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What is required for a Chicago porch repair permit?

AgentRocket — Sun, 20 May 2007 12:20:50 -0800

In Chicago, can I obtain a porch repair permit to fix my porch but not bring it entirely up to code? [(1) Sorry this is long. (2) I plan to call the City tomorrow but seek information here too.]

We live in a three-flat on the north side of Chicago. We have a three story porch off the back. It was built before the porch collapse that spurred the City to enact more stringent regulations, and was up to code when built. It is not up to the current code (rails are too short, we need more bolts into the house, and we need the porch anchored to the ground).

Our 4x4 columns are bowing and need replacing, and we are going to go up to 6x6s per the code. Two of three neighbors want to bring everything up to code at the same time, because if we are spending thousands, we might as well do it all at once. One does not, and says we should just replace the columns and be done with it.

The debate is this: what are the requirements for getting a permit? Our dissenter neighbor believes that we can obtain a repair permit that calls only for replacement of the columns, leaving everything else not up to code, on the theory that the porch was grandfathered in under the more stringent code and therefore we never have to fix everything if we do not want to. Apparently, there are local permit offices that will stamp permits on a walk-in basis if the applying party is a city-licensed contractor. We believe that the City will/should demand full code compliance before issuing a repair permit.

Can anyone familiar with this process explain who is right?

(At the risk of getting busted for two questions, does anyone have an architect and/or builder that they liked?)

Perpetually semi-broken elevators & PA building codes

Drastic — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 09:01:24 -0800

I've got a friend who works in a Univ. of Pennsylvania building with ongoing broken-elevator problems. I suspect the state of them is a legal no-no; how to go about filing complaints to straighten them out? Caveat: this is all second-hand information, errors are my own.

She's worked on the 8th floor of one of the U of Penn's Philly buildings for a few years now, and I keep hearing tell of the elevators there being in horrible shape. Frequently they get stuck; the doors often won't close without heavy manual "assistance," etc. Most recently, she was giving a tour to prospective grad students when the elevators up and refused to close the doors. Very entertaining description of their eyes taking on a look of slow horror.

My gut feeling (and thus bound to be accurate!) is that surely there's regulations against this kind of state of affairs remaining as-is. I've been doing some research to see about that, found the state of PA's building codes page here but finding anything useful on it makes my brain hurt. FAQs don't seem to help, and where to direct questions, much less file complaints, seems to be obfuscated on it.

So, this is sort of a multistage question:
1) is my gut feeling accurate, or are run-down elevators A-OK in PA's book?

2) if my gut turns out to be right on this, what can she, and other folks in the building, do to go about rectifying the situation?

Building a single-family outside of code

Gordion Knott — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 03:30:16 -0800

What are the consequences of building a single-family residence outside of code? Preparing for a house addition, I've been living under a bureaucratic cloud for months. I've gone to the meetings, dotted all the i's, crossed all the t's. I've submitted the required forms in triplicate. Told "Let's see you dance" with a gun pointed at my feet, I've executed my best version of the Swimmer and Watusi. When the addition's finally complete next year, I'll receive a "certificate of occupancy" -- suitable for framing! -- attesting that the building's up to code.

My question is this. Many houses nearby were built by do-it-yourselfers who didn't give the building department the time of day. Some are shacks constructed from duct tape, spearmint gum and piano wire. Others are impressive homes by veteran carpenters who enjoyed stretching the rules a bit. Either way, you won't find a certificate of occupancy hanging on the wall. And this isn't a crime, as far as I know.

Even though building outside of code is technically legal, what are the negative effects for a home-owner? Does it impact the eventual sale of the house? Increase the insurance? Make the homeowner liable for personal injury suits? Run up the property taxes?

I know that determining code compliance is a tricky business, because older homes are grandfathered in. I'm curious about the malcontents who blithely ignore the code when they build.