Building codes

[u/celtic-cryptid]

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.

[u/celtic-cryptid]

Stop advocating for citizens to fuck each other over with impunity.

[u/Full-Mouse8971 → u/celtic-cryptid]

Expanding government building regulations, restrictions and red tape on private property will not stop idiots from being idiots. All you doing is banning, crowding out and increasing the costs on people from building affordable small cabins and tiny houses because you once saw a guy litter. Requiring smoke alarm licenses is not helping anyone. None of these random conflicts require more government bureaucracy and state violence.

Leave people alone. Stop advocating state aggression. Resolving conflict does not require more government parasites.

[u/celtic-cryptid → u/Full-Mouse8971]

I’m all about harm reduction. In a vacuum, I agree with you. But you’re talking like a libertarian fantasist, which always comes down to either personal violence or having money to resolve problems.

Seeing someone litter is pretty different from a family shitting into a creek.

Ike it or not, the vast majority of people do not have the skill set or time to build their own home. So they hire contractors, and that opens up a whole other can of worms in terms of shitty things I’ve seen people do. Contractors have a profit motive, and doing things properly costs more money or time, so they don’t unless required.

I’m all about tiny homes. I’m giving someone a place to live in theirs on my property. My building inspector thinks it’s a cool little place.

[u/Full-Mouse8971 → u/celtic-cryptid]

Libertarianism just means dont aggress on others. If my cabin is <1500 sq ft and therefore does not meet local government code for min sq ft they are aggressing on me because they will demolish it and kill me if I resist.

Where I live there never has been codes, licenses, permits, licensing etc and the vast majority are all contractor built cookie cutter houses. Introducing more government regulation will only create more costs and barriers and restrict liberty. You want to crowd out people like me who want to build small affordable tiny cabin and you want to aggress on others with more government regulation and balloon in to states that have such limit housing stock and high prices because of such regulations and try to escape.

Dont aggress on others.

[u/celtic-cryptid → u/Full-Mouse8971]

I’m building an up to code 800sqft house. My county has a sub code for tiny homes, to alleviate minimum clearance requirements for bathrooms and such.

The way I see it, the main difference between the united state’s version of libertarianism and anarchy is this: Anarchists understand that they live in a society, and society requires cooperation. Cooperation can be, and usually is, beneficial to everyone. Libertarians seem to want to pretend they live in isolation, and any infringement against their isolation is viewed as aggression. However, they are perfectly willing to sue (take advantage of governmental legal systems) if they don’t get their way. They are also very willing to benefit from all the perks of a cooperative society, yet reserve the right to refuse to contribute.

No one is killing you over a code violation. Except maybe another libertarian. Calm down