Ask the Architect

Building departments’ selective oversight

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Q. My father is an architect in Florida, and drew plans for changes to my house. He included electrical outlets, switches and lights. A local architect, who we’ve asked to review the plans, told us that our building department doesn’t inspect electrical work, and suggested that it be removed from the plans. I don’t want to leave things out that are necessary for the job, because I’m concerned that the contractor will only follow the building department plans without electric. Should I follow this advice, and how can we be sure that my father’s plans will be followed? Why doesn’t the building department want to look at everything, including lighting? My father says that in Florida they want everything.

A. Electrical, like heating and air conditioning work, is problematic, in that there are issues created that building departments don’t want responsibility (or liability) for. Typically, electrical work is required to be inspected by a private agency, not a building department, at two stages — rough installation of wiring and boxes, and when the system is running and complete.

One of the major causes of fire is electrical problems, from overloaded circuits to faulty wiring, improper or no grounding, incorrect attachment of wiring to structure, and proximity to wet locations, to name just a few of the many potential hazards. Building departments don’t want to be dragged into the daily occurring fires as a party that approved something whose installation or operation they have little or no control over. The same thing goes for mechanical work, such as air conditioning. They do require licensed plumbers and electricians for the work.

Unfortunately, by leaving air conditioning out of the inspection process, air conditioning companies often make installations that will cause problems later on, such as improper location and no permits for air conditioning condensers in side yards. Many homeowners have no idea a permit is required for air conditioning condenser location, and are shocked and unhappy to learn they need a permit and the air conditioning company is resistant. Imagine the number of calls a building department would receive when we have a heat wave because air conditioning isn’t working. When calls go out to the installer at night and an answering service is the one taking a message, the next call would be to the building department, which wouldn’t be able to do anything to fix your system except to make the same call you just made, back to the same message service.

I would follow the local architect’s advice and remove the electrical items from the plans, except for an indication of lighting required, by code, at each exterior entrance/exit to the house and notes to follow the National Electric Code. Make sure that your contract with the contractor includes not only the permit plans, but also the plans that include the electrical work your father put in, and invite your father to visit and look at each stage of work.

© 2017 Monte Leeper. Readers are encouraged to send questions to yourhousedr@aol.com, with “Herald question” in the subject line, or to Herald Homes, 2 Endo Blvd., Garden City, NY 11530, Attn: Monte Leeper, architect.