Nothing New

We got a copy of the code which says:

"Elevated Buildings New construction or substantial improvements of elevated buildings that include fully enclosed areas formed by foundation and other exterior walls below the base flood elevations shall be designed to preclude finished living space and designed to allow for the entry and exit of floodwaters to automatically equalize hydrostatic flood forces on exterior walls.

a) Designs for complying with this requirement must either be certified by a Mississippi registered professional engineer or architect or meet the following criteria:

(i) Provide a minimum of two openings having a total net area of not less than one square inch for every square foot of enclosed area subject to flooding;
(ii) The bottom of all openings shall be no higher than one foot above foundation interior grade (which must be equal to in elevation or higher than the exterior foundation grade); and,
(iii) Openings may be equipped with screens, louvers, valves or other coverings or devices provided they permit the automatic flow of floodwaters in both directions;
(iv) Limited in use to parking, storage, and building access; and
(v) Limited to less than 300 square feet."

The way I read this is that we can have a fully enclosed foundation as long as we have a PE stamped design that says that floodwaters can enter and exit, and that the foundation cannot be easily converted into living space. If we didn't want to pay a PE, then the county would accept the foundations as long as it met the provisions in (i) through (v).

That being said, the building inspector is not a reasonable person and he has indicated that he will not approve the foundation until we replace all walls with columns. Hopefully the PE can meet with him next week and then we will know for sure. Next step would be to bring it in front of the board of supervisors, and if they waffle about approving us, we will threaten to go to the media. We followed the letter of the law, are trying to build a house that exceeds all requirements, have hired a professional engineer, but because the building code office did not do their job (never reviewing the revised foundation plan), and because they are trying to rewrite the laws after the fact, we will be forced to spend a substantial amount of money to rebuild a weaker/lower house. I think that some members of the board are up for re-election...

In the meantime, it looks like our contractor is close to going belly-up, so by the time we get all this worked out, we might be looking for another contractor. There's $5K worth of trusses sitting in the yard that will probably have to be scrapped by the time we get back to building.

Happy 4th of July to everyone - the next post will probably be in a week, after we talk to the PE.