A crash course in Building Code 101: Permits are required for most of the construction needed to restore a home after flood damage. In general, construction involving the structure, plumbing, electrical work, etc, will require the securing of a permit from The City Of Long Beach Building Department.
The purpose of the permits is to ensure that the public's health and safety are protected. This is done by requiring that such work be performed by licensed and insured individuals/companies, and that the work is inspected and certified correctly.
We all want to make sure that's how it's done, right? Walls and ceilings collapsing, leaks behind walls, and electrical fires that tend to burn people to a crisp are all really kind of unfun.
The aftermath of Sandy was pretty chaotic, with hundreds of contractors running in and out of the Building Department offices seeking permits. Scott Kemins was left with a dilemma. Should he run it by the book, or make some allowances that work could proceed for an undefined period of time without permits as long as they were eventually obtained?
He chose the latter, probably in order to facilitate people returning home sooner. However, that elevates the risk that people returning home might return home to find that at some point things weren't quite right. Hopefully, a final inspection might disclose any defects before they burned to death or their laundry flooded their neighbor's apartments. Good thinking! I'm not sure what time frame Scott had in mind for requiring the permits and inspections which the Building Code demands, but 9 months is probably excessive in light of the risk to life and property involved.
Plumbing inspections are performed by two inspectors employed by the City. Electrical inspections are performed by a certified inspection agency designated by a licensed electrician when permits are filed. Scott or his designee can also order inspections verbally or in writing as the Building Department becomes aware of possible violations.
When I discovered that Schneider, the contractor hired by my condo board was not operating under the proper permits 9 months after Sandy, I immediately notified the managing agent in writing. He responded with "Schneider knows people at the Building Department and doesn't need permits.".
No. Just NO. When it became clear that the managing agent wasn't going to require Schneider to get permits, I fired Schneider and hired my own contractor, under the strict instructions that he was to secure all the appropriate paperwork prior to starting any work. Of course, I was told in writing by the condo managing agent and Scott himself that permits were required prior to work being done. Seems like a double standard, but I had no objection to following the rules. It just seems that they only apply to certain people.
This was a relief to me, but what about my neighbors? I wasn't seeing most of them around and the managing agent was clearly not going to do anything. I filed a formal complaint with the Building Department.
Scott Kemins is a nice guy. He really is. And he used to live in this building and knows all the parties involved. While he might have hated me a little for forcing his hand on this issue, he did his job and issued a violation to the condo which they had 10 days to correct.
Schneider got permits on July 1. 9 full months after Sandy, after all the work was completed. All the appropriate paperwork was filed for plumbing, electrical and electrical inspections and approved mighty fast.
But! My hot water heater had been installed while the walls were down, then the utility closet was rebuilt around it. There was absolutely no way that this was going to be able to be removed from that closet if it broke - not without taking down the walls and removing the door frame. Code violation, said my plumber, and I asked for an inspection.
The Building Department sent me Kevin Llewellyn. Kevin's favorite words are "I don't know." Despite my offering to show him the applicable portions of the Building Code and to speak to my plumber Kevin refused to commit to the concept that water heaters need to be able to be removed from an enclosure in order to be to code. I'm still waiting for a report on this.
On to electrical work. My electrician's inspector (a City-approved, licensed Master Electrician) paid my apartment a visit and advised me that all the wiring below 3 feet was wet inside the plastic coating and the interior insulation of the wires was also wet, the junction boxes showed evidence of corrosion, and that everything thus damaged needed to be replaced. He based this on the NYS Code update on flood-damaged dwellings, FEMA requirements, The UL Safety Organization's report, and NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturer's Association). (I will provide links to these documents to anyone who asks in the comments.)
Scott didn't think it was enough of a problem that electrical work had been done by God-knows-who in my building without any inspections to order those inspections himself. When I presented this evidence to him, it didn't change his mind at all. All he was willing to do was remind the electrician and his inspector that final inspections would have to take place before the permit would be closed.
My neighbors, most of whom are unaware of what's going on and probably believe that the reconstruction was done with their safety and property in mind, are moving back in, plugging lamps into outlets and running appliances. I hope that Scott can live with himself as Building Commissioner if he has to put his Fire Commissioner hat on and help remove a few corpses from my neighbor's beds.
To make sure it doesn't come to that, I've given my condo board a couple of days to tell everyone in writing what happened. If they do not, I will.
I'll describe how the City Council handled this issue in my next post. Let's just say they probably shouldn't be in supervisory positions.
