The rundown: Tackling Building Codes and Permits

prefab sunrooms

The purpose of building codes

One obstacle homeowners face when planning for home additions is the area’s strict building codes. Building codes regulate the procedures and details of construction. The International Code Council (ICC) maintains these codes for states or provincial governments to use. When contractors, like LivingSpace dealers, build onto your home, it is important they do so while obeying the area’s building codes.

Building codes aren’t enforced to be annoying. In reality, they are there to protect your home. Building codes were adopted to combat large fires in densely populated urban areas. Since then, they have evolved to also address structure, electrical, ventilation, and construction materials. Now, these restrictions make sure the sunroom is well insulated and protective against natural disasters like tornadoes, earthquakes, or hurricanes. By obeying building codes, you can protect yourself and your home.

Selling your home

However, life happens, and very few homes fully meet building codes. Some have said that failing to meet building codes means you’re unable to resell your home when the time comes. This is a myth. If it were the case, very few houses would be on the market today. Home inspectors only prevent resell if the code violation poses an immediate threat to the home or those living in it. In an extreme example, a code inspector would not allow a home to be sold if mild winds could rip its sunroom to pieces. Also, low R-values would be cause for concern. These types of violations are determined during construction, which is why it is critical to choose a contractor that cares about building codes and the materials they use.

The LivingSpace difference

Luckily, the LivingSpace sunroom creates a room that meets building codes in each of our dealer’s areas. This is because LivingSpace uses the best materials available to create their sunrooms. This is best exemplified by our ability to connect the sunroom with the rest of the home. Typically, it is against building code to create a sunroom that doesn’t have a door separating it from the rest of the house, for a variety of reasons. For one reason, some sunrooms don’t have great insulation. Thus, removing the door subjects the home to higher energy bills. Likewise, if an integrated sunroom collapses in inclement weather, the entire house would be exposed to the backyard.

So, LivingSpace created a better way to build sunrooms. Because of this, LivingSpace dealers can integrate your sunroom with the rest of the house by removing the door connecting them. Even better, we are able to do this while following local building codes. This is a testament to the quality of materials LivingSpace uses to build sunrooms. You can speak with a local LivingSpace dealer to learn more about materials and your local codes.

Since each region has a different code to comply with, it is difficult for national companies to promise 100% code compliance. Because of this, we work with local contractors that understand the building codes best. We partner with those who have years of experience working in your area to ensure a sunroom that will be safe for you and your home.

Hear about the LivingSpace product from some of our Premier Partners.

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