Building Officials Are Your Friend
Back in 1972 the late Jim Croce recorded and released the song, “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim”. As recorded, the refrain goes like this:
“You don’t tug on superman’s cape
You don’t spit into the wind
You don’t pull the mask off that old lone ranger
And you don’t mess around with Jim”
However, according to the book written by his widow Ingrid, the original lyrics were, “You don’t piss into the wind”.
Well, getting oneself into a battle with a Building Official is much like Jim Croce’s original lyrics. All one ends up doing is getting wet pant’s legs.
Here is a story about a gentleman who has gotten himself into one of those matches, and it appears to be going from bad to worse: https://www.eveningtribune.com/article/20151231/NEWS/151239944/?Start=1
The article’s protagonist, Mr. Booth, is (I believe) missing the point of the Building Official. There are many jurisdictions which require engineer sealed plans in order to make any structural modifications to an existing or under construction building.
From the preface of the 2012 IBC (International Building Code): “This code is founded on principles intended to establish provisions consistent with the scope of a building code that adequately protects public health, safety and welfare; provisions that do not unnecessarily increase construction costs; provisions that do not restrict the use of new materials, products or methods of construction; and provisions that do not give preferential treatment to particular types or classes of materials, products or methods of construction.”
The Wayland, New York village code enforcement officer Curt Helf, I believe, is trying to adequately protect public health and safety by requiring Mr. Booth to comply with the adopted regulations of the Code.
Ultimately, it is always my encouragement to get the Building Officials on your side of the table, rather than trying to buck the system.
Here is an invaluable checklist which will make life much easier when going through the Building Permit acquisition process: https://www.hansenpolebuildings.com/2013/01/building-department-checklist/
Happy building!
