How do you measure the value of state & local building codes?

Value of Codes

It is true that compliance with all the different Building and Fire Safety Codes can sometimes seem to involve a high cost.

And contractors and building owners alike seem to spend more time and energy to find a “loop hole” or some way to get around certain requirements.

This is even more typical for the alteration, renovation, expansion and repair of existing buildings.

Trying to avoid Handicap Accessibility, sprinklers, additional exits, fire alarms, increased insulation, structural requirements, proper sewage control, exit signs, or an array of various standards and codes—all of which have been put in place to increase the level of personal and public safety, structural integrity and life safety—should not be a primary focus.

However, the perception that avoiding those requirements will save money drives way too many decisions.

A recent email received from the International Code Council helps to portray the benefit of code compliance.

And how it not only increases the level of life safety, but saves money…

ICC Code Council CEO Richard P. Weiland says Japan quake is sobering reminder

“The intensity of the March 11 earthquake and resulting tsunami off the coast of Japan is a sobering reminder of how building codes can save lives.

“The losses in Japan are tragic, yet much more was avoided due to their foresight in constructing resilient buildings.

“In our own country, as we near the bicentennial of the New Madrid quake in the south-central U.S., we must resist efforts to reduce seismic safety practices in our own country and make sure we share our tools with vulnerable nations around the world.

“The stark contrast between Haiti versus Chile and now Japan in the seismic arena shows that codes save money and lives over the entire life cycle of a building.

“As all of us continue to deal with the impacts of a challenged economy, let’s not forget that one ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

“Study after study tells us that for every dollar spent before a disaster we save four to eight dollars in response and recovery costs.

“The world can ill-afford a short-sighted approach to new construction and the retrofitting of existing structures that places our families, our businesses and our communities in harm’s way.

“The Code Council is proud to offer the state-of-the-art model codes including adaptable provisions for local hazards in all areas including seismic, wind, flood and fire.

“Across the U.S. and increasingly around the world, our codes are establishing safe and sustainable communities which recognize rather than avoid the hazards that can threaten our well-being.”

—

The development and implementation of codes of all kinds are founded on experience.

This has been the case for years…even thousands of years when some of the most basic codes said “if my structure [or house, cathedral, temple, castle] falls down we will knock down yours…if my family dies because the structure falls down, your family dies.”

That’s a pretty strong code, and explains why many old structures are just simply solid marble!

Watching the horrifying events in Japan is moving, to say the least.

In one video on TV, it showed tall high-rise buildings in a major city actually swaying, back and forth, which looked like a hundred feet or more.

Imagine being in that structure???

Those structures were intended and designed to meet certain code standards relative to seismic vibrations.

Whatever the cost of that seismic code compliant construction, not only were lives saved, but the cost of replacement, response, repair and damage to other structures and properties was substantially reduced or even avoided.

Yes, codes can be a pain-in-the-butt. However, they are there for many reasons.

All of which are based on the needs of society, as in energy conservation codes, or because of unfortunate experiences in structural failures or catastrophic fires.

One ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.