Do building codes apply when fixing a flooded apartment?
4/4/2016 at 10:14:07 AM
My apartment building in Toronto recently had a flood that damaged one of our units... the original construction was plaster and lathe.
The contractor that was brought in to repair the apartment ripped out plaster, but the rebuilding of the walls seems to be pretty shoddy in my opinion.
1) They're rebuilding the walls with a mix of 2x4 and 1x2s laid flat (not arranged as proper studs). some are attached to the existing wire, some aren't...
2) The 'studs' are spaced between 16" and 33" on center, and are often broken. (ie one piece comes 2 ft up from the floor, is broken, and then another is arranged beside it continuing upwards).
3) Many of the 'studs' don't meet the ceiling.
4) They are moving some of the electrical outlets and switch boxes to the arbitrary spacing provided by the 'studs'. This is leaving some loops of wire hooped inside the empty space in the wall.
You can see photos of the work in progress at the following link..
https://goo.gl/photos/94HBJZBWWF99h9a78
Any idea if the interior walls and ceiling need to be built to any standards? I'm concerned for the safety of the residents, and not sure if the building will do anything to address this.
Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Steve
4/4/2016 at 11:24:44 AM
Steve,
There are building codes that need to be addressed as well as there will need to be an electrical inspection due to the fact you (contractor) moved services.
Jeff
4/4/2016 at 12:50:11 PM
Working with old lathe and brick walls is tough. For the most part, if it is not load bearing they will just be focused on providing proper backing on all edges for proper drywall installation and more importantly, making sure the walls are all square.
You will need an electrical inspection to validate the work and the way the wires are set up. If shallow walls they will probably be using shallow boxes for proper finishing.
Generally, leaving loops of wire is not common practice for experienced electricians unless there is a planned future purpose for it.
If any exterior walls, you should consider adding insulation and vapour barriers where applicable.
4/4/2016 at 1:08:56 PM
Thanks for your input Stephen -- it seems the answer is not so straight forward considering the walls are not load bearing. My bigger concern would be failure of the wall's 'supporting' structure over time -- as evidenced by some of the pictures, the structure doesn't look particularily robust.
Search the TrustedPros directory and discover the best contractors in your area.
Find your home service pro
