From Those Zany Characters Who Brought You Mo House Bill 1189.....

[James H. Bushart]

....now this.

I couldn't help but to respond to their request...but not in the way that they had hoped.

The Alliance of Missouri Home Inspectors

P.O. Box 742

Cassville, Missouri 65625

Dear Missouri Legislator,

This is an example of what those of us who are inspecting homes and buildings, and who are working as advocates for those who buy them and live in them, are up against. Building codes that would save lives…but interfere with sales commissions…are lobbied against.

Is there any question in your mind why the Missouri Attorney General’s office and the Better Business Bureau are bombarded with thousands of complaints per year regarding contractors….in a state that has no building codes or licensing requirements for those who build them?

Meanwhile, families are dying in their sleep as their homes built in this state by unlicensed builders and contractors are burning to the ground. The solution, according to the Missouri Association of Realtors, is to fight building codes.

I trust that you will put life and death over realtor sales commissions…and support building codes.

James H. Bushart, President, The Alliance of Missouri Home Inspectors (TAMHI)

James H. Bushart, Certified Professional Inspector

Member, International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (INACHI)
Member, American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI)
Member, Missouri Association of Building Officials and Inspectors (MABOI)



1 Atch: Mass Mailing from Missouri Association of Realtors


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Missouri Association of REALTORS Action Center

Call For Action-Keep Building Costs Contained
Dear Member,
Here is what has happened thus far.

Last year in a meeting of the International Codes Council new building codes for residential construction were adopted.

Contained within was a requirement for installation of fire sprinkler systems for residences. The adoption of this segment of the code has raised all sorts of questions about the validity of the vote and other issues—those are not important at this time and we will assume for the sake of argument that everything was proper.

The point is that unless something is done, and done soon, when a political subdivision adopts the 2009 codes all new residential construction in that subdivision will be required to have a fire sprinkler system. I have been told that the cost to install a system in a 1,800 square foot home are estimated to be from $16,000 to $23,000, assuming that sufficient water is available and water pressure is sufficient.

This is not a good time to have a significant price increase in the cost of new construction.

You have an opportunity to make your voice heard on this issue, there is a short e-mail that you can send to your Senator and Representative and urge them to support legislation to require a mandated offering of sprinkler systems. This would require that the homebuilder offer sprinkler systems and allow the buyer to refuse the system, this is supported by the St. Louis Homebuilders Association and, I believe the Missouri Homebuilders Association. It is a reasonable approach to give the industry some relief until the issue can be revisited with the ICC.


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Send a letter to the following decision maker(s):
Your Representative (if you live in Missouri)
Below is the sample letter:
Subject: Help us Keep Residential Construction Costs Contained
Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],
I understand that unless something happens this session it is very possible that when a community adopts the new 2009 ICC residential building codes, new residential construction will be required to have fire sprinkler systems.

The additional costs added are estimated to be from $16,000 to $23,000.

A reasonable approach would be for the General Assembly to pass a ?mandated offering? which would require that the homebuilder offer sprinkler systems but allow the homebuyer to decide if they wanted to pay the additional cost.

There are several chances to address this problem but the best is found in HCS for SB 89 which may soon be discussed in the House. There may be other chances as well, please support action to address this problem.

Thank you
Sincerely,
Your name, here
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What's At Stake:
The point is that unless something is done, and done soon, when a political subdivision adopts the 2009 codes all new residential construction in that subdivision will be required to have a fire sprinkler system. I have been told that the cost to install a system in a 1,800 square foot home are estimated to be from $16,000 to $23,000, assuming that sufficient water is available and water pressure is sufficient.

Campaign Expiration Date:
May 4, 2009

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[Steven C. Meyer]

Only works with good water pressure!! And, when they go off, ever seen the "black" water that comes out first?? The cure could be worse than the cause.

Years ago, living in the Verdugo Hills of So. Calif. , and having endured our yearly brush fires, installed "sprinklers" on my roof to wet it down (hot ashes burned down many a houses, even thou the fire didn't come that close). Fugured ther spriunklers (rain birds) would do a better job that usning a hose, (can't hit all sides of a house with a hose)

The next fire, fire dept. jumped on me saying I was "robbing" water (and presure) they needed to fight the fires. Go figure!!!

Couple years later, same thing, and they demanded I turn off the water!! I refused to do so. They turned my water off at the street, but the sprinklers keep going. The look on their face was priceless. They wanted to know where I was getting" the water? I pointed to the back yard, I was pumping it from the pool.

[Mark Nahrgang]

Steve,
In Missouri (at least where I live) the commercial codes require sprinkler systems. These are also required to be inspected (and I assume serviced) annually and at every real estate transaction. I would certainly hope that if the residential requirement passes, that inspections would be required to ensure they did operate properly when needed.