ECN Forum Forums Code Related Discussion Building Codes for Electricians Certificate of Occupancy ??

So, from a Health and Safety point of view why wouldn't some assurance of compliance be in place in all populated areas?

If it's not it seems to me that some agencies somewhere are dropping the ball or may be negligent on issues pertaining to Public Health and Safety. Don't Municipalities ever get sued over stuff like that?

Bill

Bill, I,m going to drift a little from the "C.O." point, but I think it may be relavant to your question. and
Unfortunatly some governments of these populated areas are more interest in money and growth than the well being of the residents.

In the article linked below notice that there is no drinkable water underneath the area, but there is no mention of a moratorium on building either, just relaxing the polution laws.
http://news.tbo.com/news/MGASK849EHD.html

Roger



[This message has been edited by Roger (edited 02-10-2004).]

Roger,

It doesn't sound like any of their options are good.

Bill

[This message has been edited by Bill Addiss (edited 02-10-2004).]

Bill, no it doesn't.

I guess the statement we all remember, "when in Mexico don't drink the water" now pertains to Central and South Fl.


Roger

In my little corner, all that's required for permanant power is a sign-off on the septic installationby the county health dept.

The State leaves code enforcement up to local govts.to do as they see fit.

A complaint can bring a visit from the State licensing board to discipline someone in the licensed trades.

Strangely enough,there's no Statewide licensing for Building Contractors.


Russell

I find this quite fascinating as we have no equivalent certificate here. For those jurisdictions which have a certificate, what happens during a major remodel, say where the place is being stripped back to virtually a shell, with all the old wiring & plumbing being ripped out? Does the AHJ rescind the certificate until the new install meets their requirements?

Although electrical has never been governed by "City Hall" here, there have long been bye-laws (local ordinances) relating to water and sewer requirements, for the same public health reasons as outlined above. As I understand it, the primary concern regarding the city water supply is to prevent the possible contamination of the public lines by back siphonage from an individual house.

I would have thought that the easiest way to achieve this protection would be for the water company to install a non-return valve at the main shut-off where the line enters the house, yet I've never seen this done.

Re Tampa/St. Petersburg area:
$600 per year for sewer charges seems steep as it is. What is anyone else paying in different parts of the country these days?

Paul, being that I'm in the country, we are still using a septic tank/drain field system so I can't answer.

Even in this situation, the health department does the percolation testing to approve the size of the house as far as new permits are concerned,

Roger

I'm about 5 miles from town. There is still an old (disused) septic tank buried under the lawn somewhere, but apparently the sewers were extended to this area sometime in the 1980s.

The bill for the current year is £159 (approx. U.S. $286 at the current exchange rate). That's actually more than the water supply bill, which is £120 ($216) for the year (unmetered).

Being that nearly all the projects I deal with are Non-Residential, my reply is likely to be irrelevent - but this won't stop me!


Certificate of Occupance will not be issued until finals for Electrical, Plumbing, HVAC and Fire/Life/Safety have been issued.
To me, this sounds like a Public Safety thing more than a Bank issue - especially since a great majority of the projects were of just that - Banks! (Branches, Mains, Loan Centers, REOs, etc.).

We get "TCOs" (Temporary Certificate of Occupancy) at times, in order to get the Service Release / PoCo sets Meter and energize service, along with other Utilities activation.
The TCO is done for Final Commissioning of the project, while the overall work in the remaining trades may be ± 90% complete.

For TCO, the F/L/S equipment must be operable - and Division 5 permit (for monitoring) must be obtained. If testing results are OK, and sprinklers also pass, then the F/L/S part is happy for TCO.

Electrical needs to be at least 90% complete - and if any stubs are unconnected, they must be safed off.

Kind of detailed for what goes into TCO, but it's almost as much involved as with a normal CO.
TCO also allows the Tenant / Client to bring in their stuff + set up the place, and allows for us to "Train The Client" on the installed systems / equipment.
The Client may not conduct business with the Public (general public may not "walk-in" or be on site) during the TCO.

Not having very much Residential experience in these matters, I wonder myself how the CO is issued in California per Residential (1 Family Dwellings).
I would imagine the CO is similar for Multi Family Dwellings here, as is with Commercial/Industrial projects.

Scott35

A few years back I installed a used mobile home in the middle of the winter. Electric heat. Owner put in new septic system, new well, and new electric service -200 amp. The building inspector wasn't going to issue her a CO because she didn't have a waterpump in operation. She read him the riot act and he actually backed down and let her move in. The house was in the middle of an area that is habitated by the Amish. They dont have any electric services and her argument was, How can you deny me a CO when they draw water by hand?