Inspection required for home changes

(by Rachel Scofield, Staff Writer - March 25, 2009)

If you replace your water heater, siding, windows or shingles, you must have the work inspected, according to the Ohio Board of Building Standards (OBBS).

Pickerington Council soon will decide how much to charge per inspection, but in the meantime, will continue providing the service for free.

Councilmen Brian Sauer and Michael Sabatino opposed the state requirement.

"When you start down this road, where do you stop?" Sauer said at a March 18 safety committee meeting. "If I put in a new faucet what's to stop the city from coming in my door to ensure I am responsible enough not to burn myself."

If owners sell their home, the new owner would like to know if the do-it-yourself project was done correctly, city manager Tim Hansley said.

"The problem is you may not live in your house forever," Hansley said.

Billy Phillips, executive secretary of OBBS, told the safety committee that if the city did not comply, it would lose its certification to inspect homes.

Pickerington building official Don Phillips suggested the city charge $85 to cover the city's costs for an inspection, including $48 to pay the inspector and clerical overhead.

Sabatino researched other cities such as Groveport and discovered the city charges an average of $25 per inspection.

Hansley said he suspected the other cities were subsidizing the cost for their residents. Sabatino suggested Pickerington continue providing the service for free.

"Do you want to subsidize the building department - yes or no?," councilman Brian Wisniewski asked. "We recoup the costs to provide water and sewer. We should recoup the cost of providing all services mandated by the state."

"Someone has an unscheduled expensive repair, do we really need to charge too?" Sabatino countered.

"Is it fair for me to have to help pay for cost of my neighbor having an inspection done?" Wisniewski said. "That's socialism."

"If you live here long enough (having a free inspection) would help you out, too," Sabatino said.

The safety committee will continue to discuss pricing at its next meeting on April 15.

^ back to top