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Piney Flats, Tennessee Inspectors Support Building Codes Even Though It Means Extra Duty

[Source: Bristol Herald Courier | July 16, 2009]

When Sullivan County Building Inspector Gary Wilkinson stopped by a home’s construction site Wednesday he had a chance to look at the building’s footing and ensure that the cement pad was big enough to keep the new home from sinking into the ground.

But he didn’t. Instead, Wilkinson used the morning’s inspection to walk around the house and ensure that its setbacks—the distance between the building’s exterior walls and its property lines—were in line with the county’s zoning code.

Sullivan is one of 60 Tennessee counties without a building code a set of guidelines governing how residential structures are built For that reason, Wilkinson and other building inspectors are powerless to stop homes from being built with substandard features such as bad footings even though they know they could cause huge problems for future occupants.

“We get phone calls all the time from homeowners and contractors about something that’s not being done right and we can’t do a thing to stop it,” Wilkinson said. Building inspectors can, however, stop a project if a building’s setbacks aren’t correct.

But the situation might change Monday when the full County Commission is slated to vote on a resolution seeking to adopt a countywide building code. Wilkinson and other inspectors support the code even though it would increase their workloads.

Specifically, the resolution seeks to adopt the structural guidelines in the 2006 International Residential Code and the 2006 International Property Maintenance Code.

“The building code is just a minimum set of standards to make sure your home is safe,” said Tim Earles the county’s building commissioner, who backs the resolution.

While they might seem complicated, Earles said the new standards wouldn’t be that much to worry about because most reputable contractors in the county already over build or go beyond the minimum guidelines.

Earles said the policy would probably have the largest impact on his staff because it would require them to conduct an extra inspection of every home under construction in the county.

Already, county building inspectors do a preliminary setback inspection like the one Wilkinson did Wednesday They also check the home’s setbacks once its exterior is complete to ensure that the building’s overhangs follow the zoning code.

If the resolution is approved, building inspectors would have to inspect a home’s frame floor joists and ceiling beams once the basic structure is completed They also would check a home’s footings, but Earles said this could be done during the first setback inspection.

The building code resolution seeks to alleviate the cost of the extra work by tacking a $100 increase to the price of construction permits needed for new homes The permit price for new mobile homes and outbuildings would also jump by $25 and $5, respectively.

Earles said he doesn’t think area residents will mind the extra charge because a certain peace of mind comes with the new code and a third inspection.

“When those homes are built their owners are guaranteed that the work was done by code—things that are supposed to be in there were put in,” Earles said.

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