Building Inspections Newsletter, Issue 2, October 2006

10 Newsletter Johnston County Inspections Department October 2006 Issue 2 Important Policy Change Beginning November 1 , 2006 , the Johnston County Inspections Department will no longer be accepting Letters of Authorization for contractors to share pre - approved plans Permits issued prior to November 1 , 2006 will not be affected To use the pre - approval systems , you must pre - approve your own plans Waterproofing of openings and Section 306 Trenching , Excavation and Backfill Issues Discussed at the th North Carolina Plumbing Code If you October 9 , 2006 Meeting would like a copy of these code sections , come by the office PLUMBING CODE IRRIGATION SYSTEMS DOI INTERPRETATION OF SECTION 504 o Because the irrigation system is a separate o Section 504 of the NC Plumbing Code plumbing system from the house , a Safety Devices Temperature and pressure separate permit is required relief valves discharge locations are o The Public Utilities department requires discussed that a testable double check valve be o We have a DOI interpretation from Henry installed on this system The testable Webster that states that " The T & P valve is double check valve is also required to be to discharge to the outside of the crawl either in a drainable pit or a hot box The space , a tee inside the crawl will be certification of test on the valve can be on provided if the outside pipe should get site at the time of inspection or provided plugged , the pipe is to slope to drain and to our office within 10 days of the the length of the pipe shall not exceed the inspection manufacturers recommended length " WATER HEATERS IN GARAGES WATER HEATERS IN CRAWLSPACE o Section 5022 of the North Carolina o When a water heater is installed in a crawl Plumbing Code states that water heaters and a pit must be dug out to allow for the in garages having an ignition source shall water heater height , there must be a 12 " be elevated such that the source of circumference around the water heater ignition is not less than 18 inches above The water heater must be properly the garage floor supported and no contact with the earth o This applies to both electric and gas o The T & P valve will still be required to exit o Gas appliances shall be located or the foundation wall as per the DOI reasonably protected so that they are not interpretation subject to physical damage by a moving vehicle WASHER PANS o Because a washer pan is not required WATER AND SEWER TIE INSPECTIONS under a washer , we do not regulate the st o November 1 we will be inspecting sewer , drain pipe size However , if a pan is septic and water lines installed , the drain and pipe shall be o NO PHOTOS WILL BE ACCEPTED secured and the pipe shall exit the o We suggest that contractors and plumbers foundation wall get familiar with Sections 3057 1Pagerequired for the repair and maintenance MECHANICAL CODE of the equipment in the crawl space APPROVED BARRIERS FOR PROTECTION OF APPLIANCES FROM VEHICLE IMPACT RESIDENTIAL BUILDING CODE o Section 3034 of the North Carolina Mechanical Code states that Appliances LINTEL SPANS & BEARING shall not be installed in a location where o As per Section 70373 Lintels Masonry there subject to damage unless protected veneer lintels shall have a length of by approved barriers Here are examples bearing of not less than 4 inches of approved barriers for protection of o As per Table R7031 Allowable Spans For appliances from vehicle impact in a one - Lintels Supporting Masonry Veneer , foot and - two family dwelling garage note # 4 Spans over 10'0 shall be Pipe bollards extending three feet designed in accordance with approved above the floor , such as standard o See attached code section on page 11 • 2 " Schedule 40 steel pipe set in a concrete floor ENGINEERED FLOOR SYSTEMS • 2 " schedule 40 steel pipe set in a o Engineered Floor systems TGI , BCI ect cored hole in an existing concrete shall have all load points identified When floor and sealed with epoxy a set of plans are sealed by an engineer , • 2 " Schedule 40 steel pipe welded that engineer shall provide in writing that to a ¼ inch steel base plate that is he or she accepts the engineered floor anchored to the concrete floor system with four ½ inch x 2 ½ inch embedment depth 2 ¼ inch BRICK TIES anchor bolts ; o Brick Ties shall be nailed into the stud with Curb stops or raised pads of not less a min 1 ½ inch roofing nail than 5 ½ inches set not less than 40 inches from the appliance CANTILEVER Note If the appliance is located out of o A cantilever is not required by Appendix P the normal path of travel of vehicles , to have a double band If a sealed set of no protection is required plans shows a double band , it would then be required to be installed DIRECTIONAL VENTS o We have noticed that some of the PRE - APPROVED PLANS mechanical contractors are not running o The pre - approved plans stamped by our the directional vents correctly These office red stamped is required to be in directional vents under cabinets are to the job box at the time of inspection If butt up against the kick board and are to the red stamped plan is not in the box , no be sealed inspection will be made o Pre - approved plans red stamped copy FLOAT SWITCH are required to be in the box from footing o On final Inspection , we do require that if a to final Many of the contractors are not float switch has been provided in an attic providing these plans to us for a final , we installed air handler , it is required to be have to have these plans in the box to do wired But if the thermostat wire is not a final inspections as well connected at this time , the inspection will still be passed PORT O JOHNS o Port O Johns will be provided for every ELECTRICAL CODE two houses under construction A AUXILIARY PUMPS contractor can share a Port O John with a o Auxiliary pumps in the crawl space can be contractor on the lot next to him but installed on a dedicated circuit rather than must provide a letter stating he has a gfi , a separate receptacle will still be permission from that contractor 2PageCORBELLED BRICK LAW AND ADMINISTRATION CODE o The Inspection Department has been finding several code violations concerning EXTERIOR INSPECTIONS the installation of corbelled brick Section o Law and Administration Section 3066 does 6063 , 60631 of the International not require that the permanent roof Residential Code If you would like a copy covering be installed for an exterior of this section we will provide this to you inspection If an inspector arrives to do an for review exterior inspection and the roofers are o See DOI clarification below and attached working , because of the possibility of diagram on page 6 & 7 injury , the roofers should stop their work until the inspection has been completed POSITIVE DRAINS o When positive drains are installed they UNFINISHED AREAS must go to daylight and be installed to o On your building permit application there drain properly Gravel or a screen will also is a space to tell us the unfinished square need to be installed at the termination footage , please be sure you have filled in point this section REASONS FOR PERMIT REVOCATION Section 3043 Law and Administration Revocation of Permits states The Code Enforcement Official shall revoke , in writing , a permit or approval issued under the provisions of this or the technical codes for o Any substantial departure from the approved application , drawings , or specifications ; o Refusal or failure to comply with the requirements of any applicable State or local laws ; o Any false statement or misrepresentation as to the material fact in the application or plans on which the permit or approval was based NC Dept of Insurance Interpretations and Clarifications This month our interpretation comes from Mr Timothy Morrison regarding Wall Bonding The interpretation includes a diagram you can find on pages 6 & 7 " For the purposes of structural bonding section R608123 the last course of joint reinforcement may be placed 16 " maximum from the top of the double - wythe foundation wall , so long as the joint is slushed full of mortar or concrete Note also , that section R60613 requires 4 " of solid masonry below concentrated loads beams , girders , columns , etc or a full width sill plate to distribute the loads Regarding corbelled masonry , see the interpretations and illustrations in the NCBIA 1998 Residential Code Interpretation Manual , pages 58 - 61 " 3PageINSPECTIONS NEWS AND EVENTS Inspector Spotlight INSPECTIONS CALENDAR NOV 1 Sewer & Water Inspections can be called in alone NOV 10 Veteran's Day Holiday Jimmie Sauls HISTORY NOV 23 - 24 Thanksgiving Bachelors Degree in Technical Education from NC Holiday State University Level III Certification in Building , Electrical , Plumbing , DEC 25 - 26 Christmas Holiday Mechanical , & Fire Veteran Inspector of 10 years in Johnston County FUN FACTS UPCOMING EVENTS IN Big fan of college sports GO WOLFPACK JOHNSTON COUNTY Favorite movie Big Country 1958 QUOTE OCT 1 - 31 Clayton Fear Farm " I enjoy getting to see new technology in construction and to see how much it changes through the years but most of Lazy O Farm Maze all , I enjoy the people of Johnston County " Smithfield Meet Our New Inspectors OCT 21 Smithfield Harvest WELCOME TO JOHNSTON COUNTY Fair OCT 26 Historical Ghost Walk Smithfield at Riverside Cemetery OCT 28 Kenly Fall Heritage Walter Blackmon Patrick Johnson Day Selma , NC Benson , NC Clayton Haunted Trail & Hayride Four Oaks Oak - tober fest Russell Reeves OCT 31 Clayton Halloween Eddie R Ryan , Jr Meadow , NC Parade Pine Level , NC 4PagePage pageNumber5Reference Documents Table of Contents Wall Bonding Diagram 6 - 7 Alternative to Corbelling Detail Luminaries in Clothes Closets 8 - 9 From the National Electrical Code Handbook Branch Circuits 10 From the National Electrical Code Handbook Masonry Veneer & Lintels 11 From the NC Residential Code 5Page