The Builder’s Code

There is often a lot of discussion about homes and whether they are “up-to-code” or not. It is not uncommon for agents and clients alike to tell me they want me to verify that the home is “up-to-code.”

I have heard this on 50 year old homes and I have heard it on brand new construction.

I am now going to burst some bubbles and disclose that the chances of ANY home being up to code is pretty much “0”—as in “zero.”

You heard that right—no home is up-to-code.

Even if it is a brand new castle on the best lot, with the perfect moat, built by the best builders in the kingdom, the home will not be “up-to-code.”

But how can this be true, you ask?

Here is the short list of “whys” (including some of the things that complicate the reasons further):

1. No builder knows all the codes.

(Some don’t care, there is lack of oversight, there is a lack of continuing education, and as we all know, time is money)

2. No installer knows all the installation instructions.

(Some don’t care, there is lack of oversight, there is a lack of continuing education, and as we all know, time is money)

3. No jurisdictional inspector knows all the codes.

(Some don’t care, there is lack of oversight, there is a lack of continuing education, and as we all know, time is money)

(Also, Jurisdictional Inspectors typically are not liable if they do miss something)
(Also, AND A HUGE FACTOR, permits do not cost anywhere near enough for them to do the job expected of them)

4. Home inspectors do not know all the codes.

(Have you forgotten? Home inspectors are not “Code Inspectors.”)
(At least that is what they say)

The short interpretation of all of this is: “things fall through the cracks.” Of course we are not really addressing the issue of whether the jurisdictional inspectors are even involved—often they are not—especially with flips.

And then of course there are all the things that homeowners undertake themselves because HGTV and the Big Orange Tool Box told them how easy it would be. There is a great deal of satisfaction to be derived from doing work on our homes ourselves—but if one is not going to do it properly—at least as good as a professional would do, perhaps it would be best to leave it to the professionals.

Another factor in all of this is the political resistance to being “told what to do.”  We as individuals inherently know better than the building codes–obviously.

With that in mind, re-read the “Short List of Whys,” and I think you will begin to see the problem.

The truth is that even with the imperfections of the “Short List of Whys,” this is our best option. While it will not guarantee that everything will be “up-to-code” in the end, it will get us closer to code compliance.

Sometimes close is close enough.

It goes along with another pill that is hard for some to swallow.

We can never make our houses “safe.”

The truth is we can only make them “safer.”

So get close and be safe!   (That is what castles are for)

By Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle

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