Failing to secure the needed permits for new construction, renovation, or remodeling for projects can prove a costly error, often resulting in municipal fines when such shortcomings are detected by inspectors. Many in the industry see the plethora of building permit requirements as a draconian process, but these compliance guidelines represent safeguards to ensure buildings are safe.

Due to the fact that building permit requirements vary from city to city, builders are strongly urged to contact their city officials to ensure compliance. As our name suggests, Burnham Nationwide prides itself on the breadth of its staff, comprised of professionals knowledgeable in all facets of requirements nationally. Our staff is able to readily assist you in securing needed approvals to meet the most stringent building permit requirements. To that end, we are able to provide insight, not only on various municipalities’ building permit requirements, but also recommend ways of expediting and streamlining the process and adhering to the rigors of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Generally speaking, you can count on having to adhere to building permit requirements for not only new construction, but also demolition and substantive structural alterations to an existing structure. Interior and exterior remodeling also require special permits, as well as electrical, plumbing, and mechanical work. Again, building permit requirements vary widely, but there are a few general points to keep in mind to assess the scope of building permit requirements you might need to secure.

Regardless of conditions particular to a specific city, you will invariably be asked to provide basic information related to your project as a precursor to adherence to building permit requirements. Among these requirements are the exact address of the property in question, along with the name of the owner and contact information. Also, the scope or type of work should be specifically detailed. Names and contact information for all contractors, architects, and engineers working on the project should also be at your disposal in your adherence to building permit requirements.

Additionally, it’s important to compose a short narrative and/or description of the type of work being proposed for the project. You should include in that synopsis the total valuation of the project being described. Some cities require even more information in their building permit requirements. Sometimes, information on the dimensions of specific rooms or spaces is required. Other times, you might expect to submit drawn plans that illustrate the type of construction or renovation being proposed.

But wait, there’s more. You should expect to adhere to all manner of permits beyond the scope of actual construction to include mechanical, plumbing, and electrical permits. Some cities even require concrete and sign permits covering the peripheral sidewalks and rights-of-ways.

Some of this stuff sounds fundamental and basic, but it might surprise you how often such data is not kept at the ready. You can save yourself headaches and fines by having all the needed information at the ready when dealing with officials at your municipality.

While it may sound like a hyperbole, Burnham Nationwide is comprised of the most knowledgeable professionals in the industry. Having obtained more than 50,000 permits nationwide since our inception, you can be assured of this: we know building permits and building permit requirements! Adherence to rules and regulations is as much a part of our corporate culture as our passion for design. At Burnham Nationwide, our mantra is “your project is our project,” meaning our professionals are as invested in it as you.

In extending that mantra, you’re invited to drop by our offices and consider us your trusted partners. If you’re in the Chicago area, we’re located at 3111 W. Washington St., and our telephone number is (312) 407-7990. Those outside of Chicago can reach us via our website at burnhamnationwide.com or by calling toll free at (800) 407-7990.

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Our clients enjoy the breadth of services we offer—a range that is unrivaled in the construction industry—toward fruition of their building projects. However, we also offer an array of building inspection services—above and beyond a mere job site inspection—designed to ensure adherence to safeguards that can save on insurance or avoid litigation related to design shortcomings.

Burnham Nationwide provides the full gamut of these types of quality assurance services—known in industry nomenclature simply as inspection services—to provide our clients insight related to construction, maintenance, insurance, and litigation concerns. Among the services Burnham Nationwide offers in this area are:

• Warranty inspections. With our patented BurnhamXchange™ tool, we are able to provide our clients needed information during installation of the full range of products online. This tool gives our clients instant and updated data related to warranty inspections—an impressive array of knowledge acquired after having conducted hundreds upon hundreds of installation inspections. Additionally, our partnership with Colloid Environmental Technologies Company (CETCO) gives our clients access to our considerable expertise related to environmental containment of liquid contaminants. CETCO is the industry leader in providing applications, concrete waterproofing for underground structures, lining systems for liquid containment, and non-oil and gas-related drilling applications. Working closely with our clients in need of their specialized expertise, CETCO offers waterproofing solutions for commercial, institutional, and industrial projects drilling fluids, construction drilling products, environmental liner systems, such as clay and pond liners, and soil sealants and erosion control products for waste and liquid containment applications, including storm water impoundments, wetlands, canals, secondary containment, wastewater treatment plants, landfills, mining facilities, agricultural operations, and engineered remedial barriers. A respected industry leader, CETCO doesn’t just partner with anyone; they’ve partnered with Burnham Nationwide.

•  Our building inspection services also include those related to site and building inspection reports, helping to ensure building efficiency. In the 20 years since our founding, Burnham Nationwide has amassed a database of thousands of building permits from throughout the nation, yielding an invaluable resource for our clients. With this expertise, Burnham Nationwide is able to guide our clients in assembling site inspection reports in a way that ensures each construction project is adherent to code. These inspection services we offer our clients run the gamut—verifying zoning, existing utility connections, requirements related to parking, plumbing fixture counts, licensing requirements, occupancy limits, and the entire range of such critical inspection needs.

• Solar panel inspections are another part of the Burnham Nationwide arsenal designed in our clients’ best interests. The team of professionals at Burnham Nationwide works hard to enhance the system performance of clients’ solar arrays through independent pre-construction inspections. By doing this, the Burnham Nationwide team ensures clients’ projects are fully adherent to all code, zoning, and construction requirements.

The building inspection services we offer are just another way of giving you peace of mind that your project meets the highest regulatory standards. Inspections by our Burnham Energy team also provide added assurance to financiers and end users that the project will perform at the highest envisioned levels, to not only meet, but also exceed, all warranties.

If you’ve dealt with other companies offering such insight and expertise, you might be surprised how vested we are in our clients’ needs. This is because we view your projects as our own and consider our clients more as partners. This is part of our corporate culture, a philosophy each one of our team members has adopted. To learn more about our commitment to our clients’ needs, visit burnhamnationwide.com, where you are also able to contact us directly. We also can be reached by telephone by calling us toll-free at (800) 407-7990.

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Sunny days are here again—quite literally, with the arrival of the sunnier days of spring and in anticipation of the imminent summer months. Now that spring has sprung, it might be a good idea for those of you with solar panel installations to explore how best to take advantage of the sun’s rays in these brighter, post-winter days.

It’s actually not too complicated, and we will attempt here to demystify the process. A first requirement for optimizing the use of solar panels lies in the most basic of astronomical knowledge, which is to say, realizing the sun is at its peak between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. in most spots. Given that solar schedule, point your panels due south as this tends to be the best direction to harness the energy of solar rays.

Owners of solar panels tend to have sunny dispositions, and among them there’s no such thing as a bad latitude (sorry, couldn’t resist a little solar humor there). However, seriously folks, knowing your latitude is important in operating your solar panels. It’s important in these hotter months to adjust your panels to your latitude to further enhance the panels’ efficiency and output. Conversely, in the winter, one would still aim one’s solar panels according to latitude but add 15 degrees to that calculation. Like in real estate, location is everything. For U.S. residents, this is a good thing because the country is in the middle latitude with the sun directly overhead, thus ensuring the delivery of greater energy from the sun during the hotter months.

Some folks think that solar panel installations have to be aimed at the sun every minute of every hour, but that’s a myth. As long as solar panels are directed at the sun for a few hours each day, you’ll be assured of reliable energy.

It may seem obvious to advise about avoiding shade in locating and configuring your solar panel array, but it’s worth repeating. Shade, of course, is anathema to solar energy collection. A solar panel obscured by shade can lose up to 80 percent of its total output.

Configuring and adjusting solar panels sounds like a chore, but it takes mere minutes. Those inclined toward a more sedentary lifestyle might derive greater enjoyment tracking their solar harnessing on the computer—a fun exercise but also an important one to get the most out of a system of solar panels. Many owners of solar panels opt to mount their array on a tracking system to better monitor the sun’s movements in order to capture the most of its solar output. We have seen grown men and women describe their solar tracking with a palpable enthusiasm usually exhibited by a teenager gushing over the latest computer app or game. It’s fun to go solar!

To further optimize the output of solar panel installations, it’s a good idea to conduct an assessment of a home or building to ascertain areas where electricity is being wasted, and then hook up solar panels accordingly. As a complement to solar panels, one might also consider the use of energy-efficient light bulbs, the installation of good insulation, and other techniques to further augment the output of solar panels.

As the use of solar panels increases in popularity, the technology has gotten less expensive. It’s still not entirely inexpensive though, which further illustrates the need to explore methods of optimizing their output. Given such cost considerations, it’s best to view such technology as an investment with an ensured—if not necessarily short-term—rate of return. If your home or building has a roof yielding the best positioning, it’s a good idea to purchase the biggest system you’re able to afford with an eye toward maximizing these future returns.

In tandem, the kW output of solar panels continues to improve as the technology is perfected. These factors heighten the need to get the most of one’s solar panels. Rebates are now offered by various utilities as incentives for their use, and owners of solar panels are able to sell off excess electricity back to the grid. From any direction you choose to look at it, the use of solar panels is emerging as a really bright idea.

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A third party inspection is one that is performed by an organization other than the one who is developing the project and other than the entity that oversees the project. In some municipalities, an approved third party inspection can be done in lieu of an inspection by the governmental body that oversees construction in that area. In other cases, developers or contractors may wish to have an independent entity like Burnham do an inspection prior to submitting their project to its formal inspection.

In the District of Columbia, as well as some other places, some non-governmental entities are allowed to do plan reviews and field inspections. They can certify that the project has met the correct construction codes, and they essentially take the role of government for a project. The third party agency can be a corporation, a partnership, or an individual, but it must be registered in the correct district. Furthermore, it must also maintain certain requirements in order to continue to perform inspections.

However, most third party inspections are actually done prior to the official inspection. These inspections offer a project developer the chance to ensure that his or her project meets all of the necessary building codes. If a mistake is detected, it can be quickly amended before the project has to undergo their official inspection. This allows the project to pass their inspections more quickly and with fewer problems.

Most third party inspections for commercial projects start with a walk through of the property and a visual inspection of it. The third party may also meet with the owner or contractor and review the project’s plans. They can examine the project’s construction methods, their plans, and they can even monitor the performance of the project’s contractor. After the inspector completes their analysis, they can provide the project manager with a list of potential problems and can advise on how to improve these pitfalls. The inspection can be comprehensive, or it can simply examine a small element of the project. Some of the areas that you may consider having inspected include air conditioning units, concrete, floors, heaters, skylights, stairways, and much more. If you are interested in a third party inspection or further details of how it could benefit your project, you should contact the team at Burnham.

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One of the best ways to ensure that your project runs smoothly is to hire a team of building code consultants. At Burnham, we match our clients to consultants who can help them with almost every aspect of their project. We have dedicated consultants who work with project managers, engineers, and architects to keep their projects on time and under budget. Our code consultants can tailor their services so that they address your particular concerns throughout the entire process.

When you submit a building permit application, the process can be lengthy at best. At worst, it can be a complete time-consuming disaster. Burnham’s building code consultants work hard to ensure that your submittal process is as smooth and hassle free as possible. With offices in many of the nation’s major cities, we have been able to form long lasting relationships built on trust with many local officials. We let these relationships, as well as our expertise, benefit our clients. Whether you need help remembering every bit of information that is in the two volumes of Chicago’s building codes or whether you need help deciphering certain provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we can provide you with help and guidance.

The first step, as you know, of completing a project proposal is submitting the application to the correct city department. When you work with one of our consultants, they advise you on which forms you need to complete. They look over all of your forms and blueprints to ensure that everything is up to the relevant codes. Many times, after forms are submitted, they must be resubmitted because one detail is incorrect or not up to code. When you have to resubmit something, as many contractors are all too well aware, you have to start the process over from the beginning. This can add weeks to the approval process. When you have to wait weeks for an approval, your crew will sit idle. In some cases, you may have to continue paying them or risk losing them to another project. If you have rented machinery, it may have to sit still as you continue to make payments and wait for your project to be approved.

The most important job that our code consultants do is to help our clients avoid these eventualities. They use their expertise to make sure that our clients have their permits accepted as quickly as possible. In some cities, we have such close relationships with the right officials that we are able to anticipate changes to the codes before they even occur. Regardless of the code that you have questions about, we have an expert on our team who knows the answer. When we do not know the answer, we know the right professional who does.

When you browse our website, you will see a list of the services that we provide. As discussed above, we can ensure that your building permits are filed correctly, and we can ensure that they are code compliant. In addition to serving our clients in these ways, we also offer them many other services. We can offer these services individually, or we can package them according to our clients’ needs.

Additionally, we offer inspection services. When our consultants inspect your project, they ensure that it is up to code. They have the knowledge to ensure that your project is prepared for your LEED certification inspection or for your city or county inspection. This service can save our clients just as much time and effort as our building code consulting services. We also offer solar services. Our consultants can advise you about everything from whether or not it would be cost-efficient to install solar panels to which types of solar energy would be best for your next project. Finally, we offer sustainability consulting services. These services can be used on their own or in conjunction with our standard consultancy services.

The services discussed above are the tangible services that we provide. However, when you work with Burnham’s building code consultants, you receive many intangible benefits. For instance, you will be more confident about your proposals and less anxious about your project. We add speed, creativity and a solid customer focus to all of our clients’ endeavors. When you work with one of our consultants, you are ensured that your project is done faster.

We can provide you with a team of professionals who can give you all the expertise that you need. However, to ensure that you are not overwhelmed, we allow you to work with a single point of contact, from start to finish. This consultant will ensure that you get everything that you need from your experience with Burnham Nationwide.

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To put it simply, when you schedule a building energy audit, you want to pass it! Our consultants at Burnham help you analyze your project to make sure that it will pass the energy auditor’s inspection. We can do practically whatever you may need, from providing you with a check list of things to double check before the auditor arrives, to doing a walk-through ourselves and identifying any areas that you should work on before scheduling your building energy audit.

Whether you are trying to meet new green city building codes or are trying to gain LEED certification, we can help you achieve those qualifications.

The following are three things that you should double check before scheduling a building energy audit your project.

Energy-consuming equipment. This includes fixtures like your heating and cooling systems. If you have installed the correct equipment along with the most energy-efficient building materials, you will pass your inspection, and save the building’s operators thousands of dollars in yearly energy bills in the process.

Lighting. Check that your lit exit signs are energy-efficient and that your fixtures are set up to accommodate the most energy efficient bulbs. Place your light switches in such a way that they work to illuminate small areas, versus those that work to illuminate large areas only. By segmenting lighting options, you will help yourself pass your audit as well as reducing future energy consumption.

Building’s envelope. Make sure that the walls are insulated with the best materials, that the windows are tight and that you have used sun filters where necessary

Passing a building energy audit doesn’t have to be a stressful experience. By double checking the three areas discussed above, you increase your chances of passing your inspection. However, if you would like a detailed analysis of what aspects of the building to focus on, you should turn to the experience of the Burnham team. Our job is to give you the advice that will help you pass your inspections and complete your project as soon as possible.

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If you have ever glanced at the ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities (ADAAG), you will know that even the minimum ADA building requirements involve pages and pages of detailed guidelines. To save you the hassle of trolling through these volumes of information, Burnham’s ADA consultants can assist you in deciphering what you need to know, and advise you in how to implement ADA building requirements most efficiently. In addition, we will keep you notified of any amendments to these requirements.

Certainly no one would dispute the importance of making buildings accessible for disabled individuals. However, failing an inspection and having to redo thousands or even millions of dollars worth of work can be terribly frustrating. Using ADA consultants who are extremely knowledgeable about the requirements will ensure that your project avoids this eventuality.

The guidelines are very extensive and somewhat complex. For instance certain guidelines mandate that employee areas must be constructed in a manner that allows disabled people to enter and exit these areas, as do public or commercial spaces. However, there is a possible exemption for the employee area accessibility guideline. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, and some areas require accessibility while others do not. For instance, water slides and elevator shafts do not have to be accessible, but sport courts do.  Certain buildings can qualify for an exemption to the ADA requirements if they can reasonably make an argument that modifying their structure will poorly impact their structural or architectural integrity.

The codes also cover matters such as the percentage of parking spots that must be designated as “disabled”. This percentage fluctuates depending on the total number of spots in the lot. For instance, parking lots with 401 to 500 spots are required to include 1.8% to 2.2% of their spots as disabled, whereas lots of over 500 spaces require 2%, and lots at outpatient healthcare facilities require up to 10% disabled spots.

Of course, this blog post does not address all of the ADA building requirements that you will encounter as you struggle to make your project compliant. However, you can be assured that our ADA consultants understand the codes and their nuances, and can advise you accordingly.

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by Greg Sellers

Football announcers can’t figure out why the Dallas Cowboys are so bad.

Now, there are  many bad football teams (my team has been awful for the past 10 years straight!), but what has the pundits perplexed is that the Cowboys, on paper, are an awesome team. They’re loaded with talent, their owner has a lot of money and just built them the world’s most expensive football stadium, so by any measure they ought to be great. But their performance  since game one, has never matched their potential.

Using this football analogy, a solar installation’s actual performance should closely match its expected performance. Since solar installations require expected performance calculations early in the design phase, it is relatively easy to compare expected and actual performance. Accounting for weather variations, solar installations should ideally perform no more than 10% above or below their expected power output. Unfortunately, our inspections have uncovered wide variance in real world performance in some systems we have inspected – both higher and lower than expected- that significantly impact the financial viability of a solar installation and thus impact the entire industry.

The biggest variable football players face is injury, but football players that are in top physical condition face fewer injuries and recover faster than those who have done a poor job of preparing themselves. Similarly, solar systems that are well installed are likely to perform as expected for longer than systems that are poorly installed. When we inspect these systems we often see exposed wires, vulnerable connections, unsecured panels, improperly installed roof flashing and other signs of a poor installation. While most of these shortcuts don’t immediately impact system performance, they significantly increase the likelihood that the system will not last as long or function as well as expected.

After weeks of failure, the Cowboys recently took the dramatic and unprecedented step of  firing their coach mid-season, in hopes of reversing their fortunes, and that seems to have put them back in the win column. So, for a solar panel touchdown, take the time to plan, install, and implement efficiently and correctly or you might, just might, end up like the ’76 Buccaneers.

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By Leah Riley, ICC Accessibility Inspector/Senior Code Consultant

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed into law on July 26th, 1990. This was lauded as the first real declaration of equality for people with disabilities. The ADA prohibits discrimination and ensures equal opportunity for persons with disabilities in employment, state and local government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities, and transportation.

To a person with a disability, the passage of the ADA opened doors that had been closed for a long time and acknowledged that a person with a disability had the right, just like anyone else, to participate fully in all programs and services available. While I am not a person with a disability, the passage of this law also impacted my life in ways that I never expected. Through some general awareness of the ADA, I have become directly involved in the enforcement of accessibility codes and laws. It has given me an opportunity to learn the laws, advocate on behalf of people with disabilities as well as educate and consult with architects designing spaces referencing these requirements.

Everyone can see the impact of the ADA as well as state and local accessibility codes, if they pay attention to the details. There are curb ramps at corners that also have detectable warnings. There are accessible parking spaces, entrances to buildings and toilet rooms. In addition to mobility disabilities, requirements also are included for blind, visually impaired and hearing-impaired persons. The ADA also has many other specific requirements that not only allow for access, but potentially benefit non-disabled persons. Elements such as a curb cut or ramp are helpful to a person using a stroller or cart. A push-button door operator or lever door hardware can easily be used by a person with their hands full.

The ADA and the corresponding Accessibility Guidelines set standards for not only new construction and alteration projects, but also existing buildings. It requires building owners to assess their condition and, where feasible, remove barriers in order to bring these to a usable level of accessibility for a person with a disability.

While the ADA requires compliance at a time of construction, design of large and small business and even government agencies to this day have neglected to include all required accessibility components. Unless a state of local municipality reviews drawings and inspects projects sufficiently, accessibility enforcement is challenging as the ADA is designed to be reactive. This has resulted in many lawsuits, which ultimately require compliance that should have been provided in the first place. In the past, some large hotel chains were required to provide upgrades at a significant additional cost because they failed to follow the accessibility code. After 20 years, it is surprising that compliance is not always being met.

The information regarding accessibility codes and laws is easy to find, especially with Internet access. The Access Board (an independent Federal agency devoted to accessibility for people with disabilities) posts requirements, bulletins and commentary to assist in understanding and complying with the code. The Design Professional must take responsibility to review, understand and design to meet compliance just like with exiting, occupancy and any other code requirement .

The Access Board has been actively involved in updating the ADA/ABA and Accessibility Guidelines.  This has been drafted since 2004 and is finally gaining momentum towards passage into law.  This may happen as soon as Fall of 2010.  Hopefully, 20 years later, the much needed updates to modernize the code and include elements such as Recreation and Children’s Facilities requirements will actually happen.  The passage of this should bring to light the fact that although 20 years have passed, there is still a ways to go.  There will be a number of new changes to learn and understand.  Per the 2000 census there are over 49 million persons with disabilities in the United States.  With the aging population, this number will continue to increase.

Think about it for a minute…what does the ADA mean to you, your family, your future?  What will you do to celebrate?

________________________________________________________________________

About the Author:

Leah Riley, ICC Accessibility Inspector/ Senior Code Consultant Burnham Nationwide, Inc./The Code Group.  Ms. Riley has over sixteen years of experience in interpreting and providing consulting services for a number of local, national and international building and accessibility codes.  She has gained recognition throughout the construction industry as one of the foremost experts in ADA interpretation through her years of service for the City of Chicago Mayor’s Office for Peoples with Disabilities.

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The Environmental Protection Agency will require certification for contractors and companies, further supporting public health and safety when it comes to lead abatement. Contractors are required to obtain certification by April 2010 and time is running out. Certification information can be found on the USEPA website.

Although it is not clear how the EPA will enforce this rule, the intent to better secure public safety is obvious. Certifying your company and your employees will better support the profession and better serve our community.

PROFESSIONALS – Accredited Certification programs and  locations can be found here. Failing to meet the April 2010 deadline will result in fines and delays.

GENERAL PUBLIC – It is important for you to work with certified contractors to ensure your safety.  Be sure to have certification confirmation included in your contract.

A representative from the EPA stated certification for firms can be verified by calling 1-800-424-LEAD. Individual certification can be verified by viewing their certificate of program completion.

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