RE: House built in 1982

[Stuarth520]

RE: House built in 1982

I received a Notice of Violation from the Palm Beach County, FL building department that had the following code violations:

1. 200.6 Grounds PBD Amendments to PBC 5th Edition (2014)
2. 250.4 General requirements for grounding PBC Amendments to PBC 5th Edtion (2014)
3. 250.6 Objectionable current PBC Amendments to PBC 5th Edition (2014)

The house was constructed and received its CO in 1982. Should these items be grandfathered in and not be required to be updated to the 2014 code requirements?
No construction is being done on the property.

Thanks for your help.
S. Herrick

 

[charlie b]

It is possible that this forum might not be of much service to you. You have family working in the industry, but you do not. So we aren't allowed to help you with planning or performing any work to correct any deficiencies. But since you are (at present, at least) only asking for applicable codes, I have approved your post.

Please note that I am not able to read you attachments. They are of such low resolution that the text is illegible.

In general, if an installation was in compliance with the codes that were in effect when it was built, it will not have to comply with revised versions of the code. A general exception to the so-called "grandfather rule" is that you can be forced to comply with current codes, if failure to do so represents a safety hazard. Improper grounding can be a safety concern.

I am curious as to how and why a County inspector came to believe that they had a right to inspect the property and to issue violations, given that no construction project was in progress. Can you elaborate on this point?

 

[al hildenbrand]

I received a Notice of Violation from the Palm Beach County, FL building department that had the following code violations:

1. 200.6 Grounds PBD Amendments to PBC 5th Edition (2014)
2. 250.4 General requirements for grounding PBC Amendments to PBC 5th Edtion (2014)
3. 250.6 Objectionable current PBC Amendments to PBC 5th Edition (2014)

The house was constructed and received its CO in 1982. Should these items be grandfathered in and not be required to be updated to the 2014 code requirements?
No construction is being done on the property.

Thanks for your help.
S. Herrick

I, too, found the attached PDFs unreadable.

Above, the violations are Palm Beach County Amendments to the Palm Beach County 5th Edition . . . what? Statutes? Code?

May I suggest getting the exact words, as published by Palm Beach, for these cited code violations. Can you share them with us, verbatum?

 

[gadfly56]

In the absence of any construction work, all jurisdictions I have worked in do not require you to upgrade or alter anything that was legal at the time of original construction. Is this an inspection prior to sale? Some inspectors (erroneously, at least in NJ) think this gives them a second bite at the apple. Depending on the cost to comply, it may be worth pushing back.

 

[al hildenbrand]

If the house is licensed rental property, the local jurisdiction may require periodic inspections within the terms of the licensing statutes. Here, a local "Minimum Electrical" standard is given force as local statute.

 

[Gary11734]

When does an inspector come to a house for no reason? There has to be more to this story.

 

[gadfly56]

When does an inspector come to a house for no reason? There has to be more to this story.

In NJ the only time outside of construction that an inspector will set foot on the property is when it's sold. Then they do a CCO inspection. I think they are primarily looking for any unpermitted work that may have been done.

 

[Gary11734]

In NJ the only time outside of construction that an inspector will set foot on the property is when it's sold. Then they do a CCO inspection. I think they are primarily looking for any unpermitted work that may have been done.

Yes, that sounds OK. Well, I didn't see that or any other than "No Construction" was done. I would assume there is more to this story. Like a neighbor called or something, we don't have the facts too.

It's hard enough to get them out of the car to do inspections when we call for one! lol Just kidding to any inspector here!

 

[Dennis Alwon]

I didn't read anything-lol- but if your house was installed to code when it was built then there should not be anything they can do about it

Now, why were these people there checking the wiring? Something must have happened, IDK. Is the house being converted to something other than a single family dwelling. Was the install on the service change and never permitted? etc

 

[infinity]

In NJ the only time outside of construction that an inspector will set foot on the property is when it's sold. Then they do a CCO inspection. I think they are primarily looking for any unpermitted work that may have been done.

That also depends on the town, not every town requires a CCO many just inspect for smoke alarms.

 

[gadfly56]

That also depends on the town, not every town requires a CCO many just inspect for smoke alarms.

Interesting. I thought it was universal, based on the half dozen or so sales I've been involved with. Learn something new every day.

 

[ptonsparky]

CCO?

 

[gadfly56]

CCO?

Certificate of Continued (or Continuing) Occupancy

 

[ptonsparky]

Certificate of Continued (or Continuing) Occupancy

Don't have that here but sure wish we did on occasion.

 

[gadfly56]

Don't have that here but sure wish we did on occasion.

Here is the web site for the CCO requirements in my home town.

http://www.bloomingdalenj.net/documents/Building-Zoning/CCO CHECK-LIST.pdf