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Insurance Repair Estimates

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A fire, water leak or other damaging event to a building can be very disruptive and traumatic, and the repairs can be expensive. In such times the help of knowledgeable consultants can give clarity, direction and assurance that important issues are being addressed.

The insurance provider’s adjuster will document the conditions and extent of the observable damage to the areas affected by the damaging event. Based upon insurance coverage, the adjuster will present a written estimate calculating the amount of reimbursement for the repairs. The estimate often shows the actual cash value (ACV), reimbursable cash value (RCV), deductibles, or all three.

Many providers use an estimating program known as Xactimate. Xactimate was developed for the insurance industry for the purpose of standardizing the estimation of costs for repairs. Xactimate unit prices are updated periodically to account for changes in labor and material costs.

2012 Washington State Energy Code

The 2012 Washington State Energy Code (WSEC) went into effect July 1, 2013. This new WSEC is now based on the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code with State amendments. For residential construction this means better air sealing of the exterior envelope, more efficient windows, tighter sealing of duct work, and more high-efficacy lighting fixtures, plus many other changes from the 2009 code.

As part of the building air tightness requirements, the code now allows the local building official to require an approved third party to inspect all components of air barrier system and verify compliance. Air leakage testing using the blower door method is also required after visual inspection of all sealing components. Test reports must be provided to the code official. Here again the local building official can require the testing be performed by an approved third party.

Duct work, air handlers and furnaces are all required to be sealed for air leakage. Similar to the 2009 WSEC, duct work is required to be leak tested by a qualified technician. Allowable duct leakage thresholds are stricter in the current code. Replacement of an existing furnace, air handling unit or air conditioning unit also triggers the duct testing requirement of the duct system connected to the new or replacement equipment.

Select Changes In The 2012 WA State Building Codes

The 2012 Washington State Building Code has been in effect since July 1, 2013. Our last Bulletin gave an overview of the revision process and some examples of what to expect in the new code. Following are select revisions updated from the 2009 IRC.

R507 Decks Modification: All deck provisions have been relocated to a new section. Provisions related to placement of bolts and lags for deck ledge attachment to the band joist have been revised to correlate to the NDS.

R612.3 Testing and labeling exceptions: 1. Decorative glazed openings; 2. Custom exterior windows and doors manufactured by a small business shall be exempt from all testing requirements in Section R612 provided they meet the applicable provisions of Chapter 24 of the International Building Code.

R703.8 Flashing: Approved corrosion-resistant flashing shall be installed at all of the following locations: Exterior window and door openings. Flashing at exterior window and door openings shall extend to the surface of the exterior wall finish or to the water resistive barrier for subsequent drainage. Pan flashing is now required for window and door openings when flashing details are not provided by the manufacturer.

Washington State Construction Codes Update

The 2012 International Code Council (ICC) Model Building codes for commercial and residential construction projects have been reviewed, revised and adopted by the State Building Code Council in Washington. These Codes are revised every three years following the ICC 3-year revision cycle. The select codes currently in use in most Washington jurisdictions are the 2009 International Building Code (IBC) and the International Residential Code (IRC).

Washington’s State Building Code Council (SBCC), along with its Technical Advisory Group, reviews the ICC model codes, holds public hearings, and makes the final determination on acceptance. Public hearings for amending the 2009 Codes to the 2012 version have already occurred and the SBCC has completed its adoption process. The 2012 Codes will be effective July 1, 2013.

Following is a list of some of the new revisions found in the 2012 WA State Building Code.

R302, Fire resistant construction requires fire protection at five-foot separation from lot lines.

Job Safety – New Directives

Two recent safety directives specific to residential construction projects in Washington State affect contractors and homeowners and are critical to safety on jobsites.

OSHA

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration states that fatalities from falls are the number one cause of workplace death in construction. Over 15 years ago OSHA determined that workers who are six feet or more above lower levels are at risk for serious injury or death if they should fall. They mandated that to protect these workers employers must provide fall protection and appropriate equipment for the job, including ladders, scaffolds and safety gear. In 1998 OSHA issued standard STD 03-00-001, its Interim Fall Protection Compliance Guidelines for Residential Construction, which permitted employers engaged in certain residential construction projects to use specified alternative methods for fall protection, such as slide guards or safety monitor systems rather than conventional fall protection such as guardrails, safety nets or personal fall arrest systems. Now this standard for fall protection is under review, with a deadline of March 15, 2013 to revise it. When adopted, the new standard (STD 03-11-002) will likely establish that workers engaged in residential construction six feet or more above lower levels must be protected by conventional fall protection with guardrails, safety nets, personal fall arrest systems or similar methods found within the guidelines. Some alternative methods will be allowed if demonstrated and approved.

To follow this pending fall safety revision and subsequent training information go to http://www.osha.gov. Washington State’s regulations can be found on Washington’s Labor and Industries website at http://www.lni.wa.gov/safety/topics/atoz/topic.asp?KWID=108.

DOSH

The Division of Occupational Safety and Health in the State of Washington (DOSH) has revised the Washington Regional Directive (WRD) 1.19, titled Homeowners as General Contractors. This Directive dated July 3, 2012 affects homeowners who “are acting as the general contractor…in building their own homes”.

Construction Inspections

Commercial contractors have long understood the need and requirement to accept responsibility for quality control of the construction work, both their own work as well as their subcontractors’ work. This entails proper staffing and expertise to perform the necessary ongoing inspection of the work. Municipal inspectors, whether they are city, county or state, also play an important role in the inspection process, however their inspections are mandated by the building permit and are very limited in scope and nature. It is not the role of the municipal inspector to oversee compliance with the contract terms, project plans or specifications.

There are contractors, and more commonly residential contractors, that rely completely on the municipal inspector for their project quality control. Their adage is: as long as the project passes inspection it’s acceptable and meets the necessary standards. This is a fallacy and completely disregards the contractor’s responsibility. The municipal inspector may be on the site only a half dozen or more times over the course of the construction project to perform code mandated inspections.

Table Saw Initiative

After years of allowing the power tool industry to police itself through voluntary standards, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is calling on toolmakers to strengthen safety standards. These actions come as table saw manufacturers face an increasing number of product safety lawsuits throughout the country. One of those lawsuits resulted in a jury awarding $1.5 million to a man who had sawed his fingers on a Ryobi brand table saw. In that lawsuit the plaintiffs charged that the manufacturer had known about a safety technology called SawStop, but had not integrated it (or something similar) to its products. No less than 50 similar lawsuits are pending nationwide, putting manufacturers on the defensive. Every day 10 people lose fingers in table saw amputations and the chairman of the CPSC would like to know why more isn’t being done to prevent such accidents.

Most table saw operators who injured themselves removed the blade guard for operational convenience, according to a CPSC study conducted from 2007 to 2008 that looked at 66,900 “blade contact injuries.” For that reason, CPSC is considering requiring that table saws come with a safety brake like the one offered on SawStop contractor and cabinet table saws, according to NPR. Within three-thousands of a second of contacting human skin, the brake fires and the blade drops down into the table, preventing injury.