Is this crazy

[pops98]

FirtsI have been lurking for a few months now and have learned a lot from all of you.

I am in the processof building a 36x30 detached garage. This requierd a zoning varience. Hold on to your hats,
I have a lot of around 23000 square feet. I have a 2000 sq.ft house and a 10x12 shed. The only varience need was because the city has a 600 square foot limit on detached structures (accessory). I far exceed all the boundry and setback requirements. I was refused a varience because I could not prove to the board that if I did not get the varience I would endure some kind of hardship.

I accepted the decision and the next day I went to the zoning department and asked what the procedure was for an appeal. I was told if I attach my garage to my house via a breezway, I could not only build the garage I wanted, but I could exceed if I wanted. I have a 35% coverage rule, so I can have somewher in the neighborhood of 8000 sq. ft. coverage All I need to do is get a building permit for construction.

If only someone would have said that in the first place, I could have saved $350.00 that I spent trying to get the varience.

My point is if you are in the planning stages, you really need to grill your city government offices to make sure you comply, and if there are alternatives to help you make better decisions.

Oh by the way I hope to get the design done in the next few weeks, and be started in the spring. I am looking forward to construction and hopefully good solid info from the many good people who spend time on this board.

 

[1320stang]

You might also check with your insurance company about the differences between an attached and detached garage. I assume this will vary on the type of construction and materials and what the garage will be used for or the types of things that will be stored within.

 

[DynoDave]

Welcome aboard pops98. A friend of mine went through the exact same things. Glad you're going to be able to build what you want though. Keep us posted on the progress.

 

[pops98]

Thanks I will do that as soon as all the design stuff is completed, I also need to check the requirements for the inside wall of the garage, fire retardent drywall?

Even though it will be attached to a breezway, I am sure there will be a lot of fire proofing codes I will have to find out about.

I am sure that the inspectors will let me know about any violations that may exist.

 

[bigdav160]

Living very close to the fourth largest city in the country, I believe I'm fortunate as we have none of those restrictions. In fact the State just adopted the UBC. In the past, we would just use "local building practices".

Funny, we never heard of those "disasters" that so many code enforcement preachers preach.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Living very close to the fourth largest city in the country, I believe I'm fortunate as we have none of those restrictions. In fact the State just adopted the UBC. In the past, we would just use "local building practices".

Funny, we never heard of those "disasters" that so many code enforcement preachers preach.

Well, get ready to hear all kinds of horror stories. You will now have building inspectors reading and interpreting the Universal Building Code in many different ways. One will tell you its OK, another will say no. The builders will be in a quandary since what they used to do won't fly any longer........ The codes will simply complicate things. I suspect few building inspectors are truly qualified for the job. In larger locales, it might be possible to find licensed electricians doing electrical inspections and licensed plumbers doing plumbing inspections, and building engineers doing structural inspections, but more than likely, you will be dealing with someone who couldn't find a job elsewhere and was available when the county or city was hiring. In most cases the pay isn't great, and there is little training. It will become a nightmare for the builders and owners.

I'm not against codes at all, just poor application of them by uneducated and untrained people.

Charles

 

[MXtras]

Hey there, Pops!

P-town is pretty liberal with the building permits if you catch them in a good mood, huh? I have a neighbor behind me that has got to be approaching 70% coverage and he just keeps adding on. It's a little out of control, and his lot is not much larger than my front yard!

I am located in Portsmouth, also. Portsmouth and Hodges Ferry neighborhood.

Welcome to the site!

Scott

 

[pops98]

I have found out, in P-Town, That if your neighbors really don't complain, you are better to ask forgivness, than permission.

MMTrax I am in the churchland area.

 

[thefairlaneman]

Hire a lawyer with a civil engineer on staff to study the whole matter.

 

[Franz©]

The ultimate, so far, Town issued a permit for fence on a corner lot, after the guy went thru a Zoning & Planning hearing over a height of fence issue.
Building Dept and Z&P Board both looked at the prints and signed off.

Fence goes up.

Neighbor gets pissed about fence blocking his view across the other property.

Property owner gets hauled back in, and ordered to move the fence back so it doesn't block the neighbor's view. He also has to pay costs because according to the Town, it won't be much.

 

[jimvannoy]

That's why I live out in the country. No permits, no inspectors, no rules. I built a large barn, car shop, and assorted sheds without doing a thing as far as permits or inspections. I can walk out my back door and shoot a gun, take a leak, crank up the music, burn the trash, ride a 4 wheeler, dirt bike, or horse and look to the back, left and right and see nothing but woods.

 

[thefairlaneman]

Blocking his view? The only view my neighbors have looking towards my property is just that,MY PROPERTY. be it cars, boats, buildings whatever. I might even want a tree house for my cats to live in .ges lol

 

[MXtras]

Yeah - people can really ****. Especially neighbors.

I biotch about nothing except when the lady next door came yelling at me for tearing down a portion of her fence that gradually tapered onto my property. It was almost 3' on my side at the peak of the taper. I showed her the survey of my property that I had just paid to have created and she told me it was wrong. I basically told her to shove it by continuing the job and putting up my fence. It was interesting. We are still on relatively good terms, though.

Keep us informed on the progress of your build, Pops.

Scott

 

[russlaferrera]

Hey there, Pops!

P-town is pretty liberal with the building permits if you catch them in a good mood, huh? I have a neighbor behind me that has got to be approaching 70% coverage and he just keeps adding on. It's a little out of control, and his lot is not much larger than my front yard!

I am located in Portsmouth, also. Portsmouth and Hodges Ferry neighborhood.

Welcome to the site!

Scott

I"ll bet he always has a clean yard and the grass is cut.

 

[thecarfarmer]

Having worked for a (very) short time for the USDA, and in the meat processing industry as a food safety specialist, this description of "inspectors" in general really hits the nail on the head. They would write up a plant I was working in, and because they weren't really sure what they were doing, they'd fall back on "my interpretation of the directive..." excuse.

********. Words mean things. That's why we have dictionaries, and the like.

...You will now have building inspectors reading and interpreting the Universal Building Code in many different ways. One will tell you its OK, another will say no....
I'm not against codes at all, just poor application of them by uneducated and untrained people.

Charles

Just remember to keep your cool. Man, the building inspectors here in my town have taken a lot of fun out of my project - held up gas for two weeks, and red flagged my project while the roof was cut open. The result was an unheated house with water coming thru the ceiling... in the middle of winter.

-bill

 

[Will67]

i guess it is all relative...a variance through my county to TRY and build a detached structure greater than 50% of the sqft of the home is almost 5K. I thought about it but passed and designed my garage attached to the house.

Talk about getting screwed:
A very close friend of mine bought the first lot in his sub-division, because it had a green-belt all along one side of his property and was about an acre in size. All is well until he decides to build a pool in the backyard. He takes his parcel plot plan and "blue-print" drawings for his house down to the City Building Dept...where they tell him about set backs and other pertinent information about pools. He gets his permit blessed by the City and County. He hires a very reputable pool contractor and begins the construction of his pool. He is about 80% done and gets a cease-and-desist order from his HOA. The HOA tells him he is building on the green-belt???? His backyard has a fence all the way around it which was erected by the subdivisions builder Richmond America. Well guess what the Richmond America erected the fence about 10 feet into the green-belt which is designated by the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) as a wetland and his driveway 9about 350-feet in length) poured by Richmond America is also encroaching into the green belt too. He files a lawsuit against Richmond America and loses. So now he gets to pay attorney fees for them and himself, has to destroy his pool and fill in his pool to 92% compaction. Now that *****.