Held Accountable

[SEO]

I was going thru a book titled Legal Aspects Of Code Administration and found a section on early building codes that I thought interesting. One of the earliest and rudimentary of building codes was developed in the Babylonian Empire around 2000 B.C., and was attributed to the king, Hammurabi. The law provided that: If a builder built a house for a man and completed it, that man shall pay him two shekels of silver per say (approximately 12 square feet) of house as his wage. If a builder has built a house for a man and his work is not strong, and if the house he built falls in and kills the householder, that builder shall be slain. If the child of the householder should be killed, the child of that builder shall be slain. Thats only part of the paragraph. Sure would make you think twice about being a builder!

 

[mikeames]

I guess in those days it only had to stand for 20 or so years....before you die of natural causes.

 

[LarryFine]

There also are or have been cultures that mandate that, if you cause a man to lose his life, you will support, house, and feed his wife and children as he had.

I've also read about bridge-builders having to be the first one to cross their bridges, and maybe having to stand beneath as the construction supports are removed.

 

[BryanMD]

Note that then (as now) it is the contractor who faces the penalty and NOT his hired man.

 

[RJohnsonMasterElectrician]

I was going thru a book titled Legal Aspects Of Code Administration and found a section on early building codes that I thought interesting.

Sure would make you think twice about being a builder!

Or a HACKER, think we need to start that up again!