How do I get a pre-existing deck certified?

Question

First off I live here in NC. My uncle built an amazing deck. Its a deck that was built for a large hot tub. It is built so strong and so tuff. It has cement holding up the post and everything. I dont know much about decks, but it is a really good job. Well just to be on the safe side he wants to get it certified and he didnt get a permit for it like he should have. The owners told him not to. But not he wants it at least certified. What can he do?

Thanks for all your answers!

Felix

Answer 1

Call the local town/city building inspector and ask what the permitting and inspection requirements are for a home owner built deck. If your uncle is not a licensed contractor then he may be able to claim that it was a home-owner built deck that he just helped with.

I remember an article in This Old House that talked about building codes for decks and they said something like even though most towns and cities require permits for decks many towns do not inspect home-owner or low-cost projects. Your local municipality may still give them a break and either not force the permit and inspection or just allow them to get one issued after the fact without fines or penalties.

If the municipality is strict about it then the homeowners risk having to tear down the deck sometime in the future if it is somehow discovered that it was added on without a permit.

I had a next door neighbor that built a free-standing carport over the end of his driveway. A few years later the property tax appraiser saw it during a periodic reapparaisal and notified the building inspector about a new structure appearing on the property that was not listed on previous property tax appraisals. The building inspector came out and found there was not a permit issued for it and that two posts supporting the carport were too close to the property line. Therefore, he could not issue a permit after the fact and the home woner was required to remove the carport within 30 days or pay some hefty fines.

Answer 2

I have never heard of a "certified" project at least in terms of the structural integrety (there are now some certified "Green" buildings, but that is not what you are looking for). A building permit is what you are looking for. The process is different in every locality. What might happen to me here in Calif. may not happen to you in NC. However, from an inspectors viewpoint, (he/she is the final authority in the field) they are most interested in a structuraly sound project.

If your uncle brought in plans to the city, he would have to pay a small fine for not getting a permit in the first place, have the plans approved, pay for a permit, then have the deck inspected. As it is a deck, and most of the structure is visable, no inspector would make him tear it down as long as it meets current codes. His only real problem is that the footings are not visable. Usually, the inspector would ask that the footing be excavated in order to look at the size. Steel is usually required inside the concrete, and that could be a real problem. He would have to deal with the inspector on that issue. No telling what each inspector may say about that, but most are very resonable.

The whole point of inspections and the building code, is to make sure the structure is constructed in such a way that it is safe to use! Just because a deck is not attached to a building, does not relieve it from inspections. Many people each year are injured from deck failures. Building officials are very interested in how a deck is constructed. By the way, as the builder, your uncle is now liable if someone should be injured on that deck! All the more reason to have it inspected.

Answer 3

Big Sigh... No offense, but a lesson, to NOT always listen to the advice of others.

First stop...local code enforcement agency. Probably an inspection will happen, possible permit fees, and/or fines. The down side in some cases would be for them to say "Tear it down". It may be, that as a deck, the inspector will give you a break, at least in being able to keep the deck intact.

I realize that some areas of some counties, "unincorporated", aren't so strict also, and that thousands of people do add on's etc. NOT with permits. I'm also aware that the citizen often thinks of permitting as a useless, money grabbing attempt by a county or city. The fact is that without ORDER there is CHAOS, and permits are as much designed for the benefit of the home owner, as they are to produce revenue. Usually the benefit is completely subtle, but the issue is about Liability to the home owner; and having that or any add on, included in the context of the home for insurance purposes.

Steven Wolf

Answer 4

First, did he build this for someone else? If he did, does he have a contractor's license to do this work? If so, he knows he needed a permit. At this point in time, if he doesn't have a permit or a license, he should probably just move on and keep quiet. Otherwise, if the building dept. finds out about it, they can make the owners tear it down or pay fines plus the cost of the permit. Plus, I'm not sure what you mean by certified. Do you mean inspected to make sure it meets building codes? Again, the building dept. would do that and a permit would be required. If the deck was not attached to the house and is free standing, it probably doesn't need inspection because it's not part of the house. Depends on your local building codes as they vary from place to place.

Answer 5

Ignoring evolution for the moment, I still question your anthropomorphocentric veiwpoint. As in, it seems that you regard humans as some kind of pinnacle or perfection. If humans are indeed the centre of a creator's plan or similar, why on earth did the creator 'bother' with the production of so many diverse species? Why, indeed, create anything other than this world upon which we can live. Why can we trace our genetic ancestry back, produce phylogenic maps of our past? If we are the products of creation, then surely we are a product of a single action, not the result of a chain of events? If you apply lex parsimonae, admittedly in a manner that is somewhat the inverse of its logic, and you assume the role of a creator as the creator of humankind as we see ourselves, then the irrefutable history of development of both our species, those that surround us and indeed our solar system cannot be explained satisfactorily by the concept of a creator of man. It should therefore be that the second hypothesis - human beings as the product of a process - be accepted. Mesage me for clarification, if you want.

Answer 6

'The owners` may have bought some trouble by not getting it inspected and approved before starting.
Unless they're willing to trust you on the depth of the support piers, you may not be able to pass any inspection.
If the owners instructed him not to file plans or have
it inspected, (as it should have been), it's their problem now.