DOES MY HOME MEET THE BUILDING CODE?

WHAT ARE BUILDING CODES, AND WHAT DO THEY MEAN?

Some of the earliest recorded building codes are contained-within the Code of Hammurabi, an ancient, widely-recognized general set of laws. These building codes and general laws are almost 4,000 years old, and include some vintage ideas, such as:

• If a builder builds a house for some one, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built falls in and kills its owner, then that builder shall be put to death.
• If it kills the son of the owner, the son of that builder shall be put to death.
• If it kills a slave of the owner, then the builder shall pay slave for slave to the owner of the house.
• If it ruins goods, he shall make compensation for all that has been ruined; and inasmuch as he did not construct properly this house which he built and it fell, he shall re-erect the house from his own means.
• If a builder builds a house for someone, even though he has not yet completed it, and the walls then seem toppling, the builder must make the walls solid from his own means.

We haven’t heard-of any builders being put-to-death as a result of shoddy construction recently. A more contemporary definition of building codes, from Wikipedia, looks more like this:

“A building code is a set of rules that specify the minimum acceptable level of safety and functionality for constructed objects such as buildings... The main purpose of the building codes is to protect public health, safety and general welfare, as they relate to the construction and occupancy of buildings and structures. The building code becomes law of a particular jurisdiction when formally enacted by the appropriate authority.”

Minimum acceptable level of safety & functionality means just that…it does not mean that specific building codes will insure quality materials are used, or that the best available construction techniques were employed. It certainly does not mean that all home repairs, modifications, “upgrades” or other changes that have been made to a home’s systems or components since its construction, remain safe.

Prospective home buyers often ask “Does this house meet the building code?” That question is easily and all too-frequently confused-with, “Is this house safe in its current condition, and is it well-built and maintained?” We aren’t suggesting that building codes aren’t important; in fact, they’re critically important. A home built to meet nationally recognized building codes should indeed protect life, safety and health. So, why would you need to know anything else about a home other than if it “meets code?”

WHY YOU SHOULD WANT TO KNOW A LITTLE BIT MORE…

*Interpretation: building codes are interpreted by builders and code enforcement officials. Variations from building code requirements can be and are approved by local code enforcement officials. What would “pass” a building code inspection in one locale may not “pass” a building code inspection in another jurisdiction. Misunderstandings of building code provisions and misinterpretations are not uncommon; unfortunately, these often center-around material quality and installation practices/techniques. Building codes will not guarantee that quality materials have been used in your home’s construction, and cannot guarantee that the home’s materials and installation workmanship will meet your expectations for construction quality, functionality, usable design, longevity, or comfort.

*Consensus and time-lag: building codes are continually reviewed, and are often changed only by the consensus of building code officials on a three (3) year cycle. Thousands of requirements are laid-out in the building codes; many are not changed much (or at all) through code revision cycles. Some code provisions are changed nationally, but may not be specifically adopted by a town or jurisdiction for three or sometimes many more years. In certain circumstances, the process itself makes it difficult for parties to agree on what “meets" building code or what does "not meet" building code at a given time and space. The bottom line is this…if you purchase a brand-new home and live in-it for longer than three years, there’s a pretty good chance that something in the home won’t meet some part of the “next” code revision(s). If you’re buying an older home, certain home systems or components will almost certainly not meet one or more current building codes.

*Enforcement: building code inspector performance and enforcement consistency varies substantially. This is not to say that most professional code-enforcement officials aren’t competent (even outstanding); in our experience, most are. Unfortunately, politics, the availability of appropriate construction materials, broad local acceptance of certain deviations from accepted best building practices, and code official workload and time constraints often conspire to insure that your building code "inspection” accomplishes little more than insuring that the minimum acceptable levels of building safety and functionality are met.

*Grandfathering concepts: Updated building code provisions and changes are not normally applied retroactively; in other words, if the building codes are updated in 2007 to reflect certain requirements within the home, and your home was built in 1964 (before anyone knew this would be a “code requirement,”) you probably won’t receive a letter from the local town or county building official ordering you to make the change(s) in your home. Building codes, however, can be enforced retroactively. If local code officials have reason to inspect a portion of your home (after you file a permit application for remodeling work, for instance, or sometimes as a requirement in a local town to have a “town” inspection prior to selling the home), and determine that anything which might affect life safety or health is not compliant with more modern building codes, they have every legal right to compel you to make the changes.

In the end, you can indeed get a “building code” inspection. Unfortunately, most private licensed home inspectors won’t perform such inspections, and local code officials are prohibited from performing “moonlighting” inspections for a fee on properties that they might have to “officially” inspect. This leaves you with the option of contacting an engineering firm, who may be willing to sit-down and research building codes and individual building code changes, as they apply to whatever they find in the home inspected, for the entirety of its history. After relieving you of anywhere from $600 to many thousands of dollars, the engineering firm will present you with an exhaustive listing of what “meets current code”, and what does not “meet code” in your prospective home. You will have an extensive list of code “violations”, and you'll know exactly when each one of these list items became a violation. What about the things you still won’t know about your prospective real estate investment? For example...

-How long can I expect the roofing shingles to last?

-Is there enough water coming-out of the shower head when someone is simultaneously washing dishes or doing the laundry?

-Is my home really energy-efficient, or am I likely to be paying whopping energy bills?

-What shape is my furnace in? When is it likely to need replacement?

-I hate the gas dryer, and I want an electrically-heated one. Do I need an electrician, or am I good-to-go when the dryer arrives from the appliance store?

-Does the fireplace work well? Or does it need a chimney sweep, since it looks like the home owner burned everything he didn't want to take with him?

-How much might it cost to fix that broken stove or dishwasher?

Much of what we do as private professional inspectors is based on the fundamental life safety principles contained-within the building codes. If you are equally- or more-interested in knowing things like the condition of your prospective home and its components and systems, whether or not the home is safe, and how to best maintain the home to preserve and increase equity value, contact us for Chicagoland’s most thorough, independent and objective professional real estate inspection.

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E-MAIL: inspect4me@sbcglobal.net