Remodeling rules honor style, safety

Copyright 2005 Journal Sentinel Inc.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin)

March 27, 2005 Sunday
Final Edition

F Real Estate; Pg. 1

1063 words

MICHELE DERUS, Staff, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Some of Wisconsin's finest, most upstanding homes have been living outside the law for a quarter-century. Safe and sound when they were built, pre-1980 homes typically do not meet Wisconsin's current Uniform Dwelling Code construction requirements for one- and two-family home construction. Trying to honor the architecture and accept the standards of yesteryear while doing something new with that space has set up a collision course of old and new building standards in many communities. Different communities use different rules, with some requiring that older houses meet the latest codes no matter what the project was. That not only frustrated homeowners - and discouraged some from upgrading their houses - but caused confusion among contractors as to which designs were OK and which weren't. Owners often learned that even a minor remodeling would be a major expense, or require a variance, because of local rules. And they didn't like hearing from their contractors that if they only lived in such-and-such a community, they wouldn't have had this hassle. The Southeastern Wisconsin Building Inspectors Association has adopted a new set of standards specifically for remodeling older houses that makes it easier for homeowners to update existing space without drastic measures such as raising ceilings or removing an original staircase, just to comply with the code. The standards have been adopted by a number of area communities and more are expected to do so. "A lot of homes can't meet that (old) code without a serious cost of renovation," said David M. Wheaton, vice president of the Wisconsin Building Inspectors Association and chief inspector for the City of Wauwatosa. "Many homeowners just decided not to do the project because it was cost-prohibitive." Among the hard-hit have been owners of an architectural staple here - early 20th-century story-and-a-half "Milwaukee bungalows," said Bruce Johnson, president of BDC Building Design & Construction Inc. in Milwaukee. "Faced with making major changes to the stairways, some people just decided against finishing off the second floor," he said. The height of attic ceilings, for instance, has been a thorn for homeowners and designers alike. The new remodeling standards allow 50% of the floor area of a to-be-finished attic room to have a minimum ceiling height of 6 feet 8 inches. Among the hodgepodge of local requirements, which varied by community, were rules requiring attic ceilings to be 7 feet high or higher. Wisconsin's Uniform Dwelling Code specifies in great detail key aspects of mechanical and structural components of a house. Municipal building inspectors are charged with enforcing state and local rules. Many communities with rules that predated the state code simply kept them, applying them to older-home renovations. The new rules are patterned after practices of the City of Wauwatosa , where most houses were built before 1980. Wauwatosa has been lauded in housing circles for finding a way to honor the old while emphasizing safety and soundness. The new rules will allow many old homes undergoing remodeling to keep two lovely but no longer code-compliant features - narrower, steeper stairways and slightly lower basement and attic ceilings, Wheaton said. The standards will also make clear, however, that every bedroom or sleeping area must have two forms of egress sized to allow for emergency escape, which some now lack, he said. "Health and safety are always paramount," Wheaton said. But on design, he said, "there certainly can be more flexibility." Four areas are covered by the new standards: habitable spaces in basements, second-floor existing spaces, new spaces in second-floor attics, and new spaces on third floors, he said. The Southeastern Wisconsin Alterations and Remodeling Standards adopted in January have been adopted by some communities and others are expected to follow suit in coming weeks. "I expect 60 percent to 70 percent of communities will follow them," said City of Brookfield Building Inspector John Block, who heads the area inspectors' association. "This is really a local policy issue," said Ronald Buchholz, deputy administrator of the state Department of Commerce's buildings and safety division. "Many communities decided to adopt the UDC (state code) for additions, alterations and remodeling. A number had a code before the UDC called the Uniform Building Code that they opted to continue. And some communities said they're not going to regulate at all." No other Wisconsin area has attempted to standardize rules on remodeling older homes, he said. Home contractors are elated with the changes, which Wheaton outlined at the 2005 Building Science & Design Conference held earlier this month by the Metropolitan Builders Association of Greater Milwaukee. He and others who weren't at the conference were interviewed afterward. "This recognizes the architecture and uniqueness of the buildings of our past and still allows people to improve their homes," said J. Scott Mathie, the builder association's government affairs director. "It also allows the community to add value in places where future development is limited - basically Cudahy, Wauwatosa and other older suburbs." Michael Heuser, vice president of the Milwaukee / NARI Home Improvement Council, said, "we're all on the same page now on what will be accepted. That's going to make it easier for us contractors, and easier for people in older homes." The new rules don't cover plumbing and electrical projects, which always must be done to current code, Wheaton said. Another regulatory staple remains in place as well, what Wheaton calls "the 50% rule." That rule dictates that anytime more than 50% of an existing space in a home is altered, the entire space must be upgraded to current code. "That's the number one rule in our business, and I don't know of a building inspector in this whole country who doesn't use it," Wheaton said. "You touch more than 50%, you bring it all up to code." ------------ The Southeastern Wisconsin Building Inspectors Association has no count on which communities have adopted its new rules. For information, contact the building inspector in your community. Copyright 2005, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved. (Note: This notice does not apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or other media.)

March 27, 2005