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How Often do you surrender?

RJJ

RJJ

Co-Founder
Joined
Oct 17, 2009
Messages
2,939
Location
about 1' east of the white water
How often does the Job just become to much and you feel like tossing the code book in the trash. The knuckle heads who can't design a plan, or even know the color of the code book. Had a day full of them yesterday! No I should say had the last two weeks full of them.:censored Two different applicants informed me that the 2010 URC does not require a plan with details! I wonder what code is that?

Next was several conversations with an applicant who wrote the BRC has been amended and footing details are not required for a residential addition. Got love this job.
 
I just give it to the boss

He needs to earn his extra dollar an hour every once on awhile !!!!!
 
OMGYNBK! Every day I fell like the myhtical Greek guy who rolls the huge stone up the mountain every day, and every morning he does it again - for eternity!

Then there is the occasional project that sails through planning with engineers, management, competent contractors, sympathetic owners and all goes pretty well. I certainly do appreciate a well-run job these days! And don't forget to say 'thank you' a lot.
 
I feel like it most days. Before I got here there was a practice of not requiring permits for what is called locally "like for like" replacements.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Feel your pain RJJ, some days you just need to close your eyes and clink your finger cymbals together whil humming .......ohhhhhhmmmmm...............and look forward to tomorrow.
 
Just had a great example shown to me by an inspector in our office. He had failed an inspection of a commercial building for only having one emergency light head outside of five different steel egress doors in violation of NEC 700.16. The engineer on the project instead of adding a second head drew plans signed and sealed showing emergency lights over the doors aimed into the building casting light that bends around the door frame to the outside when the door was open to comply with this requirement.
 
RJJ said:
Two different applicants informed me that the 2010 URC does not require a plan with details!
Click to expand...
Another architect friend of mine and I used to joke that we should just produce a single page 8.5x11 sheet to give to GC's to bid, since they rarely seemed to look at the drawings, details and calcs we produced. The only thing on the page would be a sentence: "Provide shop drawings of the _________ (fill in the blank) to architect for review and approval prior to construction." The owner would get to have a LOW fee to pay for us to produce the single page, but the "shop drawing review" would be billed hourly.

We never had the guts to try it, though ...
 
RJJ said:
MT you should try it once for fun! Rnapeir: So how was the light suppose to bend?
Click to expand...
It's going to reflect off the mirrors placed on the inside of the exit doors when they are opening. You really need to be more up to date with Jersey engineering RJJ!! :)
 
Those engineers should call Einstein - he's sure that bending light waves will turn back time!
 
I'm too old to surrender. I've lasted almost 6 months on this job. I've taken them from providing a room layout only for plan review to providing a full set of plans including engineered wood layout (TJIs, beams, girders, etc.) from the manufacturer's engineers. Probably too much too fast. I have 5 related builders who "have been doing it this way for 20 years"; one of which informed me that he doesn't build according to the plans anyway, so why the bother of submitting them. I'll probably last a few more months. :)

Most builders consist of people with no construction knowledge; just money or credit and a friend on the municipal council, as qualifications. Competent framing, plumbing, electrical, mechanical contractors are few and far between. The codes and new products with their new requirements have surpassed these people's ability to keep up and they just gave up and said "screw it". Most Inspectors in this state have zero ICC certifications, and no formal training (couldn't find a code section to save their lives). They learn on the job to inspect in accordance with the incompetence of their predecessor (this is the way we do it here). The codes and products have changed so fast that it is impossible for them to keep up and remain somewhat sane; so they just gave up. :(

The codes are merely a facade that covers up the gross incompetence of this generation.

I will not surrender!

 
I had one architect submit plans with no type of construction, occupancy group or fire sprinkler provision notes. When I questioned him on how it at submittal time he said he didn't know, it wasn't his project, but it was his stamp on the drawings. For my plan review I made some guesses, some in his favor and some not. He didn't like that very much, said I was slowing the project down. So now it is my fault he didn't do his job. I used to own a nice full bottle of Woodford Reserve last week. Not so much anymore. I've even depleted my Hamm's shelf, but I have not surrendered....yet.
 
I tell them the easier they make it for me to do the review the quicker the permit will be issued, if the submittal is incomplete then the slower the process goes. I will happily write a 3 page letter with all the chapter and verses of the things that are missing and the some then wait for the answers.

I have an application linked here http://www.townofcharlton.net/forms/buildingcommissioner_Commericalapplicationwithsupplementalpages.pdfwith our required submittal information, if the submitter can answer all the questions they have gone a long way to moving the project forward.

Regardless of the plan review, I will not mark plans approved, if the built environment does not meet the code, it is a violation and subject to correction before occupancy permit is issued.

I have a sign in my office that says

“The quality of your submittal is directly proportional to my confidence in the code compliance of you project"
 
I never surrender, I looks em in da eye an tells em that I am only trying to hold them to produce the worst possible job they can do; yet they seem to be having difficulty with that.

When they try to go round by way of appeal I then enforce the code the way the appeal board decided, (12 wins 2 waivers to date) and reference it in the CofO comments section.
 
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