A Patchwork of Codes

 

For several years I have been commenting in various publications about Maine’s casual approach to monitoring its construction industry. This includes lack of licensing or certifying its general contractors and building inspectors as well as its patchwork of different or no building codes in the communities across Maine.

 

My Condo Media article FrontierLand in 2007 drew a lot of attention from local property managers questioning which code would govern a renovation project they were engaged or whether a unit interior modification came under the residential or a commercial sections of the codes. Well, this year a lot of changes are happening but, because it is Maine, a lot is staying the same.

 

First of all, there was a big push to have general contractors licensed. It made a lot of sense. The joke around our office was you could be a hair dresser one day and a contractor the next. The funny part was the hair dresser needed a license and many hours of training and the contractor did not. But then organized opposition developed from the contractors and their associations and the whole issue was tabled. It will probably come up again in two years.

 

The big news this year is the long awaited uniform statewide building code has been scheduled for this year (but not quite, we will discuss that later). The current building code situation permits a town to not have a building code but if it does it must follow the International Code Council’s family of codes including the commercial International Building Code (IBC) and/or the International Residential Code (IRC).

 

Though there has been postponed implementation dates for this new law due to committee reviews and need for additional public hearings, the current starting date for a statewide uniform building code using IBC and IRC 2009 is December 1, 2010. Except, towns of less than 2000 inhabitants can delay implementation for two more years. This schedule also includes the International Existing Building Code (IEBC).

 

Maine has not adopted a uniform mechanical code; however, it is scheduled to adopt the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code (MMBEC) on December 1, 2010. This will follow the International Energy and Conservation Code (IECC) 2009 and American mechanical engineering standards called ASHRAE Standards 62.1, 62.2, and 90.1 of 2007.

 

If all of these acronyms and dates are starting to blur in your head, you are not alone. Many architects, engineers, contractors, and code enforcement officers are also confused. The State Planning Office is responsible for training the code enforcement officers and building officials who have to implement this law. The problem is that this is a lot of training for a state with a historical apathy to code enforcement.

 

Maine has 458 municipalities of which 70 have created their own hybrid codes and 40 towns follow a nationally recognized model building code. Popular towns such as Camden currently have no building codes while the state’s capital, Augusta, enacted its first building code in 1984. Larger cities such as Portland and Biddeford will have an easier time complying as they have the staff and budget to deal with the training but even they will have a difficult time assimilating eight new code books.

 

So if you are a condominium developer or a property manager trying to organized a project or an association Board member who has just been asked to analyze a unit owner’s renovation request, who does she go to? The next year or two will be a challenge.

 

As condominiums are residences, does one follow the residential or commercial code? Are interior renovations governed by the same codes as the exterior? Are single family buildings treated differently than multi-family dwellings? Go to a Planning Board meeting and witness first hand these debates between the town planner and the building code officer.

 

The answer, using these new codes, is not an issue of ownership (i.e. condominium v. individual) rather how the property is used. As condominiums are multi-family facilities, they will always fall under the IBC code; however, interior issues can be tricky. As an example, renovations that affect only the interior such as a balcony or stair guard rail will fall under the IRC while any renovation that affects the common rated firewall will fall under the IBC.

 

The good news is Mainer’s make things work. There will be some growing pains as Maine moves into the 21^st century but our future homes will be safer and more energy efficient than ever. There are many free and low cost services available including CAI workshops to answer even the toughest questions regarding the IBC (or was that the IRC?).    

 

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