Trying to get a building permit for a School Portable

[Janderso]

Last November I put a deposit down on a used double wide 24X40' school portable. Vintage 2008.
It has the state DSA, Department of Structural Architects plate on the unit. These buildings are in every school in the state.
We've been trying to satisfy the county throughout the application process.
We have approval on two of the three areas, planning and fire.
Structural deals with disabled access.
Our architect was out yesterday to deliver the bad news.
We need to remove the urinal in the main building, tear up the bathroom floor in order to move the toilet in the center of the room.
The bathroom doors need to be moved and reframed and the entry door needs to be two inches wider.
We will have six months before the first inspection and two years to complete the upgrades.
Hello, we are trying to put in a school portable for a service write up area.
A ramp and platform will need to be built at a cost of $9,000 to state standards.
I started this project last November because I wanted it completed before I retire. That's not happening.
I'm of the opinion these standards are state, not federal.
It will help our disabled customers by offering better access but so far they have never complained??

 

[Dhal22]

As a plumbing contractor my public/ commercial installations must conform to the American Disabilities Act. You are looking at federal requirements not state in my opinion.

 

[Dhal22]

Toilet goes 18" from side wall, tank flush handle not on side wall side. ADA height toilet. Grab bar behind and on side wall.

 

[Nutfarmer]

It's very frustrating trying to run a business in California. I fully understand having public buildings accessible to everyone . The regulation and red tape keep many businesses from ever onpening. Not to mention the cost of all of it. There are a couple of disabled people that make a living by suing business over ADA. We lost Barkers General Store a few years back because of one of them. Now if you want a half gallon of milk it's a half hours drive. Wish we could just all work together.

 

[aliva]

Not sure what the rules are in CA, but put some wheels underneath it's then classified as a mobile trailer. It might not have to conform to all the red tape. A friend of mine did this to his cottage and he was exempt from property taxes. It was considered temporary

 

[pdentrem]

Seems like the toilet is the major issue.

 

[matthewsx]

This is not limited to California, when I rehabbed the building we bought in Michigan for my old shop we needed to install a high/low drinking fountain, build a proper handicapped restroom, and demolish an existing concrete ramp to be replaced with one that had a slightly shallower pitch angle.

Yes, definitely a pain....

But as I discovered in 2007 when I had a tumor removed from my tibia getting around can be very difficult for the disabled. IMHO, your architect should have informed you of the requirements at the outset. There will be no getting around this but I wouldn't worry about your replacement getting it done.

As we get older this kind of stuff is likely to become more of an issue, taking care of my 90-year-old mom I'm acutely aware of how ADA rules make life easier for millions of people.

John

 

[rabler]

While I support the gist of ADA, I’m really glad I live in an area where permits and inspections are not required for anything but a septic tank for residential construction. New shop, no permits, no inspection other than the tax assessor. Can’t avoid taxes

 

[matthewsx]

AFAIK ADA compliance is only needed for commercial construction.

My house however was built for someone in a wheelchair and I can tell you that the 36" doors make moving furniture a breeze

John

 

[Superburban]

Its not so much the requirements I have an issue with, but how they are handled. Why can't they make it easy? A few years ago, I wanted to get a shipping container for storage. First you need an approved site plan. So I make up a drawing of the property with the proposed location, and pay my $50, or so. After a few weeks, I got that approved After indicating I would paint it a tan color. Then I needed a building permit.Its a friggen box people, So after I cool down, I locate drawings on the internet of a standard shipping container. And submit them with a check for $50 plus change. They get rejected, because I do not have footers, or indicate the rated snow load, and several other things. I gave up, after being out over $100.

I can build all the under 120 sq ft sheds I want without the BS, so thats my plan, I will build a dozen or so sheds. But only after I finish this solid fence, so my neighbors cannot see my stuff sitting outside, which is outside because I was foolish enough to buy a place that did not have enough space for my collection, because I planned from the beginning to get a container like the neighbors have next door.