Home improvement projects are often affected by building codes, which are legal requirements for construction that are designed to ensure public safety. However, building codes can complicate home improvement projects, so it’s important to hire a home improvement contractor who understands local and national building code requirements.

National, State and City Building Codes

In an ideal world, there would be a clearly defined set of building codes applicable across the nation. In reality, however, different areas have different building codes. Home improvement projects have to conform to national building codes, state building codes, city building codes and county zoning codes.

Each set of building codes tends to have its own quirks, based on local laws. It’s quite possible that home improvement projects meeting local city building codes may end up violating the codes of a different city.

When to Worry About City Building Codes

Before starting any home improvement projects, it’s wise to determine if the project needs to conform to national, state or city building codes. Generally speaking, home improvement projects are bound by building codes if they include the following elements:

• Building structure
• Changes to living areas
• Electrical systems
• Heating/cooling systems
• Plumbing.

State Building Codes, Grandfathering and Home Improvement

Building codes change over time, especially state building codes and city building codes. If your home was built to code, it is “grandfathered,” meaning it is not considered in violation of code when the building codes inevitably change.

Grandfathering only applies to buildings until they are remodeled. Any new home improvement projects must conform to the new building codes, even if the original home’s code was grandfathered.

Building Codes and Home Improvement Contractors

The average homeowner lacks the required knowledge of city and state building codes to determine whether or not their home improvement projects will be affected by codes. Most people must rely on the expertise of their home improvement contractors in this field.

Your home improvement contractor should be the one who applies for any building code permits. Two good reasons exist for insisting home improvement contractors apply for building code permits:

• If you apply for your own building code permit, you’re legally responsible if the home improvement project is not up to code. If a home improvement contractor applies for building code permits, he’ll be responsible for assuring the project meets these requirements.
• State-registered home improvement contractors are required to understand state and city building codes, and are therefore better prepared to apply for these permits.

Always be wary of home improvement contractors who claim that you must apply for state or city building code permits. Homeowners should never be responsible for dealing with the complexities of building codes if there’s a home improvement contractor involved in a home improvement project.