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  1. F

    New Owners, Old Building

    At what point does your jurisdiction require upgrading antiquated equipment? I am dealing with a one hundred year old buildings with new owners. My City requires passing inspections from the Fire Marshal and Building Inspector for the required business license. The restrooms are inaccessible...
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    Why you need a permit to change a water heater

    Carbon Monoxide deaths.
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    32" grounding electrodes, but we used three of them

    Thanks guys, I'm quite sure that my decision is correct but wanted some backup. When this happened in 2014 I had just started inspecting and this electrician visited all my supervisors and contacted City Council trying to get me fired for enforcing the code. This time if he tries I have passed...
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    32" grounding electrodes, but we used three of them

    It has been eight years since I had this experience the first time. Today, it reared its ugly head again. A local electrician runs into shallow bedrock, so he cuts his grounding electrodes into sections and proceeds to pound these into a small area. (9" circle) His auxiliary electrode cluster...
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    cooking demonstration kitchen

    I am the originator of this thread. By way of explanation, I am the Building Official and the Fire Marshal shares my office, we had discussed this situation and thought that some peer review could be enlightening in this case. It is easy to make a hasty decision, so I sought your input. Thanks...
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    cooking demonstration kitchen

    There is a business that wants to open soon in town. As I understand things they will be selling cookware and as part of the business they will be setting up a cooking area to demonstrate the use of their products. They intend to use residential appliances and hood. This is not residential, nor...
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    Footing for a deck.

    Show me a open deck that won't have a roof in another decade and be incorporated into the home within 30 years. Porches and decks almost always evolve in my neck of the woods. I believe that foundations for decks need to anticipate the eventual roof load that will come.
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    Three, Four, and Five Story Building Requirement

    Earthen architecture is fragile, there are height to width ratios that must be maintained. I doubt that 3 story buildings would be economically feasible. https://www.dcat.net/resources/Pima%20County%20Approved%20Standard%20for%20Earthen%20IRC%20Structures.pdf Pima County Arizona has...
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    Tiny Homes

    I mention to our local nonconformists that they should visit Mogadishu to experience what it is to live without government intrusion.
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    Kitchen remodel

    When we adopted the 2012 IRC I removed the cabinet replacement exemption, because most of our homes are over 100 years old and kitchen remodels, where cabinets are replaced usually entail electrical and or plumbing remodeling. We are currently working on amendments for adopting the 2018, I...
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    metal roof attachment on new construction

    As mtlogcabin provided, it is all dependant on the manufactures installation instructions/specs. Attaching to spaced purlins is usually a commercial design but not always. This arrangement precludes the installation of the lighter gages of roof panels, when it is allowed.
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    code violation - lacks proper heat per IPMC

    Perhaps your inspector inadvertently quoted from the wrong code. The 09 IFGC 621.3 prohibits unvented room heaters as the sole source of heating in a residential unit.
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    Conversion of area from A-3 to B-2

    Four stories with a basement. Over 100 years old. Un-sprinkled, Type 3 construction 4,904 gross square ft per floor.
  14. F

    Conversion of area from A-3 to B-2

    R-2 and R-1
  15. F

    Conversion of area from A-3 to B-2

    I should have mentioned that this is the fourth floor with retail on the first floor.
  16. F

    Conversion of area from A-3 to B-2

    Friends, I have received construction documents for review, proposing a conversion of an assembly area of an existing building formerly used for dances or receptions, into an apartment. I have told the Architect that sprinklers are required and he tends to disagree with this. I told him that I...
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    carports and patio covers

    The structures that I see in Arizona are field built, not manufactured, nor kits.
  18. F

    carports and patio covers

    I believe that the question is regarding bracing. When I was contracting I built a few of these type of structures, utilizing 4" iron columns with a base plate bolted to a reinforced foundation under the slab. This method resisted lateral forces well enough. When you stand a roof structure on 4...
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    Are joist hangers needed

    See R802.6 the ends of ceiling joists shall have not less than 1.5" of bearing on wood or metal.
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    Masonry piers for exterior walls

    The 2012 IRC R404.1.9.2, indicates that masonry piers may support girders that carry exterior walls. R404.1.9.3 states that masonry piers supporting braced wall panels must be engineered. R404.10.9(2) reiterates the need for engineered design when braced wall panels are supported with pier...
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    Exhaust Flue Piping

    This reminds me of an incident I had about 20 years ago. I reroofed a home and with the owners consent, removed the protruding portion of a dilapidated, unlined brick chimney that was a vestige from when kitchens had wood fired cookstoves. Later the owner informed me that the gas company would...
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    Interior stairway to the second floor, required?

    A homeowner has rebuilt an existing home, adding a second floor and expanding the footprint. As part of his design he built the top floor with the same floorpan as the bottom floor, with the exception of a kitchen. His zoning is SFR. The owner/builder was unabashed in telling our planner and...
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    electric tankless water heater UL 499

    Thanks for all of your answers. The gas fired instant water heaters that I have inspected have all had provision for P&T valves. In several instances where there the P&T was missing, upon re-inspection it was installed. My question was generated due to an electric instant water heaters that had...
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    B Occupancy in a camp trailer

    This proposed beauty salon is in a converted airstream camp trailer. The proposed location is in a trailer park that rents trailers for short term occupancy. The zoning is C-1 which would permit beauty salons. The mobile unit would be parked here for an undetermined amount of time. The State...
  25. F

    Accessible toilet rooms in a inaccessible building

    In a Historic Overlay District, a building owner is proposing to remodel a small M occupancy and single car garage into a restaurant. The occupancy load will be less than 40. The historic building is inaccessible to wheelchairs. Are the toilet rooms required to be accessible under the 2012 IEBC...
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