Article:

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0806/349179.html

"or raise the ground around the foundations."

Well that's a heck of a solution. Just pile a few feet of soil all around your first floor and you're up to code- it's almost like having two basements!

I didn't get into the article that deeply, but I wonder where they measure from if the ground is at an incline. For example, on my house the front is at "ground" level but in the back the basement is halfway underground.

No need to measure....if the monstrosity you're building in a neighborhood of '50s ramblers blocks out all the sunlight and kills the guy's lawn next door.....the sumbitch is too tall!

come on folks Wrote:
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> No need to measure....if the monstrosity you're
> building in a neighborhood of '50s ramblers blocks
> out all the sunlight and kills the guy's lawn next
> door.....the sumbitch is too tall!


Can't say that the practical approach is bad in this instance.


TheMeeper Wrote:
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> "or raise the ground around the foundations."
>
> Well that's a heck of a solution. Just pile a few
> feet of soil all around your first floor and
> you're up to code- it's almost like having two
> basements!


That would still kill the lawn next door and the neighbor would still complain that the house is too tall. The county will change the law again and people who build up the soil around their homes will have wasted their money. Said people will sue the county and they county will go bankrupt after shelling out millions per house. Chaos ensues... Which would have been prevented had the SOB not complained that his neighbor's house was 4 feet too tall.


I cannot say I would not like to have 2 basements. One could be a bomb shelter/hideout/secret comms center and the other would have the deck door opening to a tunnel to the surface. Not to mention your gas appliances in kitchen and subbasement would be a lot safer if a bomb fell and damaged your house, since they'ed have a few feet of dirt surrounding them.

What's the rationale behind the 35-foot height limit anyway?

I recall reading that when a house is on an incline, the height is measured in the middle of the incline.

That was in a building code book, by the way.

One could be a BONG shelter....
.... would be a lot safer if DA BOMB fell and damaged your house

All kidding aside, I think the "raise-the-ground" solution is ridiculous, if anyone has a picture of any of these houses, please post them

I didn't write that.

Just another example of how asshole developers think they own the local government. They knew damn well what the code said and tried to get by. Unfortunately the home owners will be the ones who get screwed.

Most of the houses this high have attics that are 6-10 Feet high inside. I've been in some attics that could seriously be turned into another level. Just a waste of space if you ask me.

I've been in a multimillon dollar house that had a finished attic that was used as two extra rooms.

this is bs, house being built behind us is atleast 70ft high

Mesure it and come back and say that. 2 story house is 20 ft plus roof. Basement is not included.70 feet is like 1.5x distance of west ox rd/rt 29/7100 interchange .

KeepOnTruckin Wrote:
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> Mesure it and come back and say that. 2 story
> house is 20 ft plus roof. Basement is not
> included.70 feet is like 1.5x distance of west ox
> rd/rt 29/7100 interchange .


MrDoctor, you had better listen up....... after all KOTruckin llives in Centreville, so you know he is a dumb ass hick...


or was that douchbag..... oh who the hell cares!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/2006 08:28PM by SRE.

Measure the ground at the foundation level, up to the highest point.

i know its more than 40



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/2006 09:44PM by MrDoctor.

I read today that all the too tall houses that are already occupied are good to go. However, if your too tall McMansion is still under construction...you're f'ed. It's gonna be a funny lookin house after they lop off the excess height.

Does any one have pictures of what are most likely houses in fairfax

AFAIK there are few inpections conducted by the county inspectors for every new construction - foundation, framing, etc., not to mention initial permit gathering process that involves blueprints. Are they saying that during all those processes noone has questioned the height compliance with the codes? No wonder it wasn't a problem for a developer to get a permit to chop down the whole forrest behind my backyard. Someone should audit tax returns of some county people...

SRE Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> KeepOnTruckin Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Mesure it and come back and say that. 2 story
> > house is 20 ft plus roof. Basement is not
> > included.70 feet is like 1.5x distance of west
> ox
> > rd/rt 29/7100 interchange .
>
>
> MrDoctor, you had better listen up....... after
> all KOTruckin llives in Centreville, so you know
> he is a dumb ass hick...
>
>
> or was that douchbag..... oh who the hell cares!



Thanks. BTW you spelled douchbag wrong..its douchebag. Its funny b/c I have to correct your attempted insult to me.

Where do you get the idea that Cville is hicktown?


Back to the point of this thread, I've got a solution. Don't say its a residential dwelling...say its an office. The family is all interns, so they don't get paid. The beds are for when you 'work late'.


But then they probably won't give you a permit to build an office in a residental area...damn zoning.

How could it be approved if they see the blueprints which say its 70 feet tall?

I love reading the quotes from idiots that first have no idea how to measure a home and second I love the part about auditing the county inspectors. First of all county insoectors are just like you and me at work they make mistakes. For those of you that a crying about the woods that are being torn out for huge homes,I don't see you crying when you ask for 800,000 when you sell your home. Maybe you should try building a home without a contractor and see how hard the county inspectors really are. You can't bribe them it's been tried.

The ones in Spoysylvania aren't hard at all. I haven't dealt with the Fairfax ones and likely never will.

Spotsylvania. Damned laptop keyboard.

reality Wrote:
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> I love reading the quotes from idiots that first
> have no idea how to measure a home and second I
> love the part about auditing the county
> inspectors. First of all county insoectors are
> just like you and me at work they make mistakes.
> For those of you that a crying about the woods
> that are being torn out for huge homes,I don't see
> you crying when you ask for 800,000 when you sell
> your home. Maybe you should try building a home
> without a contractor and see how hard the county
> inspectors really are. You can't bribe them it's
> been tried.


Since you love reading, then maybe you should read the initial article: "Supervisor Joan M. DuBois, for instance, estimates hundreds of homes in her Dranesville district are too tall, including as many as 40 percent of those in the Reserve, a gated community in McLean."

Anybody can be bribed. It's just a matter of amount.

There is no problem that cannot be solved with a judicious application of money.

Bribery can be done on the low level such as the inspector coming to inspect a home. Most Home builders use engineered panels and trusses from factories so little major items will done as far safety to the home. As far as hieght restrictions and the size that is the stupidity of the local goverment not reading the plot plans correctly. Pouring your concrete is not an exact science and certian circumstances can cause a 1 to 2 foot difference. Rasing the grade around a home is a perfectly acceptable solution. Chopping a roof off a home is a mistake of the local goverment and should be put in the live and learn folder. If you went thru a toll both and you handed the attendent a 5 dollar bill and the toll was 2 dollars and he gave you back 4 dollars are you going to question this........Well people niether are the builders..........

OK I went and saw this house Mr Doctor was talking about, and even he says now that it doesn't seem so tall.

But it is pretty tall for a house, and the yard grades down far enough where he may not be that far off about it being 40 ft...

I might add that house does not look like it has passed the process so it is possible they will be victimized like the people in the article..

They obviously approved the plans for these houses, it seems possible though that was was approved and what was built may not be the same thing.

Either way, though, I bet they have some CYA rule where you, the builder, are liable for any oversight on their part. (After all, you're supposed to know the codes).

Fairfax MF-er Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Just another example of how asshole developers
> think they own the local government. They knew
> damn well what the code said and tried to get by.
> Unfortunately the home owners will be the ones who
> get screwed.


You're retarded. Fairfax County acutally issued building permits for those plans. I am a power tool/construction chemical salesman and my product is called for in the building codes for attaching a ledger board on to a house for a deck. The code is not only very strict, but on a case by case basis stuff gets passed that isn't code depending on the individual inspector. It's VERY hard for me to do my job because every person/contractor says something different. The actual code calls for special order product that is not readily available through many supply houses.

The problem is that there are so many different departments, one for code enforcement, one for plan approval/permit issue, one for hands on inspection, one for writing the actual code, one for determining if code had been violated, ETC.

It's real hard to get through to an actual human being as well.

Inspectors themselves understand the code is very very strict, and in some cases do not know every part of it or update, so quite frequently they pass stuff that acutally is built to old code (fairfax county code has gotten stricter and stricter over the years), or pass things as long as they are structurally/mechanically sound (that's their actual job pretty much, make sure things are safe). This only goes for some, some others are code nazi's.

Mike5000 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The problem is that there are so many different
> departments, one for code enforcement, one for
> plan approval/permit issue, one for hands on
> inspection, one for writing the actual code, one
> for determining if code had been violated, ETC.

i agree that bureaucrats suck and that they make the world harder to live in.


> It's real hard to get through to an actual human
> being as well.

since when were bureaucrats human beings?


"the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."

WHats wrong with a tall house?