Three years ago I was hired to provide Elevation Certificates for a new house in an AO zone with a 1-foot average flood depth.?ÿ I took some shots on the site, set a bench mark for use in construction, and issued a pre-construction Certificate specifying the proposed slab elevation.?ÿ I got paid and awaited the call for a pre-pour certificate to verify the slab elevation.?ÿ That call never came, but a couple of months ago I was asked to provide a post-construction certificate.?ÿ What I found at the site was a brand-new house with a slab 0.7 foot below design elevation.?ÿ It seems that the owner acted as his own GC and ignored my bench mark -- just graded a flat spot and built his house.?ÿ The designer has washed his hands of the matter, and the owner doesn't speak English well enough to communicate with county staff, so now I'm going back and forth with the county trying to help the owner find a way forward.?ÿ Ugh.
Referring to Mr. Do-It-Yourself:?ÿ Stupid is as stupid does.?ÿ Live with it.
For a fee, I hope. I know you are a nice guy, but......
Sorry Jim!
Our county requires us to certify the floor prior to additional work occurring in a SFHA.?ÿ?ÿ
Maybe he is not financed, otherwise it's flood insurance.?ÿ
Bad news is best delivered when you've been paid in advance
At least he didn't blame you.?ÿ?ÿ
Our county requires us to certify the floor prior to additional work occurring in a SFHA.?ÿ?ÿ
The approved plans specify -- and I think it's a county requirement -- that a pre-pour certificate be issued, but the owner ignored that.?ÿ Either the county didn't require a pre-pour inspection or the owner didn't tell anyone that he was about to pour, but in any case that cert never happened.
For a fee, I hope.
At this point I'm mostly trying to stay out of a lawsuit.?ÿ If I can smooth things over with a few emails I'm happy to do so, but if I have to do any real work I'll bill for it, and the client has said that's okay.?ÿ
I've asked the county what they see as the path forward, but haven't yet received a response.?ÿ I suppose the worst-case scenario is the owner has to jack up the house and put a foundation under it, but that's gonna hurt.?ÿ I'm hoping for a less painful solution.
I suppose the worst-case scenario is the owner has to jack up the house and put a foundation under it
If it's on a slab there may not be much structure in the floor above concrete, making it harder than raising a house higher over a basement.
If it's on a slab there may not be much structure in the floor above concrete, making it harder than raising a house higher over a basement.
Good point.?ÿ It's an ugly situation, to be sure.
Don't they just leave it alone and jack up the insurance premium?
Don't they just leave it alone and jack up the insurance premium?
That might be a remedy on a pre-existing home but not necessarily something a municipal building department with laws and codes can/will do to issue a certificate of occupancy.
?ÿ
Licensed Land Surveyor
Finger Lakes Region, Upstate New York
Jack up the walls. Cover slab with 6-8 in of foam board, cap with 4in of concrete. Any utilities can be extended the extra foot. Not pretty, but possible. One hell of an insulated floor for sure!!
I discussed the matter today with the county plan check engineer.?ÿ We agreed that my services aren't going to help at this point, so he's going to arrange a conversation between himself, the owner/builder, a civil engineer (to be hired by the owner), and a Spanish-speaking county staffer (since the language barrier has been a problem with this project from the get-go) to look at options.?ÿ He thinks that a site-specific drainage/hydrology plan can establish that the house as built will have a foot of freeboard in a 1% flood event.
Youch. This is why I won't Certify building foundations, footings, or top of foundation walls unless our survey crews do the actual construction staking. If a new client asks for just the beginning of building staking & end of work/Certification, I don't take the job.
Did anybody mention or suggest a LOMR??ÿ
Did anybody mention or suggest a LOMR??ÿ
Yes, that's the plan last I checked.?ÿ I'm not directly involved any more (I hope!).
So reading through this I wondered, as a solo operator do you just use GNSS/TS elevations or do you use a rotating laser level when you set critical grades?
So reading through this I wondered, as a solo operator do you just use GNSS/TS elevations or do you use a rotating laser level when you set critical grades?
Robot.?ÿ It's every bit as good as a laser level, maybe better.
@stlsurveyor?ÿ In my short career I've never seen a surveyor use a rotating level to set grades for anything.?ÿ I did see one used for a topo once though.
