Building Inspections Newsletter, Issue 10, January-April 2007

10 Newsletter JOHNSTON COUNTY BUILDING INSPECTIONS DEPARTMENT Issue 10 January & April 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 If yo u e x perien ce any probl e m s wit h th e L i st se r v or Ne wsletter , feel free to email me Bet h Collier at beth collier @ joh n stonnccom On March 1 1 , 2008 the Building Code Co uncil voted to accept the 2 008 NEC to beco me effective June 1 , 2008 They also discusse d several amendment s 1 Defini tion s - Industrial Equipment delete pr oposed A r ticle 1010 of the No rth Carolina administrative code and from A r ticle 100 of the 2008 NEC This simply means that Senate Bill 490 supers edes the N E C for I n dust rial Equip m ent Effecti v e date June 1 , 2008 2 33415 Expose d W o rk - Remove the words Cra w l Spaces T h is means yo u do not have to drill out cra w l spaces Caut i on the AHJs still ma y require some cra w l spa ce to be protected dep e ndi n g on height Effecti v e date June 1 , 2008 3 25050 from the 200 5 NEC Electrical Ame n dme n t package Grounding Electrodes Sys t em If available on premises a t each building or struct ure served , each item in 25052 A 4 through A 6 shall be bond ed t o gethe r to form the g r oundi n g el ectrod e sys t em W h e r e no ne o f these electrodes are available , one o r more of the el ectrodes specified in 25052 A 4 through A 7 shall be installed and us ed Effecti v e date June 1 , 2008 4 40611 Tamper Resi stant Receptacles i n dwelling units Accept ed w i thout amendment Effective date June 1 , 2008 5 680 - 26 © Pool Wate r Accepted w i thout amendment Effecti v e date June 1 , 2008 6 21012 B AFCI Protection Ac c e pted without amen dm ent Effecti v e date June 1 , 2008 7 902 9 B 5 b Retain the language in the 2 005 NEC Effective date June 1 , 2008 8 Other Ite m s Adopt Articles 2108 a 3 exception from the 2005 NEC Electrical A m en dm ent package A sing le outlet receptacle sup p lied by a dedicated b r anch circ uit which is locate d and identified for specific use by a sewag e lift pump Effe ctive date June 1 , 2008 9 4063 Re ceptacles in damp or wet locati ons Accepted w i thout amen dm ent Effective date June 1 , 2008 I TEMS D IS CUSSED AT THE J ANUAR Y - A PRIL M EETINGS Latest fr o m the Buil din g Co de Co uncilPageThese recommendations now go to the NC State Legislature for final adoption before it becomes law The Johnston County Inspections Department has ordered our 2008 NEC ; the new books are not available at DOI yet They will not sell them until the North Carolina Amendments are available All permits obtained June 1 , 2008 and after will have to meet the requirements of the 2008 National Electrical Code with the NC amendments A reminder that if you plan to construct your single family dwelling using a closed or closed conditioned crawl space , you're required to submit this information at the time of plan review There are a lot of foam plastics out there that are not approved for installation in the crawl or attic without protection over the foam plastic per section R31423 unless we are provided with an ICC Evaluation Service Report per section R40982 this specifically tells how this product is to be installed NC Mechanical Code 2006 60312 Condensation Provisions shall be made to prevent the formation of condensation on the exterior of new duct The Johnston County Inspections Department receives a large number of complaints from homeowners with water problems in the crawl space It is no longer acceptable to provide a means to get the water out of the crawl that is created by the condensate on the ducts ; corrections are required to be made to prevent the condensate from forming on the duct work IRC 31141 Exit door required Not less than one exit door conforming to this section shall be provided for each dwelling unit The required exit door shall provide for direct access from the habitable portions of the dwelling to the exterior without requiring travel through a garage This is a big change It will be important to get with your designer or engineer to insure that your plans provide an exit through the house or by an exterior set of stairs or ramp for habitable space above a garage This is for both attached and detached garages We will try to catch this at the plan review stage IRC 31143 Landings at doors A minimum of 3 foot by 3 foot landing shall be required on each side of an egress door The floor or landing shall not be more than 1 ½ " inches lower than the top of the threshold Exceptions 1 At the top of a flight of stairs , provided the door does not swing over the stairs 2 The landing at the exterior doorway shall not be more than 8 ¼ " inches below the top of the threshold , provided the door does not swing over the landing 3 Exterior storm and screen doors are exempt from the requirements for landings 4 At the bottom of an interior flight of stairs , there may be a door between the landing and stairs 2PageR3113 Hallways and interior doors The minimum width of a hallway shall not be less than 3 feet R31132 All doors providing egress from habitable rooms shall have nominal minimum dimensions of 2 feet 6 inches width by 6 feet 8 inches height Sunrooms When a sunroom is being constructed and the requirements from table 602105 for braced wall panels can not be achieved , the sunroom will have to be designed by an engineer Sunroom Addition A one - story structure added to an existing dwelling with a glazing area in excess of 40 percent of the gross area of the structures exterior walls and roof 502 25 Prescriptive path for additions and window replacements 06 NC Energy Conservation Code As an alternative to demonstrate compliance with Section 402 or 5022 , additions with a conditioned floor area less than 500 square feet to existing single family residential buildings and structures shall meet the prescriptive envelope component criteria in Table 50225 for the designated heating degree days HDD applicable to the location The U - factor of each individual fenestration product windows , doors , skylights , shall be used to calculate an area - weighted average fenestration product U - factor for the addition , which shall not exceed the applicable listed values in Table 50225 For additions , other than sunroom additions , the total area of fenestration products shall not exceed 40 percent of the gross wall and roof area of the addition The R - values for opaque thermal envelope components shall be equal to or greater than the applicable listed values in Table 50225 Replacement fenestration products where some or all of an existing fenestration unit is replaced with an entire new replacement unit , including the frame , sash and glazing shall meet the prescriptive fenestration U - factor criteria in table 50225 for the designated HDD applicable to the location Conditioned sunroom additions shall maintain thermal isolation ; shall not be used as kitchens or sleeping rooms ; and shall be served by a separate heating or cooling system , or be thermostatically controlled as a separate zone of the existing system Fenestration products used in additions and replacement windows in accordance with this section shall also meet the requirements of Section 50215 Exception Replacement skylights shall have a maximum U - factor of 060 when installed in any location above 1,999 HDD 3PageReminders & Updates WELCOME TO APRIL Author Dean Barbour The winter is behind us , spring is here , and summer is just around the corner I just love this time of year It's a time for new beginnings , the trees are putting on new attire , and the azaleas are blooming A sure sign of spring is the annual Homebuilders golf tournament on April 18 th , where a good time is had by all The good news is with the recent spring rains , I can now replant the twenty - three shrubs that passed away during last summer's drought ; however , as of April 7 th Johnston County has eased it watering restrictions , allowing residents with odd numbered addresses to water on Tuesday , Thursday , and Saturday Residents with even numbered address will be able to water on Wednesday , Friday , and Sunday Johnston County Inspections will be selling sprinkler permits Residential permits are still down from the comparison reports from 2007 , but are trending up We are selling more permits for smaller houses and also more additions and mobile home permits We have some unlicensed contractors that we are investigating for going over the thirty thousand dollar limit , also electrical , plumbing , and mechanical contractors that have done work without permits Johnston County Inspections refers all violations to the appropriate licensing board for investigation The new source book is out and has a list of outstanding general contractors to choose from , some are gold award winners like Freddie Stancil and Art Kirkwood We keep a book at the front counter , so the public can use the book for research The Inspections Department can help educate the public for the need to hire a licensed general contractor for their addition , but what you hear a lot more often is the story I got from a homeowner this week The homeowner put out fifty thousand dollars to an unlicensed contactor , who told her he had a license , and she didn't check to see He also told her he did not need any building permits For the people who think our job is a dream , you should go and investigate one of these complaints , but hurry up because another one will need and expect you to be at their house tomorrow Johnston County Inspections would like to thank all the builders that have submitted right and left sets of plans , we are at ninety percent compliance with all pre - approved plans at this time The code will change again in 2009 and most departments will require new plans , Johnston County Inspections will require only an addendum sheet for plans that meet the current code This should reflect some savings for builders that have had to update plans for 2008 The Inspections Department is ready to assist the builders and contractors with their building projects , if we can help give us a call , if you have any real problems call Dean or Amy We will be on your job the next day Go take a walk , enjoy the spring , it's going to be a great year S O M E HELPFUL D ATES TO R EM EM B E R April 24 th ALL inspectors will be i n a class from 10am - 5pm May 26 th - Memori al Day Hol i d ay Jul y 4 th - Independence Da y Holiday September 1 st - La bor Day Holiday November 11 th - Vet e ran ' s D a y Holiday November 27 th & 28 th - T h an k s givin g Holiday December 24 th thru 26 th - Christmas Holida y Eac h year the North Car o lina General Contra c t ors Lic e nsing Bo ar d sends o u t a list of c o ntrac t ors who have failed t o r e new thei r general c o ntrac t or's lic ense W e ar e r e qui r ed at tha t ti me to r e v o k e per m its that ar e held by the u n lic ensed c o ntrac t or Unti l 2007 , the fee to r e new the per m i t was the ful l amount of th e original pe r m it Bec a use of the inc r ease in the failu r e to r e new l i c e nse in 2 006 and 2 0 0 7 , the Johnston County Inspe c tions Department negotiate d wi th the County to r e duce that fee to 2000 0 T h i s fee is the sam e for e x pir e d per m its , f o r e closur es and c h ange of general c o ntrac t or Mobile Highway has been used for several weeks now The inspectors like using the new system , very few problems have occurred I had the op portunity to attend a Building C o de Conferenc e in Atlan t ic Beac h a c o uple of months ago and while I was there I used the Mobile Highway to a ssign the inspec tors their routes The offic e staff has been scanning files into the computer with no problems at all Be sure to keep your Johnston County Stamped Pl ans in the job box and if at all possibl e your failed ins p ections notices and as always your permit card P l e a s e g i v e m e a c a l l i f y o u f i n d t h a t t h e i n s p e c t o r has not signed your per m it card with an okay or n a T h anks A m y Cl i f ton 868 - 3 584 When an inspection has passed th e inspector will not leave a notice , b u t is required to sign the permit card If an inspection fails , the inspector w ill leave a print out notice of items that need s to be addre ssed Remi n der If y o u call i n an in s p ecti on the same d a y y o u ha ve an i n spe c ti on , t h e r e is NO guarantee that yo u r in s p ection will go o u t the nex t day It's at the dis c retion of the ins p ect o r Reminder When su bm itti ng fo r a perm it , pl ease s u bmit a " Cut - Sheet " 8 1 2 " by 11 " flo o r plan 4Page