Cottage Q&A

QUESTION
I need to rebuild our 30-year-old cottage porch and I should get a building permit, but I'm worried the building inspector will start looking around the cottage and force me to replace all sorts of other things that were built before anyone really worried about the Building Code. Can an inspector do this?

Walt McInnes, Sudbury, Ont.


ANSWER
Contrary to popular belief, building inspectors aren't out to get you. "I cannot go back and tell people who have old deck railings that they need to have them upgraded," explains Ray Hachigian, chief building official for the Township of the Archipelago. "But when they want to replace that deck and come in for a permit, that's when they have to consider the standards of today." That said, if an inspector notices something seriously amiss at your cottage, he or she would doubtless have a word with you. "If I were out on the property and saw a sewage system that was spewing all over the ground, of course I would do something," says Hachigian. So if a part of your cottage is threatening to roll down a hill, expect the inspector to raise an eyebrow. If, on the other hand, the bottom plank of your back step is a bit punky, it's unlikely the inspector will mention it, even in passing.

If you're thinking about skipping the permit process, don't. If you're caught building your porch without the proper papers you may be fined and have to tear it down altogether.

Kate Barker



* Published in the June 2006 issue of Cottage Life