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Today's fun

tmurray said:
I really question that front "existing storage area". Are you really going to have your customers walking into a storage area? I'm very suspicious that the storage area will become a seating area after the inspector walks out the door in order to limit washroom fixture count.

...but I con only make a guess based on the plans, so maybe it is legit.
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There's a lot of storage in that building. You can never have too much!

But the "upgraded customer bath" looks suspicious. Aside from it not being accessible if that's what H.C. is supposed to mean, and aside from not having a tub or shower to make it a bath rather than a toilet room. If the 160 SF take out waiting area is the only place customers are supposed to be, public toilet facilities are not required.
 
First customer I've ever hung up on...He called to push his deck application that was accepted 4 days ago. I was explaining that we allow people to make appointments and come in and discuss and make necessary changes and speed them on their way as much as we can (while I was pulling up his plans) which seemed unreasonable to him...Opened the plans and asked him what size his sonic tubes were going to be (8").....And lag info...and lateral..and post connections. He started swearing and saying he was a "structural guy" and that was it for me....His wife called my staff and apologized and he will be coming in on Monday to discuss and maybe get a permit.....
 

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He says the framing will be 2x10x12 … that means the joists will be parallel to the “mid beam”.
 
steveray said:
No good deed...This was an inspection I squeezed in that was initially scheduled for today but the contractor "needed" it Monday...I cautioned him to be ready as I was pushing the limits to get it in before noon on a short staffed Monday. Not only did they not have the top bar in place, but this was the situation around the back. "It's only a one story addition" and "It'll be monolithic like a sonotube with a bigfoot" were the claims.....
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It's always the people in a rush who swear it's " all good" who are making a hash of it.
 
Yankee Chronicler said:
We routinely get "plans" like that. The applicants really don't seem to understand why a sketch like that isn't a "construction document."
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I actually approved some cruder than this that had the right information on them. It doesn't need to be pretty, it just needs to be legible, show the necessary items in some manner and be correct from a code standpoint. Others were crude and annotated, but missing the hurricane ties or other hardware. Then they get a chance to come in and add that so it can be approved. Those sat in a "fix it now" folder at the front desk.
 
Yankee Chronicler said:
Oh, it gets worse. That sketch looks like maybe a homeowner wants to enclose a porch. I've received multiple sketches that were that bad (or worse) for tenant fitouts for restaurants and other commercial facilities. Here's one -- and this is (IIRC) the THIRD try:

View attachment 16663

That was it. No sections or details. No site plan. Even after we pointed out that the entrance door isn't accessible, all the applicant did was send us an e-mail saying that there's an existing ramp. Yes -- there is. And the existing ramp in no way complies -- or EVER complied -- with the ADA or A117.1 or Chapter 11 of the IBC.

View attachment 16664

The ramp starts roughly in front of the left front wheel of the Audi on the left. The cross-slope exceeds the running slope, and the ramp doesn't start anywhere near the access aisle portion of the accessible parking space.

"But it's existing!"

The SECOND plan review for this disaster had 24 citations -- and that was without any M/E/P drawings to review. (There weren't any -- the applicant/tenant thought he was just going to have some buddies take out the M/E/P permits and install "whatever they think they need.")
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When I do build-out drawings, even for change-of-use, people are like "I don't know why I needed to hire YOU but they said I needed more drawings, and I'm asking for their equipment specs, equipment layout, sizes and chair numbers for their dining tables and booths ... they want to know why I need all that. They will give me everything else and still be trying not to have to layout and spec the commercial kitchen and give me a rough idea for the dining. One guy wanted a permit, but said he couldn't pick equipment and give me a rough kitchen layout because he hadn't picked a chef or cuisine yet. lol At least he knew the chef and cuisine would impact the layout, he just thought permits were issued without drawings for any of that. One guy said "can't you just mark it as a kitchen???" Could, but no permit will result. No review either, most likely.
 
tmurray said:
I've seen "sauna" tubes, but never "sonic" tubes.
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I have a co-worker who is Chinese. She is very smart and very fast. She learned conversational English in one year, and studied and passed all her architectural exams in one year. However, she regularly makes mistakes similar to sauna vs sonotubes. She is a joy to work with because she readily accepts the correction and is eager to learn, and is able to laugh at her own foibles. I can also appreciate how subtle nuances in our language or a slight misspelling can render a completely different meaning.
 
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Yikes said:
I have a co-worker who is Chinese
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I have a cohabitant who is Chinese. We have been married for seventeen years and she still enjoys new words. Idioms are a particular delight.
She has several college degrees and taught Chinese at a university in China. When I remarked that the people in China already speak Chinese, she said that the people of America already speak English.
 
ICE said:
I have a cohabitant who is Chinese. We have been married for seventeen years and she still enjoys new words. Idioms are a particular delight.
She has several college degrees and taught Chinese at a university in China. When I remarked that the people in China already speak Chinese, she said that the people of America already speak English.
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Amy Reineri said:
It's always the people in a rush who swear it's " all good" who are making a hash of it.
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And they always insist that they know how to do it, they just can't draw, so we should just issue them a permit and then inspect everything in the field.

And then they have a hissy fit when things don't pass inspection in the field ...
 
Yikes said:
I have a co-worker who is Chinese. She is very smart and very fast. She learned conversational English in one year, and studied and passed all her architectural exams in one year. However, she regularly makes mistakes similar to suana vs sonotubes. She is a joy to work with because she readily accepts the correction and is eager to learn, and is able to laugh at her own foibles. I can also appreciate how subtle nuances in our language or a slight misspelling can render a completely different meaning.
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I am still working on my conversational English.
 
Yikes said:
I have a co-worker who is Chinese. She is very smart and very fast. She learned conversational English in one year, and studied and passed all her architectural exams in one year. However, she regularly makes mistakes similar to suana vs sonotubes. She is a joy to work with because she readily accepts the correction and is eager to learn, and is able to laugh at her own foibles. I can also appreciate how subtle nuances in our language or a slight misspelling can render a completely different meaning.
Click to expand...

God bless Hoockt on Fahniks ...






["Hooked on Phonics"] Unfortunately, English has a tremendous number of homophones (words that sounds like another word but have a different meaning or spelling). My late wife was a Latina. Homophones drove her crazy -- they basically don't exist in Spanish.
 
I once tasked her to provide a project summary for the set being issued to the contractors, but she mixed up the "S" in "Summary" with a soft "C". Hilarity ensued, and fortunately everyone had decorum to not respond in a way that compels a report to HR. We're learning to make spell check our friend!
 
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