Zoning codes in upstate NY (New York, Penn Yan: hardwood floor, loan, houses)
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Can anybody point me to a resource that has the local building and zoning codes for the Penn Yan area?
We're trying to obtain a Permanent Certificate of Occupancy for the house we just bought and the code officer is requiring some really ridiculous stuff...like painting a subfloor that we intend to put a hardwood floor on top of next year when we have the money to do so.
Is the building code and/or town code on line for the location? Read it.
The main reason I can see to pain a subfloor is to keep it from seeping water ( like a basement or garage - concrete). It isn't a bad idea to use a sealer pain on that. Also, are you in any kind of water area? That might be a requirement. Or, does it not have a basement and / or there has been termite damage? All a valid need to paint: keep out water and bugs.
Is this a new or old house? If an old one, check what is grandfathered in ( pre-code). You may be able to get out of it.
[ Personally,I would paint the concrete, if it is concrete. We regret we didn't do the floor and walls of the basement 40 years ago... thought it cost too much. After 40 years and our drain tile craping*out, the seepeage of soil we have ( not mold, but fine soil will seep thru concrete block in time) -- well, painting would have been good.
I don't think painting a wood subfloor that's exposed in a house that's lived in with kids is a bad idea at all. A lot could happen to a subfloor in a few months that could haunt you and/or successor owners for some time to come.
Penn Yan is a village partly in the Town of Milo, the Town of Benton and the Town of Jerusalem in Yates County.
Assuming that you are in the Village of Pen Yan, and not in an area that has a "Penn Yan, NY 14527" mailing address but is not in the Village of Penn Yan, I would check with the Village of Penn Yan building department.
If, however, your property has a "Penn Yan, NY 14527" mailing address but is not in the Village of Penn Yan, then you would want to check with the town where the property is located.
NYS Geographic Glossary may be of some help to you in understanding the geography of New York.
The room in question is a partially finished 1st floor bedroom. There is a basement beneath it. The code enforcer knows that we will be putting down a hardwood floor next year when we receive our tax return. I mean, heck, I can even throw a freaking area rug down for now.
But he's insisting that the subfloor has to be sealed in order for him to pass the work done by the contractor. There is absolutely no concern for moisture.
The reason this is an issue is because sealing/painting the floor was not a part of the contractor's original quote...and his work is done. The code enforcer needs to sign off on this work in order for the contractor to get paid for his work (which is being paid for by funds set aside from USDA as part of our loan...but cannot be distributed until after an inspection).
We have no problem throwing some paint down on this floor...other than it's a waste of time. But we're not in a position to do that for another two weeks, as my husband is working on mudding and sanding the screw holes in the sheetrock on the walls. He has limited time and can only work on the weekends. Each coat needs a day to dry.
Basically...our contractor will have to wait to get paid and we don't want him to have to wait any longer than he has to.
I would think the code enforcer should be giving you a copy of the code that he thinks you're in violation of, or tell you where you can get the information. Sorry, I'm not able to point you to a specific resource. It just strikes me that if he can't or won't give you the code information, perhaps he doesn't know what he is talking about?
Contractors dont know all the codes ( some do) Upstate zoning codes are akin to Judge Roy bean, back in the old days..... depends who you are and where you live....
daydreamin....I can tell you, beyond a shadow of doubt...your comment is spot on. Anybody in this town that has dealt with him...when you mention his name they all do the same thing...roll their eyes, shrug their shoulders and comment on his intelligence (and it's not favorable).
Roland...that's a definite truth too...we had no idea, for example, that you didn't need an electrician's license or a plumber's license to perform pipefitting and electrical work. Not here in this town! Where we moved from (RI), you can't even go to pipefitting or electrician school without having a high school diploma...here...anybody can be a pipefitter or an electrician. No schooling required. As long as it's done to code, that is.
Since you're pretty new to the area, perhaps the realtor who helped with the purchase of your home could direct you to the right place for checking out the building codes yourself. He should have a good understanding of the location of your home and what jurisdictions it falls under.
In Florida where my Father lives you have to pull a permit to change a lightbulb.
Here in NY were I live we have basically no codes. New construction of coarse has to follow codes but existing houses are the wild west baby!!! You can pretty much do whatever you want that doesn't change the footprint of your house. Most of the houses here were built before electricity so even the best is an add on cobb job. When I rewired my house I over did everything because I have to sleep here but nobody would have cared if I turned it into a togglement.
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