National and Local Building Codes are Meant to
Protect Life, Limb, Property and Environment
By: Mark J. Donovan
Residential building codes are meant
for your safety. National and local building codes are a set of minimum design
and construction rules meant to ensure a home is safe to occupy. Residential
building codes are specifically designed to protect the occupants of the home
from structural collapse, fire, and other safety concerns. They are also meant
to protect property and the environment from contamination and pollutants.
Often local or state governments
will modify, or use a portion of, national building codes to establish their
own set of local residential building codes. Consequently it is important to
make sure your home is built to both national and local building code
requirements.
Residential building codes often change, and thus again why it is so
important to always check with local and national building code rules prior
to starting a new construction project.
What was “legal” last year may not be
this year. By checking with your local building code enforcement officer you can
find out what residential building codes or standards the community is presently
following, and what permitting is required. They will also be able to educate
you on tangential building concerns including, state, zoning, wetland, flood,
and septic design issues. It’s also advisable to check with your county and
state for residential building code requirements and enforcement, as well as to
understand contractor licensing and permit pulling processes.
For example, your state may require
forms to be completed by you on energy efficiency aspects of your new home
construction. They also typically require state applications for private septic
system installations.
Residential building codes are not necessarily written to require you to use
specific building materials and methods. As long as you can prove the end
objectives of a particular residential building code are met with the specific
building materials and methods that you plan to use or implement, local building
inspectors will typically accept them.
Many states have adopted the residential building standards specified by
the International Code Council (ICC) for their residential building codes.
Some states, however, have generated their own set of local building codes,
much of which are derived from the ICC standards. See
www.iccsafe.org
to learn more about the ICC organization.
As part of any new home construction project, permitting and inspections are
mandatory. Make sure after pulling construction permits that you schedule
regular inspections as communicated by your local building inspector.
The building inspector will inspect
your home during various stages of its construction for residential building
code compliance. The building inspector, however, will not necessarily inspect
your home construction to confirm it complies with the specifics of your
blueprints. The architect, general contractor, or you are responsible for this.
To help in obtaining accurate and
consistent home extension contractor quotes, see my Room
Addition Bid Sheet. The Room Addition Bid Sheet provides a
request for quote section that you can provide to prospective building
contractors. It also includes a comprehensive room addition cost breakdown
table, in Microsoft Excel format, that allows the contractor to include his
projected home extension costs for every phase of the project.
Photo by Mark Donovan
One final word of warning: Never start a new construction project without
checking with the local building inspector first and pulling the necessary
permits. Many cases have occurred where a homeowner started a new home
construction project without pulling the necessary permits, and then later
having to tear it down per order of the municipality.
For more help on building a house extension, see HomeAdditionPlus.com'sHome
Addition Bid Sheets. Our Home
Addition Bid Sheets
provide you with the knowledge and information on how to plan a home addition project,
and what to look for when hiring contractors. They
also include detailed cost breakdown tables and spreadsheets for estimating
your own new home addition building costs.
How to Finance your Home Construction Project -
can help provide funds for your new home improvement project if financing is
required.
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