I’m looking for a source for 1997 UBC on the web. I’m just starting to draw up a building permit application, and I would like to find a way to quickly search on, say foundations for porches, and find out the requirements.
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I have never found it. And I have tried.
Guess they just want to sell them books.
Municipalities that have attempted posting codes online have found themselves subject of lawsuits. I think it's rotten. I'm told that someplace in FL adopted the residential code unchanged and made it available, and survived legal challenges. But in looking, I also didn't find it anywhere. But search and you'll find a thousand places willing to sell you copies. Kind of stinks. Follow the rules, or else. But pay to find out the rules you don't already know.
"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Mark Twain
Most standards organizations depend of sales of their code and standards books for revenue and therefore don't publish the standards on line.
I saw an Amazon link that said they have the 1997 UBC for $90. That's probably about the best you're going to do. Think of it as a tool for preventing failed inspections. Cheap at twice the price. Be sure to also get a copy of any local modifications.
You can download a copy of the 2000 IRC from here.
http://support.broderbund.com/faq_list.asp?id=1294820282
It is self-exmpanding and the produces a series of PDF files.
Edited 5/25/2004 7:24 pm ET by Bill Hartmann
Many Thanks!
That worked fine.
Its copyrighted. You have to buy it or get an online subscription. MadCad sells an online subscription to all the codes. Around a thousand bucks a year. I think if they require compliance with the code, it should not be copyrighted. Just like laws. Thats part of the controversy over what code to use as the basis for local or state codes.