Cob RE: cob codes

[M J Epko]

At 05:54 PM 9/20/98 -0500, you wrote:
>M J Epko wrote:
>>       Anyway, this "international" code, like the codes that exist
already, is
>> free to be adopted, rejected, or amended by municipalities, but it's
expected that
>> everywhere will switch over.
>
>Does "everywhere" include rural areas that do not presently have building
codes?
>Will it be retroactive?  Just what exactly does this mean for the average
wanna-be
>cobber contemplating a move to the countryside?  Should we get our cob
cottages
>built before the year 2000?
>
>Fearful and paranoid but burning with righteous indignation,
>Paul V.

	*laughing* ... Keep those righteous-indignation-fires burning, Paul! I
would suspect that those places which have been doing fine without building
codes being enforced aren't going to want to introduce any. And there have
always been pirate buildings (which I consider to be a legitimate option,
though they can make you tear it down if they catch you and can prove that
it's a new building), which are fine for the owner-builder but don't help
much in the code issue, except if it's still standing a hundred years later
and people can point to it and say, "Look, that one's been there for a
hundred years!"

	Building Codes haven't ever been retroactive as far as I know - old houses
that would never meet today's codes but are still functioning can't be
red-tagged. They can be condemned for any reason at all, though, or even
none. Hooray for eminent domain.

	By "everywhere," I meant everywhere that already has codes in place.
Enforcement costs bucks, and not every municipality wants to deal with it.
I respect that. A lot.



   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Freewheeling autonomous speculation - Think!
      Personality #7 represents only itself.
    M J Epko - duckchow at mail2.greenbuilder.com
               Kingston, New Mexico
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Thank God I am Jung and not a Jungian.
                                - C. G. Jung