An architect's letter isn't enough

Q. I had a visit from a building inspector to try to close out old permits so I can sell my home. He saw that I didn’t have any sheetrock on the walls or the ceiling around my boiler and water heater. I showed him that it’s impossible to get sheetrock up on the ceiling because of all the pipes up there. He told me I could either get the sheetrock up there, using fire putty to fill gaps around the pipes, or get a letter from a licensed architect or engineer saying that it wasn’t necessary according to manufacturer’s specifications. So far, I’ve been told nobody will give me that letter. What should I do?

A. First of all, consider what the inspector told you. He basically said to follow the law or deflect the responsibility to some dopey architect or engineer who apparently never listens to any media reports of fires that occur daily. Asking for a letter from an architect or engineer about a potential fire hazard that implies that the professional accepts responsibility that a fire won’t happen — and if it does, the ceiling and walls are so far away that they won’t catch fire — is like asking a lawyer to give you a letter saying that you can drive through red lights when you get to an intersection. You may be lucky enough to streak right through without colliding with another car for years, but do you think that holding up that piece of paper is going to protect you from reality?

“But this letter says I can.” The nonsense of having letters from professionals in lieu of protecting the public, even from themselves, really has to stop. Those letters do nothing to protect the occupants of a building, and when authorities who really do know better accept them, that doesn’t relieve them of their duty to protect the public. Forget about letters and concentrate on public safety. That “impossible” task of putting gypsum board over the heating equipment isn’t impossible, though it is probably time-consuming, and maybe even costly.