With the hurricanes that pass through Aruba on a regular basis, it's
not surprising that structures need to be very strong.
We have had much past discussion about codes, inspectors, building
department authorities, etc. I'll try to give my opinions on
strategy.
1. Don't hide.
In my opinion the worst thing you can do is try to build a structure
in secret and hope that the authorities don't find out. It
invariably leads to problems. They will eventually find out about
your stucture unless you want to live in an unmarked hole in the
ground and never have visitors, mail, or utilities. Keep in mind
that "authorities" can include your local building department,
inspectors, and homeowner's association.
2. Approach the local building authorities EARLY.
The sooner the better. In my case, I'm requesting approval for my
construction materials and method BEFORE I BUY THE LAND. It's hard
to get any earlier than that. This should make my process easy in
that if I encounter too much resistance, it's trivially easy to move
on to another site after investing very little time and without
having invested much if any money.
3. Build a small structure first.
Start small. Build using the same materials and techniques you plan
to use for your larger structures. I haven't seen a construction
site yet that couldn't use a small storage shed, toolshed, and/or
workshop. If you find that your ideas don't work on the small
structure it's a lot cheaper and easier to correct. Building
departments are also much more likely to approve ideas they see
as "strange" on a small uninhabited structure than a larger one
someone will be living in. This will also give you the chance to
SHOW the authorities what your ideas can do and look like. Don't
discount the knowledge and experience you'll gain as well.
4. Plan Plan Plan.
The PERFECT SCENARIO is to have a full set of plans BEFORE ANY
CONSTRUCTION BEGINS. Get those plans approved, then follow them
without any changes. This will create the fewest surprises, the
fewest problems, and the least amount of budget overun. Sadly I've
never seen a project that goes perfectly. (Does that mean I mess up
every project I work on?) Even the best of plans need to be changed
sometimes, but the closer your plans are to perfection the better.
It is worth extra time in advance to get your plans ironed out in
detail.
5. Seek input from the authorities.
Not everyone that works in a building department is your enemy. Many
wonderful people work very hard to provide a valuable service to
their community. Try to get them interested in what you are doing.
When you introduce yourself to them, have a papercrete block in your
hands. Let them touch it. Lift it. Let them smash it with a
hammer. Put a match to it. Invite them to drive their car over it.
Get them curious. These people can get bored looking at the same old
mundane generic buildings all the time. Something new can be fun.
Ideally you'll create friends that WANT TO HELP YOU. Little things
matter. When an inspector comes to your site, do you roll your eyes
and cringe? How about shaking their hand, offering them a hot or
cold beverage (depending upon the season) and showing them exactly
what is going on? Ask their opinions on problems you might be
having. Make them part of your team.
6. Do battle as a last resort.
If eventually you've tried everything, and still aren't getting the
desired results, you may need to fight city hall. GET OUT YOUR
CHECKBOOK! This will be expensive. If you don't have a lawyer, get
one. Oh sure, you can fight the battle without a lawyer, but you'll
probably LOSE! Be prepared to have every detail of your plans
challenged. Be prepared to show documentation about your
documentation and documents about the documenter! Be prepared to
spend money on testing and experts. Expect an extremely long drawn
out battle. These things can take years to resolve. Once it is
finally resolved, don't be surprised if your neighbors hate you.
(I'm not joking. I know two families that fought city hall and won.
They are despised in their neighborhoods.)
7. Enjoy the journey.
Appreciate the beauty of your own hard work, even when it is not
finished. How many times have you looked a hole in the ground or a
ditch and said, "Whoever dug that hole did a good job" ?? There is a
beauty in doing ANY job well. If sewer workers can take pride in a
good honest day's work, you should too. If you are not able to
appreciate these things, you'll likely be miserable during the entire
project. That's no way to build anything worthwhile. To this day,
it's hard for me to lay my level across something I've built and see
the bubble glide to the center and not grin from ear to ear. It may
be a simple rough window sill. That rough sill will probably get
completely covered by casings and plaster, but when that bubble
centers, it's a thing of beauty! I know I made it happen too!
I'm sure others have other insights to add, but there's a start.
--- In papercreters@yahoogroups.com, "a.j. welmers" <awsaua@...>
wrote:
>
><snip>
>
> I was wondering if it is usefull to start a chapter or thread on how
> to present PC based plans to the authorities, based on experiences
and
> ideas from the PC community, as every plan is useless when it does
> not get approval.
>
><snip>
>
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