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While this was originally written with regard to cob, it actually applies
to any non-standard building technique. Though it is my understanding
that the following information is generally true, most jurisdictions (city,
county, or state), can and often do, pass laws which deviate from the
"standard" codes and practices which may be in use in neighboring
jurisdictions. Because of this, always check what your
local rules and regulations are before deciding how to proceed.
For those of you living in countries other than the USA, I'm afraid I
can't help you other than to suggest that you check for options available
to you similar to the ones below.
It is encouraging to see people working to get important "old"
building techniques added to the code, and there has been a great deal of
success, particularly with straw bale construction. Unfortunately, most
people do not have the time, energy and money to fight a protracted
building code battle, which undoubtedly results in fewer natural
structures being built. The following is intended to provide you with
some ideas which may help you to deal with this issue.
Here are the methods (that I am aware of) which have been used to deal
with the issue of building codes and
building techniques which are not pre-approved in the code, in some cases
there are potential consequences which you may not care to risk, I am not
recommending you take any of these approaches, just listing possible
alternatives that I am aware of:
- Some areas do not use building codes, so people can just
build whatever they want.
- Some areas have what is known as an "owner-builder" clause in the
code, which gives a great deal more latitude for people who are
building a structure just for themselves. These "owner-builder"
codes vary greatly, so you will need to check on your local
options and requirements if this is available in your area.
- The building codes generally allow for experimental structures
to be built at the discretion of your local building department,
but most building departments are worried about liability if it
falls down or something else goes wrong, so this is usually not
allowed. In some cases, building officials are actively interested in
alternative/natural building techniques, and may be willing to work
with you to arrive at some compromise which will allow you to build.
You'll never know if you don't ask.
- In most cases, I believe that you can build pretty much anything
you like if an Architectural Engineer will certify that the
structure meets the code's structural, energy, fire, and safety
requirements, but they may be required to back up their
certification with test results from a national testing laboratory.
I would imagine that few Architectural Engineers will be willing to
certify a structure without those laboratory results to use in
their structural computations.
- In at least some (if not all) of the standard residential building
codes, accessory buildings of up to around 120 exterior square feet are
allowed to be built without any permits required for the structure.
UPDATE: The new international building code for those areas which
adopt it allows for up to 200 interior square feet on
unpermitted accessory buildings.
If you put in wiring or plumbing, these will generally require permits,
even though the building itself did not.
Even if your local building codes allow for such a structure, in at least
some areas, there may be restrictions on where these structures can be
built, as well as how many of them you can build on a given piece of land.
In theory these small buildings are garden
sheds or storage buildings, and you are not allowed to live in
them, though some people do. One approach that some people use is
to buy a piece of land with a junker house or mobile home on it which is
their "legal" residence, then actually live in their accessory building(s).
- Agricultural buildings generally have much lower code standards,
so some have been built as "agricultural buildings" though
generally you are not supposed to live in these structures either.
- Some people simply go renegade and build without approval, though
in some areas they can and will make you tear the structure down
if you get caught. Also, this method generally cannot be used if
you wish to hook up to public utilities other than telephone since
the utility companies often have to get permits in order to make
the connection to your building.
Though I have never heard of it, it wouldn't surprize me if someplaces
require a permit for telephone hookups as well,
- In a few areas, the local building codes may actually allow cob,
though it might be called something else: "poured adobe", "puddled adobe",
and "monolithic adobe" are at least somewhat similar to cob if not the
same thing, depending on one's perspective. Other building techniques
may be in the code under alternate, older or out of use names as
well.
- If you have the option of moving to an area where codes are less restrictive
or non-existant, here are some links that may help you to find the place you
want to move to, but remember, this information may be out of date, incorrect,
or local officials may be in the process of making changes that will go into
effect before you can start building, always verify the information:
This should give you ideas of some possible approaches that may be available
to when you seek to address the building code issues for your alternative
structures. Always check the actual building codes and laws for
your area, don't just believe what a friend or for that matter a building
official may tell you.
There are a number of rumours (i.e. I have no first hand knowledge of any
of these incidents) regarding cases where a building official
told someone that local codes didn't allow building a certain structure,
when in reality the official was either:
- mistaken
- misinformed
- uninformed
- didn't want the structure built
- was on a power trip
I hope that you find some of this helpful to you in your natural building
pursuits.
If you know of any other approaches for dealing with the building codes
that I have left out, please let me know so I can add them to the list.
Thanks,
Shannon Dealy
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Debian Linux.