TBCF
Congratulations you found the Building Code Forum. Less that .01% of the people engaged in construction have found this forum. That makes you special.
The reasons that draw people are as varied as the people. A homeowner, contractor, inspector (that’s me), architect, engineer, trades person or just a curious individual…all of you and more come here for answers, education and entertainment (I bring the fun).
The Building, Residential, Electrical, Plumbing and Mechanical codes are easily 3000 pages. There’s another 3000 pages of stuff to know about codes in other books and Standards. Add to that the Listing instructions and it gets deep…. an inspector is supposed to know it all. Fat chance huh! At best, an inspector will know enough to know that what he doesn’t know is more than what he does know.
That overwhelming amount of information is why this forum is so beneficial. There are many trade specific professionals that frequent the forum. They are willing to explain the code in terms that are understood and more importantly, they educate each other.
Now to a personal note. When I became an inspector, my first employer was LA County. Within six months, I was assigned to a contract city. Two things that I noticed right away was the fact that I was alone as both a Building Official and an inspector. Of course I could reach out to the district office with questions that they could not answer…do you see where I am going with this?
LA County had a Chief Building Inspector. He was the answer guy for code questions. He would listen to my question and ask me what I thought. Then he would say, “That sounds good.” A few years of that and I quit calling him. Thirteen years later I found this forum…. oh what a relief it is to be able to ask and get answers. Hundreds of my questions have been answered and I don’t always hear, “That sounds good.”
I mentioned finding myself alone...You are also alone. Whether you work for an large jurisdiction or you are a contractor...and you homeowners, well you know how alone you are... look around and tell me who you ask those code questions. Are you hearing,"That sounds good." Come to this forum and find out if it is actually good.
When you ask one person to answer a question, you get that one person’s answer. Ask the question at this forum and you get one person’s answer that was seen by many. The answers are vetted by professionals. The group here is not shy about correcting wrong information or clarifying correct answers.
So do come back….often. You will gain knowledge by accident that you didn’t know was important. On the way over, stop at the bank and take out a few dollars to show Jeff some love for this amazing thing that he did for you.
Congratulations you found the Building Code Forum. Less that .01% of the people engaged in construction have found this forum. That makes you special.
The reasons that draw people are as varied as the people. A homeowner, contractor, inspector (that’s me), architect, engineer, trades person or just a curious individual…all of you and more come here for answers, education and entertainment (I bring the fun).
The Building, Residential, Electrical, Plumbing and Mechanical codes are easily 3000 pages. There’s another 3000 pages of stuff to know about codes in other books and Standards. Add to that the Listing instructions and it gets deep…. an inspector is supposed to know it all. Fat chance huh! At best, an inspector will know enough to know that what he doesn’t know is more than what he does know.
That overwhelming amount of information is why this forum is so beneficial. There are many trade specific professionals that frequent the forum. They are willing to explain the code in terms that are understood and more importantly, they educate each other.
Now to a personal note. When I became an inspector, my first employer was LA County. Within six months, I was assigned to a contract city. Two things that I noticed right away was the fact that I was alone as both a Building Official and an inspector. Of course I could reach out to the district office with questions that they could not answer…do you see where I am going with this?
LA County had a Chief Building Inspector. He was the answer guy for code questions. He would listen to my question and ask me what I thought. Then he would say, “That sounds good.” A few years of that and I quit calling him. Thirteen years later I found this forum…. oh what a relief it is to be able to ask and get answers. Hundreds of my questions have been answered and I don’t always hear, “That sounds good.”
I mentioned finding myself alone...You are also alone. Whether you work for an large jurisdiction or you are a contractor...and you homeowners, well you know how alone you are... look around and tell me who you ask those code questions. Are you hearing,"That sounds good." Come to this forum and find out if it is actually good.
When you ask one person to answer a question, you get that one person’s answer. Ask the question at this forum and you get one person’s answer that was seen by many. The answers are vetted by professionals. The group here is not shy about correcting wrong information or clarifying correct answers.
So do come back….often. You will gain knowledge by accident that you didn’t know was important. On the way over, stop at the bank and take out a few dollars to show Jeff some love for this amazing thing that he did for you.
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