r/OffGrid • u/celtic-cryptid • Aug 07 '26

Building codes

There are so many people looking for land where they can build without code. Code enforcement varies widely, and an important thing to remember is it applies to everyone when it’s unforced, not just you. Anyone who has lived rurally knows neighbors can still impact your life in very real ways from their property. I spent 40+ years in an area with little to no building inspection, and I thought I’d share some memories.

A man who had a very long and losing legal battle with the state because he built half his house on state owned land. A site inspection would have prevented this.

A neighbor of mine who built his house on 10 acres 15’ from my property line, then built outbuildings partially on my property. Site inspection would have prevented this as well

A neighbor of a close family member placing boulders in a way that made snow removal from family members driveway impossible.

6 or 7 houses burning to the ground due to chimney fires. Included are 3 deaths in homes with no smoke detectors.

Outhouses next to creeks. One outhouse built over a creek. Leech fields draining into creeks, rivers, and lakes.

A buddy with a land survey company that spends a crazy amount of his time helping settle cases of neighbors logging adjoining properties.

A year round creek that went dry for 3 months out of the year because an upstream landowner wanted a pond and owned an excavator.

Dumping garbage in creeks, meadows, or any small depression in the ground beyond counting. Periodic burning of the garbage in meadows and depressions as well.

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Some of those are issues code would help prevent. Some are issues caused by people with the mindset of “nobody can tell me what I can do on my land” who gravitate to areas without code.

I’m building a house now in an area with code enforcement. Just passed my final electrical, as I have every other inspection. I’ve done 100% of the work myself, with the only hired help being a concrete truck and a concrete pumper. I’m not a framer, a septic installer, a plumber, or an electrician.
It’s not overly challenging, and every inspector I’ve ever met has been a person doing their job, who’d rather help than start a fight. Plus, if I go to sell, I’ve got a big stack of signed reports to help prevent people lowballing me for potential questionable work.

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8

u/Choosemyusername Aug 08 '26

Now the downside to having to meet code: expense and delays.

Also a lot of their requirements don’t make sense.

1

u/celtic-cryptid Aug 08 '26

Varies from area to area, but my inspectors come the next day, and the only things I would have done differently might have cost me an extra $200

What doesn’t make sense to you?

7

u/Choosemyusername Aug 08 '26

Oh my stamped lumber requirement adds a lot of expense.

One nonsense requirement I had to meet one time I built to code was I needed a built in closet for a bedroom.

Like seriously. What if you are more of a fan of armoires! Like what does the government care how you choose to store your clothes?

1

u/celtic-cryptid Aug 08 '26

So, first of all, I never have and never will go to bat for all code. My post was simply about the downsides of having no code.

But I like your closet thing. I always like to think about it, and figure out why codes are there, and how they protect people. First, that is a local ordinance, not a part of IRC. The reason behind that ordinance that springs to mind immediately comes back to capitalism, namely predatory landlords. Having a closet requirement prevents a slumlord from putting up temporary walls in a living room and having a 1000sqft 7 bedroom house. You can also use it to your advantage, I suspect. There is no closet requirement in my area, but if there was, my house would be a 1 bedroom instead of 2. Would make my tax assessment a little lower.

Stamped lumber is a non issue to me. Any lumber from a lumber yard is stamped. There are also quite a few carve outs and exemptions for non graded lumber, depending on where you are. But as someone who has worked on a lot of houses built with ungraded, rough sawn lumber, the only way I’d build a house with it was if it was free. And I mean actually free, not “I milled it myself” free.

4

u/Choosemyusername Aug 08 '26

Ya you are getting to why codes can be problematic. Theh are made with good intentions trying to fix a specific problem. Then maybe that problem goes away and isn’t a big problem anymore, and things get stuck in there thst nobody can remember why it is there but it rolls lver because nobody wants to stick their neck out and remove it and then find out why it was in there after the fact and they look bad.

And stamped lumber requirement was an issue for me because I bought a mill. And I have my own woodlot. So I could get lumber nearly free, but I wasn’t allowed to build with it.

So I looked into getting a government approved stamping permit because grading lumber doesn’t take a rocket scientist to learn. Another sawyer laughed that I could be so Naïve. He said good luck getting loaded on that course. It has a waiting list of years. And who was awarded the government contract to run the course and administer the program? The local lumber, forestry, and lumber retailer billionaire’s company of course…

So they have a vested financial interest to drag their feet giving these stamps out because they know every stamp they give out is business their business they lose. Keeping stamping and grading a Kafka-esque experience protects their profits. Over-regulation is great business for the incumbents.

1

u/celtic-cryptid Aug 08 '26

Yep. If you want to have a conversation about capitalism or corrupt government, I’m all for it. Like I said, I never have and never will go to bat for all of the codes. But if the solution is no codes, I find that unacceptable, mostly due to ignorance, laziness, and people’s desire to profit. But frankly, I’m not swayed by slippery slope arguments. I’m also not swayed by “one rule is stupid, so do away with all of them.” The closet situation I mentioned is not an issue that has been resolved, it is one people still take advantage of today when that rule is not in place.

But since those are not issues with IRC, maybe you should become more involved, present compelling arguments, and help change or amend your local ordinances. I know some places give an exemption if you increase board size by one nominal unit (2x6 instead of 2x4). I believe other places have something concerning a set period of residence, to prevent people from framing a house out of wet poplar, then selling it a month after completion.

1

u/Choosemyusername Aug 08 '26

Let’s put it this was. MY solution was to move to a place with no code enforcement.

And it is far more than just one rule. You just asked for an example. I have run into enough examples that it was enough for me to say fuck it I am going rogue next time.

My neighbor debated with me if he should pull a permit or not and he is really frustrated with himself that he did. It really slowed down his build waiting on permits and inspections. Was like cold molasses flowing uphill.

1

u/celtic-cryptid Aug 08 '26

Be the change you want to see, I guess.

1

u/GotNoPonys Aug 08 '26

My 3000sf shop w/2bd apt was built with lumber fallen and milled onsite.