant the reward," says contractor-author Allen Gorin of Thousand Oaks, Calif. "We're all looking to save a little on price any way we can, but what price is to be placed on peace of mind?"

If you ignore that law, you're liable to be caught if a future buyer is savvy enough to hire an independent home inspector to give the place a once-over.

Even if the buyer wants to proceed, assuming he can get a loan on a place that's not up to code, which is problematic in and of itself, he's sure to demand a major price concession.

But even if an unsuspecting buyer doesn't find out until later that work was done without a permit, he can demand that the sale be rescinded and sue for damages.