Posted on 11/17/2017 10:19:52 AM PST by Twotone
Over the course of two years, Randy Hamilton built a single-story custom home in which he planned to live out his retirement with his wife, Lois. But by the end of the construction process, Hamilton found himself in a standoff with government officials who were threatening him with criminal prosecution and the possibility he might never be able to occupy or sell his new home.
It all came about because Hamilton didn’t want to hire a contractor to calculate whether his air conditioning and heating system had been properly sized for his 1,500-square foot home.
Hamilton is no novice when it comes to home construction. He’s been building homes for much of his life. “Throughout the time I’ve been contracting, I’ve always been able to do the work without having to hire,” Hamilton said. “Now we’ve reached a point where that’s not true because of the things that [the government] is requiring me to do.”
In any residential, commercial, or industrial construction job, there are now special calculations that determine the size of the air conditioner, furnace, and ductwork needed for the project. Those calculations are intended to make sure that too small an air conditioner isn’t installed, causing the unit to run too often at an unnecessary cost, or that the air conditioner isn’t too large, making a room clammy and uncomfortable.
Before such special calculations existed, air conditioning installers used rules of thumb largely tied to a room’s square footage to determine the appropriate size heating, ventilation and air conditioning system.
(Excerpt) Read more at idahofreedom.org ...
Nampa, Idaho must be home to a lot of ex-Californians.
Twenty years ago I built a house. I had to fill out a “MEC” verification form. Put all the data into a program and it tells you if you’re properly insulated.
I built custom spec houses at one time.
In a million dollar house I had a month long go around with the Building Department in Elpaso County CO because they wouldn’t approve the furnace size as required BY THEIR OWN CALCULATIONS to keep the house warm on a cold day.
They insisted that I install a furnace no larger than would keep the inside temperature at 60 degrees or less on a cold night.
They had no options to do anything but. Finally a subcontractor suggested a try a two stage furnace and it was finally approved.
"The law says that before I can install this septic system you have to hire an environmental engineer and have perculation tests done on the soil, these test typically run about $800, if your soil fails the test then your septic system's leachbed will have to be expanded another hundred feet which will add $3,000 to the cost of the system. The law also says that you have to go purchase an environmental stamp from you county health department for $1,000 just for the right to put this septic tank in the ground. Also you will have to pay to register the design of your septic system with the state DEP and agree to yearly inspections and monitoring....
....or....
...you can hand me $200 in cash right now, I'll drop your septic tank and leachbed in the ground, and if asked, you can say it was here before 1986 and you just hooked up to it, therefore your system is grandfathered in and there are no governing regulations whatsoever."
Take a guess which option I choose....
The reason for this, is for far too long, jackasses would just run a 6” flex duct to a room and call it good. Didn’t matter if it was south facing, had much more sq ft of windows, and had vaulted ceilings or whatever. So you’d always have that one room or two or three that was always colder in the winter, and sweltering in the summer, and fixing it after the fact is expensive. By the time this came to light, spec home builder is long gone and they aren’t going to make it right. If there are codes for plumbing and electrical, why not HVAC?
well, since he is in the construction industry, he could just ask one of his buddies that is in the HVAC to create a statement saying that his HVAC system is the proper size for the house.
The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.
Unfortunately codes have become quite arbitrary & unnecessary, resulting in big costs for home owners & buyers when there are simpler fixes.
The gov’t is not our master. If there are life & death issues, as with electrical wiring or gas connections, that’s one thing. But a house that may be more cost-effective (or fuel efficient) or comfortable should not be in their domain to regulate. How about some ‘suggestions’ for the new builder/buyer instead?
"The law says that before I can install this septic system you have to hire an environmental engineer and have perculation tests done on the soil, these test typically run about $800, if your soil fails the test then your septic system's leachbed will have to be expanded another hundred feet which will add $3,000 to the cost of the system.
Back when I lived in another state, my wife & I bought our first house, we found out the place had multiple problems. One of which was a woefully inadequate septic system.
Not having the money to hire a professional, I decided to rent a backhoe (never operated one before), dug the hole & fingers, order a tank & have it set, dropped gravel into finger trenches & installed pipes. Covered over trenches & tank & graded the yard.....all on a long 4th of July weekend.
Never went to the county for any permits or permission! I just used my common sense.
The system worked perfectly for the 10 years we lived there!
That house (fixer-upper) worked me like a rented mule but I learned a lot!
Government is good for only one thing.....to enrich government officials!! And those officials did nothing when I tried to get restitution from the thief who sold me that house.
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