Horror stories from the building inspector
By Roy Logan |
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[October 06, 2016]
Often
times when beginning a home project, be it big or small, one of the
initial steps is to involve the Building and Safety Office to secure
a Building Permit. While not every job requires a permit, many do.
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 John Lebegue is Lincoln’s Building and Safety Officer. John
stated that he felt his role was to protect the homeowner’s
investment in their property. He also wants to secure the values and
safety of those homes in the surrounding neighborhood.
One of the things Lebegue wants to see first is a building plan. For
simpler projects a rough sketch is adequate. For larger more complex
buildings a more detailed plan is sought.
There are generally a series of inspections throughout the building
process. Each step is designed so that the homeowner is getting
quality work and that everything is being done according to the
laws.
The zoning officer likes to see the foundation and footings, and
especially to see the wiring and plumbing before the drywall goes
over them.
 Lebegue shared a story of a group of people who traveled throughout
a particular area buying houses very cheaply and made quick cosmetic
repairs and flipped them to make a profit and then move on to the
next town. This was discovered when the inspectors found out that
the plumbing wouldn’t drain properly and there was the smell of
sewer gas. Upon getting an emergency stop work order they gained
access to the property, removed the drywall and found 25 plumbing
violations and 12 electrical code violations. The contractors were
fined $10,000 and the violations had to be resolved.
More often than not the mistakes are innocent enough; someone simply
didn’t know there was a law governing what they were wanting to
accomplish. That is why it is important to involve his office early
on. An added layer of protection in this process is that his office
may know the contractors reputation for workmanship.
Lebegue shared another story of an elderly lady having a roof
replaced only to discover it leaked around the chimney after the
roofers had left. When he went to look at it he discovered that the
flashing around the chimney had not been installed properly.
The roofers were not licensed, which is against the law. Roofers
must be licensed by the State of Illinois. When the roofing company
was found they were forced to pay a licensed roofer to install a new
roof properly.
Had the homeowner gone through the permit process, the original
roofer would not have been allowed to do the job. Ultimately, it is
up to the homeowner to secure a building permit.
When John was asked what were some of the oddest things he’s seen,
he was quick to respond with his favorites. One of the more strange
was a complaint about a person who was missing a section of privacy
fencing and filled the gap with a set of box springs. There’s a law
against that.
Another was a pair of brothers building a tree house for a son. They
had run electricity to it too. There’s a law against that.
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One of the best stories was when these two girls decided to run a
bikini clad carwash in front of their home. When he arrived there
were about 20 cars in line. There’s a law against that.
What’s illegal about that? It violated a traffic flow law and you
can’t run a business in a residential zoned area.
Lebegue has been a Building Official for over 20 years. While some
of his stories from over the years are really bazaar, it is
important to realize that his office is there to protect what is
often times our most expensive investment, not only for ourselves,
but for future owners of that property as well.
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Lincoln
You will find a list of building code and permit links at the
bottom of this city of Lincoln page.
https://www.lincolnil.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=
501&Itemid=57
Logan County
You will find a link to Logan County Codes on this page
https://www.logancountyil. gov/index.php?
option=com_content&view=article&id=220
&Itemid=597
&lang=en
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