MyFloridaCode.com

Hello Charles,

My first recommendation is to take the issue to the BO's boss.  Usually a
Community Development Director or the B.O. may report to the City Manager.
It is amazing that when asked to justify certain requirements of the code
some interpretation to a higher up their interpretation may change.  When
the boss asks person making a commend decision to write a substantiation
memo for your folder things change can happen real quick.
Someone in an earlier post recommended the Board of Adjustment or Appeal
process.  That works, but will most likely cost you a month plus on the time
schedule.  If you are going for CO then you probably do not have time.
For the attic scuttle hole in the garage with a pull down ladder.  Look at
what your UL label is for the scuttle assembly.  Then go to your community's
fire inspector/marshal for an interpretation to the Fire prevention code.
They can overrule the BO at times if the scuttle meet or exceeds the garage
separation requirements.  Just validate that your garage separation is meet
before you go forward.
As for the GFI in the dinning area; the City manager can ask for him to cite
code verse.  Naturally no boss wants to overrule an employee.  But when
asked things may change dramatically.  
As for qualification, I am an elected person to our local City Council.
Residents used to raise issues to council members about how some inspectors
enforced the code or where treated.  We go in and talk to the manager and
ask for him to look into it.  Sometime the inspector was wrong.  Normally
they are right most of the time.  I have lost a few of those and won a few.
We had several "ism inspection" within the community.  One was that all
single family residents had to have a drywall screw inspection even though
it was not listed as a mandatory inspection in our chapter 1.  The village
attorney instructed the BO to modify chapter one, if he wanted to add the
inspections as mandatory.  No ordinance change was proposed and now we
follow our chapter one.  We had another "ism" that all water lines had to be
copper.  No other material defined by code was allowed by a BO that left
years ago.  Again when questioned by their superiors; the answer was it was
safer, but the manager pursued to have the building department show it him
in the code.  Now the water pipes can be any material as defined in the FPC.
I could go on with examples but enough said.
It took probably 2 years to have the building department to start enforcing
the code book as written and not to create "ism's" that had developed from
previous BO's or that is the way we do it here.  They worked hard on their
curb side and application desk manor within our community.
Now I must commend our Building Department as being truly helpful to the
contractor and property owner.  They work to meet the code and intent of the
code.  They point out areas of the code that is a minimum and that the owner
may want to go above and beyond.  They spend time educating the contractor
and owner on their interpretation and are not afraid to reach out to other
code experts to ask the question "Am I reading this right?".  They have
truly worked on a team approach for construction activities in our
community.  Our BO, Electrical inspector, and Residential inspector now
regularly have residents call the Village Manager thanking him for his staff
for their inspection and how they were treated.  Majority of our residents
have seen a culture change in this department.  I think the Village Manager
likes to report progress this way to council, by commendation calls, instead
of having Councilmen showing up in his office saying I have had a complaint
about so and so about so and so issue, please take a look at this will you.
Best of Luck,
T.R. Hernacki P.E.


-----Original Message-----
From: codetalk-bounces at myfloridacode.com
[mailto:codetalk-bounces at myfloridacode.com] On Behalf Of Charles Walker
Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 2009 7:35 PM
To: codetalk at myfloridacode.com
Subject: [Florida Code Talk] Questionable call by Building official


I am trying to obtain a C.O. for a residence we have completed and the
building official has taken some liberties with his judgement.  I usually
try to do what is asked of me by the building officials as I will likely be
one one day but this one is taking it a bit far.

 

We have installed an attic ladder (aluminum ladder) in the garage and the
inspector refuses to issue a C.O. until the attic ladder and hatch is
painted with fire resistant paint.  Further, he insists that we install GFCI
receptacles in the dining room (not kitchen) which is not required by the
N.E.C. or the Florida Building Code.  I took the book to him and asked for
him to show it to me and he said that it is not in the Code but it is in
"his code" and it is what he wants to see.  He insists that the house will
not pass until the hatch is painted with fire retardant paint and the
recepatcles in the dining room (not kitchen) are changed.

 

To make matters worse, he is the electrical inpector for the jurisdiction
and is not licensed to do any other inspections.  Does anyone have any
suggestions on this one?  Soem of you are building officials on here and may
be able to help me out.

 

Charles Walker

CW Building Contractor, inc

CBC 1250992  CCC 1325996 CFC 1427782  

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