Grandfathering in on Electrical Building Codes in Pinellas County (power lines, house)

[RunningNorm]

Hello! Thanks in advance for any help, insight anyone can provide here. Thanks!

We had a tree from our backyard fall over on the back of the roof of our house. It caused some damage to the flat part of our roof and to the metal pipe on the roof where the electrical comes into the house. We had the flat roof replaced last week. But, we still need to address the pipe and electrical. The power cord is not touching our house, but the pipe is bent and there is a lot less house clearance for the line then before the pipe was bent.

The electrician that came out to check it out today said that due to new codes, the power would have to be run underground and our electrical box would have to be moved. Our house was built in the 50's as were most of the homes on our block. The other homes all have the power coming in just like our's is, with suspended power lines.

My question is if the pipe is just bent and just needs to be straightened, is there a way to be grandfathered in on the codes as this is not a new construction and the rest of the homes in our block are the same as our's? We are not rich people, by any means, and we do not have the funds for this new project.

Help! Thanks!

[vaughanwilliams]

I think your electrician is full of it. I know some electrical inspectors so I'll ask them and let you know. What county are you in?

[bentlebee]

Call the county but anytime an electrician has to do something it may cause a permit to be pulled and we see daily how every County has different rules and how when 1 items is needed it all of a sudden it can only be done under new code rules.

We just dealt with a new AC and the AC company after they were done we had the county inspect it and it failed due to now the place need a new breaker which is not a big thing but the AC company didn't know if they could replace it or not and the inspector was on vacation and the county didn't even want to answer that question so we had to wait two weeks until the county inspector came back from vacation and as expected an electrician needs to come out and change the breaker and than the AC company has to come back and attach one item but meanwhile the AC was running so that wasn't an issue.

The AC company and electrician both stated that lately so many code requirements have changed that they don't always know what is new and what can be done.

Many home owners have to change the entire electrical box if a small item is needed since the electrician can't touch it unless it is completely changed or brand new different wire is put in and this current government came at the worst time of the economy with the new AC guidelines which cost owners huge amounts of money since parts for older AC units are so expensive that often the better choice is replacement but many owners are strapped for money and the County/government doesn't care.

Some people hire a handyman to fix it which is a huge liability since your home owners ins. Will not pay if something happens but owners hire them to avoid to pay the money they don't have and having to finance the item.

Even if the entire block has the same thing they all have to change when something happens and some have gotten letters from the county that their house is in need to be brought up to new codes.

Windows are the other item for people living west of us 19 that all have to be installed and replaced by hurricane 3 windows if a pane of glass will break so many times handyman will do it since a window company has to go by the code and handyman have to go by that too but often don't care and risk getting caught.

[asimegusta]

Windows are the other item for people living west of us 19 that all have to be installed and replaced by hurricane 3 windows if a pane of glass will break

That explains in part why the landlord here "couldn't" replace a broken pane in this circa 1950's home. He did say they would need to pull a permit, idea I found preposterous at the time, for replacing a jalousy. That permit application would of course lead to the obligation to purchase a costly Hurricane pane, in place of a standard pane similar to that now in place.

[bentlebee]

Originally Posted by asimegusta

That explains in part why the landlord here "couldn't" replace a broken pane in this circa 1950's home. He did say they would need to pull a permit, idea I found preposterous at the time, for replacing a jalousy. That permit application would of course lead to the obligation to purchase a costly Hurricane pane, in place of a standard pane similar to that now in place.

We tell owners all the time we can only use licensed and insured contractors for windows or hey will need to handle that themselves and most of them went the " hire a handyman themselves" route.

We don't want to loose our license and neither want any decent place and in our County the cops have many sting operations to catch handyman who will do work like that.

Even fixing a toilet is work a plumber needs to do but an owner can choose how to handle it themselves.

[franniejacks]

Pinellas County contains various cities within it. Depending on where you live, there may be a local permit process. You can check here: Pinellas County Florida - Municipalities

[bentlebee]

Originally Posted by franniejacks

Pinellas County contains various cities within it. Depending on where you live, there may be a local permit process. You can check here: Pinellas County Florida - Municipalities

It is similar in Hillsborough County.