the rest of the story

I discovered standing water in our crawl space first; but, it was our (widow) "roofmate" who contacted county building code enforcement first. she was coming up on the end of her 1 yr. guarantee and hired a private home inspector. he found water in her crawl space and she contacted BCE. they came and inspected her crawl space first, then ours. the county BCE official told us both that there were code violations and the builder would have to fix them. then two days later he told us that the county attorney (a private attorney living and working in the next county contracted by shenandoah county to represent shenandoah county) had decided that "they" were not going to issue a notice of violation to the builder.

I was ready "to throw in the towel". Jenny & I have been married for 51.5 years. after the disastrous 3rd house that we owned in SC, I said that we would never own another house again. for the next 5 years we rented. we moved 6 times in 5 years. finally, last november, when our landlord refused to fix a hole in the driveway caused by lightning, I gave up. I can't live in an unsafe house. at 71 we got a 30-yr. VA loan and we bought our 4th house.

Jenny and I are in our "4th quarter". we just want to live out our last quarter in peace. when BCE told us that they were dropping the code violation, I gave up. "you can't fight city hall." then, 24 hours later, I got back into the fray--not because of water in the crawl space, but because we were getting jerked around--time to play hardball (I don't like being jerked around). had "they" decided not to issue the building code violation, then I was prepared to go to the newspaper--just like I did in SC.

I don't know how long that we'll be here--if we're lucky and our health holds out, etc., maybe 10 years--maybe not. sometimes we have to remind ourselves that we're in the 4th quarter and that our "treasure" isn't in a house.

shenandoah county virginia building code violation

Mark A. Griffey
Building Official

shenandoah county, virginia
Building Inspection & Code Enforcement - Building Inspection

Mr. Griffey,

under section 401.3 of the virginia residential building code (https://codes.iccsafe.org/public/document/VRC2012/chapter-4-foundations) and paragraph 6 of section 19.2-8 of the code of virginia (https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title19.2/chapter1/section19.2-8/), I am submitting my formal complaint of violation of  the virginia building code. Specifically, section 401.3 of the virginia residential building code states "Surface drainage shall be diverted to a storm sewer conveyance or other approved point of collection that does not create a hazard to the dwelling unit. Lots shall be graded to drain surface water away from foundation walls. The grade shall fall a minimum of 6 inches (152 mm) within the first 10 feet (3048 mm)." The grading at our house, located at 148 daniel ct., strasburg, does not slope away from the foundation walls as required. This has resulted in several inches of standing water in our crawl space. 

Our certificate of use & occupancy is attached. Please note that our house meets the time requirements set forth in paragraph 6 of section 19.2-8.

Should you reject my formal complaint, then I request a meeting at county offices with you and other county personnel or outside consultants involved in the decision not to issue a notice of violation of the building code to the builder for this violation.

Sincerely,

Ray Koenig

approved grading plan (2003)

the ground slopes 15% towards Koenig’s house. 

Section 401.3 of the Virginia Residential Building Code 

calls for the ground to slope away from foundation walls 

at 5% for 10 feet (the 2”x4” on the ground is 10 feet long). 

Failure to meet this building code requirement has resulted 

in several inches of standing water in Koenig’s crawl space. 

old superhero

are your roof, walls, windows, doors, garage door, etc. capable of withstanding a category 4 hurricane?

many state building codes require that houses in coastal areas be capable of withstanding a category 4 hurricane with winds from 130 to 156 mph. 
Saffir–Simpson scale - Wikipedia

How to Calculate Wind Loads From Wind Speeds | Sciencing

pressure P (psf) = 0.00256 times wind velocity V (mph) squared. 

for V = 130 mph, P = 43.3 pounds per square foot (psf)
or 1 ton (2,000 pounds) per 6.8 ft. by 6.8 ft. of surface area 
or 4,330 pounds (2.2 tons) per 100 sq. ft. of surface area 

for V = 156 mph, P = 62.3 psf
or 1 ton per 5.67 ft. by 5.67 ft. of surface area
or 6,230 pounds (3.1 tons) per 100 sq. ft. of surface area

are your roof, walls, windows, doors, garage door, etc. capable of withstanding a category 4 hurricane? 

if the answer is no, then blame government building inspectors. 

building inspection is a state responsibility. typically, states use local governments to perform building inspections. 

are the states' poor performance in enforcing building codes partly responsible for the fact that the quality of construction over the last 50 years has declined while the quality of goods and services in other industries has increased more than 200% over the last five decades? 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Construction-non-farm-labor_1964-2003.jpg

answer: ABSOLUTELY! 

the sad state of home construction in the US

many who bought new houses in the past 50 years know what this chart shows:

File_Construction-non-farm-labor_1964-2003.jpg

that the quality of construction of new houses over the past 50 years is poor when compared to the quality of homes built 50 years ago. basic systems, e.g. structure, roof, floors, windows, weather protection, HVAC, appliances, etc., are less reliable in many new houses today than those built 50 years ago.

why? the reasons are probably many--

• builder incompetence and greed 
• decline in skilled labor 
• government's failure to protect consumers 
• consumer reticence 
• a costly legal system that protects builders more than it protects consumers

whatever the reasons, the chart is clear--while productivity and quality of non-agricultural products have more than doubled over the past 50 years with advances in technology, productivity and quality in construction have declined, despite advances in technology. many who bought new houses in the past 50 years are left with fixing builder messes at their own expense--the ones that can be fixed--while the productivity and quality of new homes continues to decline.

what's the solution? I honestly can't tell you. It looks to me like the trends that are so obvious in the chart will continue--bad news for new home buyers--that's you and me.