Code Officials vs Home Inspectors (with Douglas Hansen)

Structure Talk

The principal author of Code Check and Electrical Inspection of Existing Dwellings, Douglas Hansen joins the show to talk about building codes and home inspections.

Douglas started in the industry as a carpenter in the 1960s, and he was also a teacher and a home inspector. He was tapped by Code Check founder Redwood Kardon to co-author the book. He describes the book as cliff notes and like a comic book for building codes. According to Douglas, codes are the language and vocabulary in the construction standards. Reuben mentions that they use the Code Check illustrations, which are available for sale online, in their home inspection reports.

Douglas discusses the various ranks of inspectors: code enforcement officers who have police functions and write citations, municipal building inspectors who pass or fail something then write a correction notice, and home inspectors who recommend and refer areas for investigation by specialists. He highlights that while these inspectors have different jurisdictions, they have to work together.

Reuben promotes Code Check as required reading and a tool for Home Inspectors. It has different sections: building, plumbing, mechanical, and electrical. He shares that it's a consolidated booklet that gives you all the most important information that you need to know. They also talk about how useful ''Electrical Inspection of Existing Dwellings'' is for home inspectors. Douglas mentions that the electric code is different from all other codes because it has the largest participation of people and code-making panels.

Join Douglas Hansen's 2-hour training seminar on February 21, 2022: https://heartland.chapteroffice.com/calendar/. Members of the ASHI Heartland Chapter may attend for free, and others may attend for a $25 fee, which will go towards Feed My Starving Children.