Building Inspections Newsletter, Issue 9, November-December 2007

10 Newsletter JOHNSTON COUNTY B U ILDING INSPECTIONS DEPARTMENT Issue 9 November & December 2007 Mission Statement hnston 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 Jo hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving We have combined November and Decembers ' Newsletters into one It's time for Christmas again , so come by and see our festive décor We hope you and yours have a fantastic Christmas and happy New Year We want to thank you for the productive year in 2007 and look forward to serving you in 2008 If you experience any problems with the Listserv or Newsletter , feel free to email me Beth Collier at bethcollier @ johnstonnccom The residen t ial c o de 2006 effective Janu ary 01 , 2008 will h a ve differen t all o wanc es for hand rail s Sec t ion 311562 C o n t inuity Handrails for stair w ays shall be continuous for the full length of the flight , fr om a point directly above the top riser of the fligh t to a point di rectly abov e the low e st riser of the flight Handrail en ds shall be re turned or shall terminate i n newel posts or safe ty terminals Handrail s adjacent to a wall shall have a space of not le ss than 1 1 2 inches between the wall and th e handrails Ex cep t io ns 1 Handrail s shall be per m itte d to b e interrupted by a ne wel post 2 The use of a volute , tu rnout , s t ar t i ng easing or startin g newel shall be allowed over the l o west tread 3 Two or more separ a te rails shall be consi d e r ed continu o us if the termination of the rails occurs with in 6 inches of each other If tran siti oning between a wall - mounte d handrail and a guard han d rail , the wall - mounte d rail must return into the wall I TEMS D IS CUSSED AT THE N OVEMBER - D ECEMBER M EETINGS B UILDI N G C ODE IPageR311563 Han d rail grip size Al l required handrails shall be of one of the followin g ty pes or appr oved e q uivalent graspability 1 Type I Handrails wi th a circular cross sec t ion sha ll have an outsi d e diame t e r of at least 1 ¼ inches and not gre a ter than 2 inches If the hand rail is not circular it shall hav e a perime ter dimension of at least 4 inches and not greater than 6 ¼ inches with a maximum cross section of dimension of 2 ¼ inches 2 Type II Handrails wi th a perimeter greater than 6 ¼ inches shall provide a graspable fi nger recess are a on both si des of the profil e The fi nger rec e ss shall b e gin within a dis t ance of ¾ inch measured vertical ly from the tallest por t io n of the profil e and achieve a depth of at least 5 16 inch within 7 8 inch below the widest port ion of the profile This required depth shall continue for at least 3 8 inch to a level that is not l e ss than 1 ¾ inches below the talle st por t ion of the profile The minimum width of the handr a il above the recess shall be 1 ¼ inches to a maximum radius of 0 01 inches R40413 Design Required A design in accordance with accepted engineering practice shall be provided for concrete or masonr y foundation walls wh en any of th e foll owin g condi t ion s exist 1 Walls are s u bject t o hydros ta tic pressure fr om gr ound water 2 Walls supporting m o r e that 48in c hes of un bala nced backfill that do not hav e permane n t lateral sup p or t at the to p and b o tt om Included are re taining wall s located on residenti a l site s and any retaining wall syste m that cross ove r ad jacent prop erty li nes regardl e ss of ver t i c al height 3 Retaining walls that suppor t buil di ngs and their access ory struc t ures Guard rail r e quirements for retain ing walls woul d than fall under Section R31 2 I requested information from DOI for the requirements and this was the response Section R312 requires guards for porches , balconies or raised fl oor surfaces lo ca ted more than 30 inches above the fl oor or gra d e below Th erefore i f there is not a walkway alon g the top of the r e taining wall , no guar drail is required I f guardrail s are requir ed then all pert inent r e quirements are requir ed for guar drails will apply Sm oke Alarm s Smoke Al ar ms are re quired in each story wi thin the dwelling unit Smoke alarms are not r e quired in the crawl space or uninhabitable attics Stor ag e and Utili ty space s are not con s idered habi table spaces 2 C ONTIN U E B UILDI N G C ODEPage IRC 02 and 06 under Habitable Spaces Unfinished area that are not heated and are not for living , sleeping , eating , or cooking and therefore cannot be habitable ; we do not inspect them as such IRC under Habitable Spaces 4 What do we do in unfinished areas 5 What about smoke alarms that does not meet requirements for these areas Unfinished areas are also uninhabitable spaces by definition Uninhabitable attics , crawl spaces , storage rooms or utility spaces do not require a smoke alarm unless they constitute a change in story For example , a second floor that is completely unfinished is a change in story ; therefore , a smoke alarm is required for change in story only There are no residential smoke alarms made for the excessive heat expected in unfinished second floors or attics known to us at this time DOI will not accept Heat Strips as a substitution We will require smoke detectors at a change of story per code but we should not approve smoke detectors which are not approved for installation in an unfinished area Finished stairs at the top leading to an unfinished attic or second floor DOI approves installation of smoke detectors at the top of the stairs on the finished side of the door Unfinished stairwell leading to unfinished second floor or attic Although it is not an official change in story , we will require wiring and a junction box installed on the second floor that is interconnected with the first floor per code in the event that this area is finished in the future Is access to the whirlp ool bath tu b pump re quired for r e pair and r e moval Yes , the pl umbing code state s a ccess shall be pr ovide d to the pu mp An ac cess door large enough to remove the motor and or pump shall be pr ovided at th e side or end of the whir lpool tub c learan ce of 21 inches minimum in front of the access door and pump connections shall be within 15 inches of the access door The access maybe through a cabinet double doors wi th no stile s and or from below th e whirlpool bath tub in a base men t or cra w l space trave l path to the access to the whirlp ool bath tu b shall be a minimum height of 24 inches in the crawl 3 P LUMBI N G C ODEPageThere has been a lo t of que s ti on s ab out the make up a i r for cl ose t s room 50 sq f t or l e ss designe d for a cloths dryer Mechanical Code 02 section 5045 Make up air Installation s exh a usting more than 200 cfm shall be provided with makeup air Where a closet is designed for the installation of a clothe s dryer , an openin g having an area of n o t less than 100 square inc h es shall be provided in the close t enclosure Mechanical Code 06 section 5045 our curre nt code Make up air Where a closet is designed for the insta llation of a cloth s dryer , an opening having an area of not less than 100 sq inches for makeup air shall be pr ovided in the clos e t e n closure or makeup ai r shall be provided by other a ppr oved me ans The way the code w a s written in 02 the cloths dryer w o uld have had to bee n installed in order for us to re quire the make up air openi n g The code now states that m a ke up air shall be pr ovided for a room desi gned for cl oths dryer Communication wi th your heatin g and air c o ntrac t or a b out the locati on of this opening at the rough in would help pre v ent any pr oblem s at the final inspecti on The Season for Giving Dean Barbour This is my favorite time of the year , it's al most Christmas Customers stop at the offi ce and wish greetings of Merry Christmas and bring some food The office policy is if we can all eat it , it's not a bribe People just see m happier this time of the year It is even possible to get a smile and greeting from people you know that you are not on their Christmas mailing list This is the se ason to give I think when people giv e to other people , whether small gifts or lar g e it brings out the best in all of us I know tha t the Homebuilders Association gives to the Oxford Orphanage with a special collectio n at their Christmas party each year This has got to be th e greatest act of kindne ss that any organization can achieve To give to someone who is in need has a long reaching effec t on individual people Whether th e gift is immediate like food or shelter , or a lap top for learning , the individual th at received this gift will rememb er the hel p ing hand Most peo p le remember special thi n gs from Christmas past , a b - b - gun , a doll , or clothes and you know tha t somehow Santa kne w just what gift you had wished for We remember and the people that you help will remember who helped them along the way , and they will return the gift two fold Let us all gi v e and help someone this Christmas and the blessing will be yours Thanks to the Ho mebuilders for helpi n g the orphanage , your foundation is on the ro ck , good b u ilding and Merry Christmas 4 M ECHA NIC A L C ODEPagePage pageNumber55 Name Nextel ID Nextel Mo bi le # A l l e n D e r r y 2 6 4 73 44 4 2 7 - 428 7 Bar b our Dea n 2 6 4 72 37 86 8 - 4 6 15 Barr y T r i p 69 2 42 7 - 3 5 3 6 B l ack m an Wa l t e r 2 6 4 72 42 42 7 - 4 2 85 Bledsoe M i ke 2 6 4 72 94 8 6 8 - 461 8 Byr d Bra d y 2 6 4 72 08 42 7 - 7 8 94 Cli f t o n Am y 2 6 5 10 20 86 8 - 3 5 84 Cli f t o n To mm y 2 6 4 73 21 86 8 - 4 6 38 Co ll ie r B e t h 2 6 4 76 36 7 9 5 - 359 3 Cook Mi k e 2 6 4 73 49 42 2 - 6 8 11 Gerr ell Hea t her 2 6 4 73 11 42 7 - 3 5 38 Ho r n e Ros e 2 6 4 73 10 42 2 - 6 5 97 Hudson Sha n e 2 6 4 73 14 42 2 - 6 8 12 J o hnson Da v y 2 6 2 48 36 36 9 - 0 3 08 J o hnson Pa t r i c k 2 6 5 95 09 62 5 - 8 7 42 J o hnson Tho m as 2 6 4 72 96 52 4 - 0 0 89 Jo n e s R B 2 6 4 72 98 42 2 - 6 7 59 La nca s t e r Ann 2 6 4 39 25 42 2 - 4 3 37 Le wi s Ed 2 6 4 72 47 29 1 - 1 5 71 Motsko Ci nd y 2 6 4 72 84 29 1 - 0 4 86 Pender Ch arles 2 6 4 72 03 42 2 - 6 7 25 R eeve s Russ ell 2 6 3 45 00 29 1 - 0 6 13 Rob i nson Brya n 2 6 4 75 62 20 1 - 0 4 30 S a sse r Bria n 2 6 4 69 63 86 8 - 4 6 20 Sa u l s Jim m i e 2 6 4 72 77 42 7 - 4 2 83 Sutton Ton y 2 6 4 72 76 42 7 - 4 2 82 Tho m ason Sue 2 6 4 76 49 79 5 - 0 4 06 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 & E v ents 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 yo u have any to pics fo r the next editio n o f the Newsletter , feel free to let us know We will tr y ou r best to g et y our ideas & in p ut in What's new at the Inspections Department Just a reminder that we will NO l o nger excep t reversed plans as of January 1 , 08 All new building codes will be i n effect January 1 , 0 8 R e min d er th at th e Janu ary 1 , 2008 , the Tow n o f Smithfield will start requiring business licens e if the job is done in the city limits Reminder that we will be cl osed Dece mber 24 th - 26 th Our IVR system is n o w d i sco nne cted becaus e of lack of use of the system We apologi z e for the inconv enience f o r the ones who use the system Ne w Insp ectors Thomas Johnson & Mike Cook The Johnston County In spe c tions De part me nt w ill soo n be up and runn ing on Mob ile H i g h w a y As w e have be e n te lling you , w e w ill no lon g e r re quire th at you subm it tw o se ts of p l ans w h e n you app l y fo r a pe rmi t , w e w ill how e ve r re quire t h at you have the set that we have revi e w e d and s t ampe d on th e site for the ins p e c tions w e w ill stamp mo re t h an one se t f o r yo u The tax office has re que s te d that w e hav e a " cut she e t " 85 " x 11 " pag e for our f ile Thi s is a floo r layo ut of e ach sto ry along w i th th e square fo ot ag e This cut she e t w ill be scanne d onto the comp uter and s t or ed wi th y o ur p e r m i t We wil l have to require tha t this be submitted at the time you apply for your pe rmit This cou l d be he lpful for both the contractor and the in spe c tions de part me nt in the f u ture A s y o u k n ow we aver a g e t w o cal l s a week from hom e owners who have completed unfinished space without permits an d are now trying t o se l l t h e i r home s b u t cannot sell the added square footage without pr oper per m its What th e homeowners wil l tell us is the c o ntractor comple ted the space or that the space w a s fini she d w h e n the y bo ug ht the hous e If you w e re to identify all un fini s h e d s p ace on thi s cut she e t that conve r sation w ill be avoide d all tog e the r Updat e d Phone ListPage