Change of plans?

Q. We had a building inspector in our home because we’re selling and had to make the two bedrooms and bathroom on the second floor legal. (When we bought the house, the second floor was just an open space.) But the inspector told us we didn’t have to put in taller windows for escape because we could just say the windows were like that and the second floor was like that for many years. The catch was that the plans would have to be changed and turned in, again. This is all such a hassle, because our architect says the inspector is wrong and the windows should be changed, not the plans. Who’s right? Shouldn’t the architect be listening to the inspector and changing the plans?

A. Who’s right if everybody’s wrong? What do you do if someone gets hurt or dies because there’s a fire and an occupant couldn’t get out? What do you do if there’s never a fire and the windows are an expense to replace? Who’s responsible?

During an investigation after a fire, your inspector will point to the plans that get dragged out to see what was supposed to be there. Everyone involved will point to the architect, who should have known better because architects are smart, they went to college, and everyone else is innocent, because the written word and spelled-out plans are the most crucial evidence, and only the architect has to provide the documentation. Because your plans got filed well after the original work was done, instead of before, and the codes changed to make it necessary to comply by making the window openings taller. You, unfortunately, should err on the side of safety rather than expense.

I realize you won’t be living in the house; you’re the seller. I realize that the house was like that for years. But the fact remains that the bedrooms were never on record until way after the codes changed, 10 years ago, requiring larger openings for rescue and escape. Basically, your inspector doesn’t accept any responsibility for life safety, unless he’s willing to make a public record of his specific decision to allow the windows to remain, unchanged and out of compliance with the code from the year of the actual approval.

Had you gotten a permit when the windows were allowed to be smaller, nobody would be blamed for not meeting the code. Now that the codes have changed, expecting the architect to take the responsibility that nobody else wants or is required to take is the wrong solution. Although you save money and are off the hook, you actually caused the problem to begin with, yet you want someone else to be responsible. It seems like your architect has a conscience as well as a responsibility. Don’t fault him for that.

©2013 Monte Leeper. Readers are encouraged to send questions to yourhousedr@aol.com, with “Herald question” in the subject line, or to Herald Homes, 2 Endo Blvd., Garden City, NY 11530, Attn: Monte Leeper, architect.