Building Inspections Newsletter, Issue 11, May-July 2008

10 Newsletter JOHNSTON COUNTY BUILDING INSPECTIONS DEPARTMENT Issue 11 May - July 2008 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 you experience any problems with the Listserv or Newsletter , feel free to email me Beth Collier at bethcollier @ johnstonnccom S ummerti m e is here , you know everyone is thinking about enjoying the summer with a swimming pool Below is the information on permits and regulations The general public seems to be unaware that any structure intende d for recreational bathing that contains water over 24 inches deep is required to be permitted and inspected This in cludes in ground , aboveground , and on ground swimming pools , hot tubs and spas Appendix G of the Internat ional Residential Code a ddresses the specific requirements for barriers and entrapment protection for sw immi ng pools and spa suction outlets Johnston County Inspections Departm ent has a hand out that is avail able online or can be picked up at our office ; this handout includes all of Appendix G and explains how to obtain a permit • Hot Wea t her o As some of you ma y ha ve noticed some of the Residential I n spectors h a ve been arriving to your job site well before 9 00am Du ring the extremely hot weather the in spectors ha ve the option to co me in at 7 00am and leave the office at 8 00am The inspect o rs have been asked to be aware that the contra ctors may not be expecting them that early and to not charge re - inspectio n fees for projects that are not ready at 8 00am • Continuing Education for Inspectors o North Carolina Code Enforcement Of ficials are re quired by the Departme n t of Insuran c e to obtain 6 hou rs of approved continuin g education to renew standard certificates John ston County Inspections Dep a rtment has completed the 30 hours required for 2008 We are now scheduling t he classes f o r 2009 cont inuing education We o ften have space available for others to attend , the f ee for the class would h a ve to be arranged between the instructor an d those who wish to atte nd If you are interested in attending any of our continuing e ducation cla sses , please contact Amy Clifton at 919 - 989 - 5065 I TEMS D ISCU SSED AT THE M AY - J ULY M EETI N G S Reminder s UpdatesPageEnforcement of the 200 9 codes is scheduled to be phased b e tween Jan uary 1 , 2009 and July 1 , 2009 During this 6 month period , eith er the 2006 or the 2009 codes can b e used Th e appropriat e edition is t o be identified on the const r uction docu m ent s , but most not ably in the Appendix B information July 3 rd , 2008 was the 3 1 st legislativ e day for th e state legislature All B u ilding Cod e Council it ems that where held over for legislat ive review , but were not filed as a bill , go i n to effect • R202 NC Residential C ode - Wind Borne Debris Region - 1 January 2009 • R324 NC Residential C ode - Elevators and Plat form Lifts - 1 January 2009 • NEC 21012 Arc - Fault Circuit - Interru pter Protection - 1 Janu ary 2009 • NEC 33810 B 4 a SE cable - 3 July 2008 • NEC 40611 Tamper proof receptacles - 3 July 2 008 Items that will go into eff e ct on the la st day of the legislat ive session in clu de A - 2 sprinkle r threshold modification from 100 persons to 3 00 persons , except for nightclubs , in the 2006 NC Codes Items that have been delayed for legislative review for the 2009 session include Adoption of a new Chapter 11 , including refere nce to the A N SI Accessibility Code Until the leg i slative review has completed , the original rule s remain in place In th e case of Chapter 11 , t he language in the Accessi b ility code will remain in place until t h is issue is r e solved Domestic Clothes Dr y e rs Exhaust Termination What is the r equire d heig h t above finished grad e for a do mestic cl othes dryer exhaust termin ation Section 6144 of the 2006 NC fuel Gas Code d oes not directly i dentify a minimum terminatio n requir e ment above gra d e for domesti c clothes d r yer e x h aust caps Manufacturers instructions typically requ ire a minimum termination of 12 inches above gra d e Are un - vente d gas fired heaters allow ed to be installed in sleep ing roo m s No , the Fuel Gas Code states " A ppliances shall not be located in , or obtain combustion air from , any of the following rooms or spaces 1 sleeping r oom s " Therefor e the un - ven t ed gas fired heaters shall not be i n stalled in a slee ping r oom The Fuel Ga s Code woul d not all o w t he u n ve nted heater in a sleeping roo m even if the unve n ted gas fired heater is listed for sl eeping room The exceptions to section 3033 would allo w the following to be installed in a sleeping ro om 1 Direct - vent a ppliances that obt ain all co mbustion air directly form the out doors 2 V ented ro om heaters , wall furnaces , vented decor ative applia n c es and decorative a ppli ances for inst allation in vented so lid fuel - burni ng fireplace s provided t he room is not a confined sp ace and building is not of unusually tig h t construction 2 2009 Codes From DOI Website M echanica l CodePageFlexible Air Duct and Air Connector Ground Cle a rance May flexible air ducts or flexible air co nnectors be run in co ntact with the pol yethylene installed as a grou nd cove r in a crawl space No , Section 60314 r equi res that flexible air ducts and conn ecto rs not be located in or with in 4 inch es of the ear th This would apply to duct installations in crawl spaces where the groun d is or is not covere d with polyet h ylen e Is un - mortar ed , stacked mason r y allowed to supp ort mechanic a l equip m ent in a crawlspace No , Section 30493 requ ires that sta cked masonr y used to su pport mecha n ic al equipm ent shall b e held in plac e with mortar The code al so requir e s that un - stacked brick or b l ock used as supports for mechanical equipme n t b e mortared tog e ther to provi de a cont inuous solid base bene ath the equipme n t Formed con c rete pads or a ppr ove d prefa b ricated steel u n i t s are acceptable me a n s to supp ort mechani cal equipme n t Floor over Outside Air Prescriptive Insulation Requirements What is the p r escriptive in sulation requ irement for fl oors located over outside air for reside ntial building s Section 502248 states in part that a floor located ove r outside air sha ll meet the pr escriptive re quireme nts for " Ceiling R - Value " in Tabl e 50224 3 or Table 5 0 2 24 8 , as appro p riate This require ment applies to all Residential buildings F o r e x ample , a single famil y dw elling bu ilt on p ilings with outdo or exposu r e u n dern eath the floor w ould be subject to this requiremen t for that por tion of the flo o r with outdo or exp o sure Insulation requirements for Attic k n ee w a lls Are knee w a lls that are exposed to the attic space and co mpris e a pa rt of the buildin g th ermal envelo pe re quire d to be insulated according to the prescriptive wall R - value re q u ire m ents or the ceiling R - valu e requi re me nts in order t o satisfy the prescriptive re quire me nts of the 2006 NC Energy Co de Attic knee walls are considere d a w a ll element an d must be insula ted at least to the minimum R - Value re quir e ment of exterior w a lls Temper atu r es in the attic space ca n app roach 120 - 14 0 degrees Fahrenheit in the summertim e A designer may wish to consid er installing insulation beyo nd the minimum requirements as an additiona l energ y conserving mea s ure Cra w l space heights for cleanouts If a cleanout is placed in a crawl space , is the travel path requi re d to be 24 inches in height Yes , the cleanout must extend to th e out side of the buildi ng i f the crawl s pace h e ight i s less than 2 4 inches If the cleanout is p l aced in the crawl space , the crawl sp ace height s hall be not l e ss than 24 inches at the cleanout an d along the tra v el path form the access door to the cleano ut Sill Plate An chor Bolt Hole Si ze How large can the hole in the sill plate be for the 1 2 " anchor bolt The code does not address this directly It is assu med that the hole will not exceed the capabilities of the washer and nut with stands the same tensile st rength as the 1 2 " anc hor bolt Al so the comp ression of th e wo od fiber 3 Con t inue M echanica l Code En er gy Code From DOI Website From DOI Website Buildin g CodePagearound the hole must also be considered With these factors considered the hole should not exceed the diameter of the anchor bolt plus 2 times the washer thickness The hole may be elongated in one direction for alignment with the anchor bolt Half of the diameter of the elongated hole can not be more than two times the thickness of the washer from the outside diameter of the anchor bolt Fixed Stairway Upper Landing Headroom What is the headroom requirement for the area at the top of a permanent stairway The stairway does not have a door at the top Section R31152 defines headroom requirements for stairways It states " The minimum headroom in all parts of the stairway shall not be less than 6 - 8 " " All parts " of the stairway includes landings Therefore , there should be a minimum floor area of 36 " x36 " at the top of the stairway with minimum headroom of 6 - 8 " These clearances are minimums that are required for safety of the occupants for egress and for fire fighting personnel to access the space Stair Riser Height Measurement at the Thresholds If a stair leads up to a door that has a threshold , do you measure the riser height to the top of the threshold or to the finished floor height Measure the rise from the stair step surface to the finished floor surface The threshold height is not considered because the owner could change out the threshold at any time with one of a different height and because a user would probably stop to open the door and thus adjust his cadence The change in cadence reduces the likely hood of tripping on the threshold 4 Important Dates to Remember Inspector classes and meetings August 1 st 9am - 12pm Flood Training August 29 th 9am - 4pm NCDOI Manufacture Home Representative • Holidays September 1 st - Labor Day November 11 th - Veteran's Day November 27 th & 28 th - Thanksgiving December 24 th thru 26 th - Christmas Building a Bridge Author , Dean Barbour Inspectors and builders must maintain a positive working relationship to be successful in the building industry How do we build this bridge to a better relationship The answer is to have mutual respect to maintain a good working relationship The builder should always make sure that the work called in for inspection is ready for inspection The complaint that I went on recently went like this I asked the builder , " Who looked at the job before calling for inspection " He stated that would be the superintendent's job , so I called the superintendent , who was fishing at the coast , and asked him the same question He stated he paid the framer who framed the house to go look the work over Then I proceeded to ask the framer who was down the street framing another house the same question , he stated that he paid an employee to go look the job over Inspectors will not approve work that does not meet minimum code and work that the builder is not supervising Inspectors sign their name stating that the work meets minimum code and has their approval The successful builder will have inspected the project and is reasonably sure that the project is ready for inspection , and , if possible , has a representative on site This shows respect for the inspectors ' time , and if there are items open for interpretation of the code , the inspector will be open to hear your point of view We should all try to be professional in our work and be respectful of each other , and we will have a successful working relationship Let's build a bridge Customer Appreciation Day October 9 th 11am - 1pm in the Land Use CenterPage