Working as a sub-contractor in a building Rehab you run into all kinds of quirks that can slow a job up.
In this case its partly Electrical and partly Building standards.
We are rewiring the third floor of the house so that it is on its own service line. it was combined with the second floor and had passed the initial electrical inspection. Due to the layout of the house though the owner felt that it would be better to have each level of the house as an individual apartment. Now we find out that Ohio recently adopted the NBC2008 code book and things are getting a bit silly.
First and foremost is trying to find a copy of that Code. It seems that unless you are a licensed contractor you are S.O.L. in getting a copy for anything less than $180. I have surfed and surfed for what I need and I can't find anything but links back to he NEC page and the occasional 'questionable' information posted via response on a forum somewhere.
Second off, we found that while demolishing a few surfaces for Lead Abatement we now have to modify the original structure for Fire code.
I don't have a problem bringing a building up to a better standard but some of the things we are required to do smell of political encroachment. Standards that were set up to discourage property owners to actually upkeep buildings. Some of these things reek of Union interference in the way they are set up.
What really ticks me off is the lack of information available to the general public. Thats really where all of this falls. If you aren't able to access the correct information you are forced to use sources (that in some cases may be beyond the means of the owner) that do have the information. I know that are local Electricians union charges $40/hr just to come in and 'estimate' a job. Then once on sight the rate goes up. The inspectors don't care if the union did the job but it has to be to code, yet where do you find that code? You find it through the union or by shelling out a lot of money for something that you will only need once before the version is rewritten and you have to 'upgrade'.
One thing that I am truly happy about with the eventual move to my Dad's neck of the woods. The only inspections they require are for the Septic system. They then sign off on the build and you are allowed an electric feed. From that point, no permits, no inspections, no one telling you that you HAVE TO use 2X6 instead of 2X8 for the Ceiling joists. They trust that you are wanting to build a house that is safe: not tell you how to build a house that is safe. Thats the way it should be in my opinion.
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2 comments:
A missionary from Ukraine visited my church one time with pictures of a building that had been made to replace a burned-down church. The new church building was basically finished on the outside.
He said, "In my country, this is how far you go before asking for building permit. Forgiveness is easier to get than permission."
Must not be enough benevolent dictators there yet.
We have a building code up here but it is fairly simple and makes sense. In the cities, I think, as you pointed out, it has less to do with common sense and more to do with enriching someone.
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