Building Inspections Newsletter, Issue 8, July-October 2007

10 Newsletter Johnston County Building Inspections Department Issue 8 July - October 2007 Mission Statement Johnston County Inspections Department aspires to lead by example It is our mission to provide friendly and knowledgeable service , while demonstrating integrity , professionalism , and to hold the public's welfare and safety to the highest of standards NEW CODE IS MANDATORY JANUARY 1 , 2008 International Residential Code 2006 Books are available at the Department of Insurance 919 661 - 5880 IMPORTANT PLAN REVIEW CHANGE Those of you using the pre - approved system will need to pick up your plans and resubmit new plans for the system Remember that you are required to submit 6 sets of drawings A reversed set for each will also be required Johnston County Inspections Department will no longer accept reversed plans Effective January 1 , 2008 If you experience any problems with the Listserv or receiving the Newsletter , feel free to contact me at Beth Collier at bethcollier @ johnstonnccom Hou s es w ith Basement s We a re seein g more h o u s e s with ba sem ents in John ston Cou n ty t han we have in the pas t We do req u ire an open floor i nspection on basem ents A Cod e issue that needs to be addres se d is the ga s pipi ng The c ontrac t ors need to get wit h the s u b - contrac t ors at the time of installation and let them know i f they are goi ng to do a drop in ceiling or a permanent ceili ng If installing a permanent ce iling , the fittings for the gas pipe must be approved for concealed locations Elect ri cal jun c tion b o xe s are not allowed in this location eith er Includ ed in th e Amendme n t s that were a ppro v e d Jul y 06 and ma nd a tory J an ua ry 07 wa s Section R4086 Fl oor air leakag e control All plumbi ng , electri cal , duct , plenum , phone , cabl e , comput e r w irin g and ot her pe netrations throug h the sub floo r sh al l be seal ed wi th nonpo rou s m aterial s , ca u lks , or sealants The use of Rockwool o r fiberglas s ins u lation is prohi bited a s an air seala n t Headroom requirement s in bathrooms Bathr ooms shall hav e a min imum ceiling height of 6 feet 8 inches measured from the front of the fixture A show er or tub equipped wit h a show e r h ead shall ha ve a minimum c eilin g height o f 6 feet 8 inch es a bo ve a minimum a rea 30 in ch es by 30 in che s at the showe r head I TEMS D IS CUSSED AT THE J UL Y - O CTOBER M EETINGS B UILDING C ODEPageIRC 2006 - R40815 Sp a ce Separation Wall Vented Cr a w l Spa c e s sh a ll be sep a rated from a djoining b a se ments , p o r c h es a nd g a r ag es b y pe r m an e n t so l id w a ll su r f ac es w ith a ll u tility penetrations through t he separating wall seal ed Latch ed , we a t her - strip ped doors o r acce ss p anel s sha ll provi de a c cess between the cra w l sp a c e an d su ch adjoinin g spaces thi s w as effective Jul y 06 an d mandatory Jan 07 My ques t ion t o DOI was this We need to k now if that inc ludes a h ouse that has a suspen ded s lab po rch , we u s uall y ha v e an opening from that s pace to the c r awl I realize that this s ectio n doe s not sa y only woo d de ck p o rche s b u t we ca n not see whe r e a probl em woul d be with a susp end ed sl a b porch op en t o the cra w l Bill Moeller , Department of Insura nce responded This section of the code is c onfusing At th e current time we will have t o tak e it at fac e v alue and separate porc hes from v ented c rawl sp a c e s by seali ng a ll penet ratio n s and a c ce ss doors between the porc h and the c r awl s p ace The reas oning s eems to be to prov i de mois ture cont rol A cold w eath e r reminde r C o nc re te s u b je c t t o fr e e z i ng a nd t h a w i ng d ur in g co ns tr uc tio n shal l be air entrai ned Total ai r conte n t sh all not be l e ss t h an 5 per c ent o r m o re t han 7 p e r c e nt Concrete w ill have lower water - cem entitious m ateri a ls ratios a nd p o ro sity and , t herefo r e , i m p ro ved fro s t resi stan ce A ll concrete m aterial s a nd a ll reinfo rcement , forms , f illers , and gro und w ith whi c h concrete i s to c ome i n c o n tact s h a ll be f r e e from f rost Adequate equi pment s hall be p rovided for heating c on crete m a terial s and p r ote c ting o n c rete du r i ng free zing o r near fre e zi ng weathe r c As a d epa rtm ent we ag ree , if the we athe r is 32 deg ree s an d ri s i ng , th e r e is n o pr ob le m H o w e ve r if i t is 32 degrees a nd fallin g or w ill n o t warm up , w e require t he co ntracto r t o ha ve a g e o tech nical rep r e s entati v e on site t o t e st t he con c rete f or a ccep table slu m p and ai r entrai n ment d u r ing the pour T he co ntracto r w o u l d b e requi red to h a v e mat e rial s o n s i te t o p r ote c t th e surfa c e of c on crete fro m f ro st d a m a ge ove r nig h t Mr Henry Webs ter with the Depart ment of Ins u ranc e has informed us that the use of a tee is no longe r acce ptable to be use d on T an d P relief val ves on water heaters in crawl s paces T he plumb e rs a re allo we d to run the pip e to a positi v e d r ain a s long a s it will not be in t he path of trav el or per s ec tion 50461 Di scharge The di schar ge pi pe shall not have any trapp e d section s an d shall ha ve a visi ble air g a p or air ga p fitting located in t he same r oo m as the water heater The outlet end of the discha rge pipe sh all no t be threade d and su ch di s cha r ge pi p e shall not ha v e a val v e or tee installed A reminder about water heaters in crawl spaces Section 5027 3 Crawl spac e s u pport s In a cra w l spa c e , a minimum of 4x8 x 16 in ch b lock or b r i c k supp orts s ha ll be held in pl a ce w ith mortar Formed c o ncre te or approv ed prefabr ic ated s t eel units are acc eptable 2 P LUMBI N G C ODE B UILDING C ODEPageJohnston County Inspections investigates a lot of home owner complaints , and a great deal of people seeking advice and options to situations The most recent letters and calls are about companies selling dehumidifier and moisture contracts for the crawl space of their house The sales pitch goes something like this we have done moisture reading in your crawl space and you are around forty percent moisture reading You must take corrective action immediately or you will invite termites and mold into your house Then , the next step is to sell you a thirty - eight hundred dollar dehumidifier with a termite and moisture control contract I tell the homeowners to place a moisture barrier on the ground in the crawl space , make sure all the vents are open , then go to Radio Shack and buy their own moisture meter and check the readings on several different days If the house is in the first year , we always advise them to check with the builder , as most builders give a one year warranty You might ask what the builders warranty is worth It would be worth the same as the builders reputation as a quality builder The builders character and word are valued a lot more than a warranty on paper I have stated before that Johnston County has one builder that offers no warranty with his houses He also does not have any homeowner complaints at the Inspections office What's a maintenance contract worth It's buyer beware , call your builder , or call the Department of Insurance and read them the contract - I did What is it worth What someone is willing to pay 3 Comparison of 6 Month Report for 2006 & 2007 Permits & Inspections January - June 2006 January - June 2007 Total Permits Issued 2,521 Total Permits Issued 2,678 Total of Inspections Passed 20,618 Total of Inspections Passed 22,973 Total of Inspections Failed 6,676 Total of Inspections Failed 6,665 Inspector Spotlight Charles Pender History 8 yrs with Johnston County Inspections Department 10 yr s Building Customs Homes 22 yrs A fireman at Four Oaks Fire Depa rt & Chief for 3 yrs Fu n Fac t s Enjoys spending time with his nie c es & nephew Favorite part of his job , he enjo y s working with the builders & meeting people Enjoys he lping b u ilders with questions & solving problem s Least favorite pa rt of his job , con s tant code chan ges Last Th ou gh t ' I know how much hard work goe s into build ing a house & I have a deep appreciation for the people who do it ' Reminder of th e Upcoming Holidays No vemb er 12 th V e te ran s Day No vemb er 22 nd - 23 rd Tha n ks g i vi ng Decemb er 24 th - 26 th Chri stm a s News & Events What is it worth Author , Dean Barbour WELCOME BRADY BYRD Brady is from the B e ns on communit y He was prev iously empl oyed with Byrd's Ele c tric for 5 year s You c a n fi nd an arc h iv e of r e c ent Ne ws letters on our W ebp age , www j ohns to nnc c om i ns p ec ti ons in t he Ref e re nc e Des k s e c t ion R EGISTERING F OR L IST S ER V If you like to be added to our Listserv to receive the late st Ne wslet t ers & Events in th e Johnston County Inspections D e partment you c a n Go to our web s ite at wwwjohnstonn c c o m inspec tions Call our office at 919 9 8 9 - 5 0 60 Send m e a n e m ail - bethc ollier @ johnstonnc c om Also , if you h a ve any topic s for the n e xt edition of the Newsletter , feel free to let u s know We will try ou r best to get your ideas & i n put in Page