If you're in the process of remodeling or building your home, you've likely heard of the building code. Your contractors may mention it, or your building permit office may ask you about it. But what is a building code, why does it exist, and how will it affect your project? We asked our resident expert for some answers. Your project is compared only with the building code that governs construction at your location. Deane has spent more than 30 years in residential construction, hiring, remodeling, maintaining, and repairing homes.
He now contributes DIY, informational, and financial content as a freelance writer and consultant for several publications. His main goal is to share knowledge related to the home and to provide self-reliance tools to as wide an audience as possible. Eric Swiatek is a licensed home inspector with more than two decades of experience in the housing industry and an up-to-date license to test for radon. He has conducted more than 1,500 property inspections and currently owns a home inspection business in Ohio. Before starting his home inspection business, Eric worked as a project manager for the U.
S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for 18 years. Housing codes are the backbone of an effective healthy home program. The codes establish the minimum standards that all homes, whether new or existing, must meet to protect the health of residents. Some communities call them property maintenance codes or sanitation codes, but their scope and function are similar. It's important to make sure that your project meets all local building codes and regulations in New Orleans.
This is determined by the plan's chief examiner based on the requirements of the New Orleans Building Code and the Highway Safety Code. According to the Fire Department, the city of New Orleans has had thousands of electrically or mechanically caused fires and building collapses over the years. The possibility of adopting new codes or modifying existing ones sometimes allows governments to keep up with technological changes, respond to new security threats, or reconsider the impacts of outdated regulations. For example, different construction techniques would be used in freezing temperatures of North Dakota than in hurricane-prone New Orleans.
