Community Forums

chasfm11 · 11-06-2009, 03:32 PM

We are trying to build a steel building to house our RV. Actually, it will be for a number of other purposes, too, but the RV is one of the major considerations. It is 1,500 square feet (the largest that the Town will allow me to build) and will be 16 feet high in the center.

The Town wants:
1. The concrete slab to be engineered and have an engineer's stamp on the drawings.
2. The engineering must include certification that the slab meets all local soil conditions. The local engineering firms will do that without taking specific soil samples but the engineering firm that the building manufacturer used will not. So I'm paying $1,000 for one 20 foot deep test bore and the resulting report.
3. The foundation forms to be installed by a general contractor that is licensed and bonded in the city.
4. The forms to be inspected by a 3rd party to make sure that they match the drawings. The inspector must also certify the results.
5. The Town's own inspector comes out and verifies that all of the other requirements are met end then green tags the site so that concrete can be poured into the forms.

OK. I do understand that a process like this is always used on larger buildings. But for a 1,500 sq. foot garage??? I won't even go into the nearly dozen other stupid things that they want but none of those have the price tag that this one does. I'm going to have more money in the concrete than I do the rest of the building before this is done.

I'm assuming that our friends the trial lawyers are behind all of this. My guess is that some city someplace was sued over foundation problems and lost. So now, all of the cities put into place these onerous and expensive requirements. That and the fact that there appear to be no checks and balances on governments at any level.

It nothing easy any more? I started on this project in June and it looks like I'll be lucky to have it finished by February.

a k · 11-06-2009, 03:40 PM

And when you get done with all that, they add it all up and tax you on it.

cj5 jeeper · 11-06-2009, 05:36 PM

I love it when the government protects me.

dieselclacker · 11-06-2009, 05:41 PM

Chasfm

Wow!! All that hassle for an RV garage. Must really be difficult when it comes to building a new house. Just in case I ever want to re-locate, which city and state do you reside in?

Dieselclacker

adj · 11-06-2009, 05:47 PM

Wow! I would be tempted to do footers for the building and a dirt floor.

Jim Stewart · 11-06-2009, 05:52 PM

I put a 6x10 shed (pre-built and delivered on a trailer) on my RV Lot in the Florida Keys and had to have a survey, drawings, specifications and a building permit (22 pages). I'm 3 weeks into it and have only been through 3 of the six departments that have to review it. If God had really wanted all of this bureaucracy, he wouldn't have put Idiots in charge!

Richard Noble · 11-06-2009, 06:07 PM

Sorry about your problems. I live in Delta County, Colorado. We are one of the last countys that does not have inspections or zoning. If I want to put up a building I just do it.

chasfm11 · 11-06-2009, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dieselclacker

Chasfm

Wow!! All that hassle for an RV garage. Must really be difficult when it comes to building a new house. Just in case I ever want to re-locate, which city and state do you reside in?

Dieselclacker

Actually, it isn't much worse to build a house. They have a few more inspections but, for some reason, their main focus appears to be on the foundation of just about anything. One of the maddening things is that all of the neighbors have built barns/big garages the same size as mine and none of had to have soil samples. There is no way I can ask the question "why" without ratting out the neighbors.

I have a better story to tell you about the Town's inspections department. The previous owner changed from butane (in a tank) to Natural Gas (runs in a pipe from a meter.) for the furnace. He used a huge pipe in from the street and, of course, had it inspected by the Town. We bought the place and decided to extend the gas line to the kitchen to run a gas range/oven. I called the Town and they did another inspection. While he was here, the inspector admitted that he was the one that did the original inspection and, now that he was smarter, found some things that he didn't like so he made me fix them as part of of the additional work. He screwed up and I got to pay for it.

I've come to the conclusion that the Town is about two things: liability and revenue. You have to get all of the permits to feed the kitty and if it even looks risky, they have a way to make sure that no one can blame them.

My only consolation is that they seem to hassle everyone. None of the trades people in the area like to work here because of it. I'm sure that we are paying a surtax on on the work because of the hassles to the tradesman.

chasfm11 · 11-06-2009, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard Noble

Sorry about your problems. I live in Delta County, Colorado. We are one of the last countys that does not have inspections or zoning. If I want to put up a building I just do it.

Ed-Sommers · 11-07-2009, 07:23 AM

All of this is really about CONTROL, and hold on, it's going to get a lot worse.

If we the people had rights we would just tell the city/county what we were going to put up and that if they wanted to look at it just come on over with a search warrant.

I DO understand that in close proximity areas some code is desirable, however, one stop at one office is all it should take, with the various government agencies doing all the coordinating and a one week limit to completion.

IMHO!

Ed

read & learn · 11-07-2009, 07:59 AM

chasfm11;
1500 sq ft is not a small structure. 38ftX40ft=1520 sq ft. You only stated a 1500 sq ft building not the actual footprint of the building.
Building Codes have been with us for thousands of years. There were at one time 4 major building codes in the USA until 2000 when the code companies became one [yes there are still a few places that still have their own codes], but the largest code is used by most places.
Having been in code enforcement I know how it is with good intend of the original owner to build a structure for one propose to sell the property and go back 5-6 years later and find the structure used for something totally different.
So yes, sometimes you have to over build just because of the size.
I could get into the reason for soil sampling and all the others problems that you have, but it would just take to long.
Remember most of these codes are to protect us from the few bad builders.
Joe

Hitchhiker · 11-07-2009, 08:08 AM

Quote:

most of these codes are to protect us from the few bad builders.

We need a way to protect us from the few bad and corrupt code enforcement agencies.

Dave and Jaime · 11-07-2009, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chasfm11

Our wonderful city (Overland Park KS) requires a building permit to simply replace a water heater and requires an inspection. The inspector came to my house after I had a licensed contractor do a simple swap of the old water heater and spent ALMOST 15 seconds "inspecting". He was embarrassed and admitted the permit/inspection requirement was simply a revenue stream for the city ($40).

hamguy · 11-07-2009, 09:53 AM

A few years ago a guy here in Phoenix decided to add a shed to his back yard for mower, hoses, etc. He poured a slab about 10X10 an went to work. About 2 months after completion the inspectors came by and asked to see his inspection approvals.

Oooops!

They made him tear it down, and restart. It cost more to tear it down than to build. He was mad as a hornet but admitted he knew of the rules. His neighbor had turned him in.

Moral of story- Never do that which you know to be wrong, and never PO a neighbor!