[VA] Dispute between neighbors in Del Ray

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did you read it? It was the other neighbors who went against him.

Understand what you're saying and that you may believe what you're reading but the folks with the kitchen were just sneakier because in the way they did it and with the side talk. Unfortunately, we've had a front row seat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did you read it? It was the other neighbors who went against him.

Understand what you're saying and that you may believe what you're reading but the folks with the kitchen were just sneakier because in the way they did it and with the side talk. Unfortunately, we've had a front row seat.

None of it excuses his behavior.

Do the neighbors all think he's crazy?

[Anonymous]

I care more about the idiots who allowed him to change the building code I really hope it doesn't apply to other lots too. You can't even get a fireman with equipment through that narrow of an opening between two structures, so you are just courting disaster. Where was the common sense of the zoning board? How does this not violate the fire code?

[Anonymous]

Hopefully it doesn't take some kind of tragedy to get the zoning board in trouble. Would they be liable if anyone gets hurt in a fire that crossed property lines or if firefighters couldn't get in there.

Maybe they need to bring in someone from the fire dept to take a look.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did you read it? It was the other neighbors who went against him.

Understand what you're saying and that you may believe what you're reading but the folks with the kitchen were just sneakier because in the way they did it and with the side talk. Unfortunately, we've had a front row seat.

None of it excuses his behavior.

Do the neighbors all think he's crazy?

So, is the garage finished?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did you read it? It was the other neighbors who went against him.

Understand what you're saying and that you may believe what you're reading but the folks with the kitchen were just sneakier because in the way they did it and with the side talk. Unfortunately, we've had a front row seat.

+1

I could tell something was amiss. People don't just "build a wall" for no reason. Maybe the builder didn't want to engage the crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did you read it? It was the other neighbors who went against him.

Understand what you're saying and that you may believe what you're reading but the folks with the kitchen were just sneakier because in the way they did it and with the side talk. Unfortunately, we've had a front row seat.

None of it excuses his behavior.

Do the neighbors all think he's crazy?

Most importantly: Do they know all sides of the story? Or just the gossips' side?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hopefully it doesn't take some kind of tragedy to get the zoning board in trouble. Would they be liable if anyone gets hurt in a fire that crossed property lines or if firefighters couldn't get in there.

Maybe they need to bring in someone from the fire dept to take a look.

Alarmists don't always win, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I care more about the idiots who allowed him to change the building code I really hope it doesn't apply to other lots too. You can't even get a fireman with equipment through that narrow of an opening between two structures, so you are just courting disaster. Where was the common sense of the zoning board? How does this not violate the fire code?

That si awfully dramatic. A firetruck could go in the front or back. Is the garage three city blocks long/deep, such that it would be an issue? Probably not. I am sure this was reviewed. Zoning isn't that stupid. Have you seen some of the add-ons they have allowed? Shouldn't they be more concerned about those?

[Anonymous]

Did the neighbor buy curtains yet?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I care more about the idiots who allowed him to change the building code I really hope it doesn't apply to other lots too. You can't even get a fireman with equipment through that narrow of an opening between two structures, so you are just courting disaster. Where was the common sense of the zoning board? How does this not violate the fire code?

That si awfully dramatic. A firetruck could go in the front or back. Is the garage three city blocks long/deep, such that it would be an issue? Probably not. I am sure this was reviewed. Zoning isn't that stupid. Have you seen some of the add-ons they have allowed? Shouldn't they be more concerned about those?

As any architect knows party walls have much more stringent fire rating requirements than typical exterior walls precisely because fire crossing between dwellings is a huge risk. Exterior walls would not have similar rating requirements. The minimal distance here means you effectively have the fire risk of a party wall. Zoning seems to have been exactly that stupid in this case. I would get a fire code inspection from an Nfpa inspector asap. Usually zoning has some cover their ass language that says we approve this on the condition it does not violate the Nfpa code which we incorporate. I can't imagine those walls have appropriate Nfpa ratings for their distance, especially since one is a garage which could potentially store hazardous materials/fumes adjacent to a dwelling unit. No this is not dramatic at all as codes exist for a reason usually as the result of loss of life. This architect has seriously put his professional liability on the line over this vendetta, which is pretty shocking no matter what came beforehand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I care more about the idiots who allowed him to change the building code I really hope it doesn't apply to other lots too. You can't even get a fireman with equipment through that narrow of an opening between two structures, so you are just courting disaster. Where was the common sense of the zoning board? How does this not violate the fire code?

That si awfully dramatic. A firetruck could go in the front or back. Is the garage three city blocks long/deep, such that it would be an issue? Probably not. I am sure this was reviewed. Zoning isn't that stupid. Have you seen some of the add-ons they have allowed? Shouldn't they be more concerned about those?

As any architect knows party walls have much more stringent fire rating requirements than typical exterior walls precisely because fire crossing between dwellings is a huge risk. Exterior walls would not have similar rating requirements. The minimal distance here means you effectively have the fire risk of a party wall. Zoning seems to have been exactly that stupid in this case. I would get a fire code inspection from an Nfpa inspector asap. Usually zoning has some cover their ass language that says we approve this on the condition it does not violate the Nfpa code which we incorporate. I can't imagine those walls have appropriate Nfpa ratings for their distance, especially since one is a garage which could potentially store hazardous materials/fumes adjacent to a dwelling unit. No this is not dramatic at all as codes exist for a reason usually as the result of loss of life. This architect has seriously put his professional liability on the line over this vendetta, which is pretty shocking no matter what came beforehand.

Zoning officers tend to enforce code when there's not a lot of push back. They don't want to deal with this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I care more about the idiots who allowed him to change the building code I really hope it doesn't apply to other lots too. You can't even get a fireman with equipment through that narrow of an opening between two structures, so you are just courting disaster. Where was the common sense of the zoning board? How does this not violate the fire code?

That si awfully dramatic. A firetruck could go in the front or back. Is the garage three city blocks long/deep, such that it would be an issue? Probably not. I am sure this was reviewed. Zoning isn't that stupid. Have you seen some of the add-ons they have allowed? Shouldn't they be more concerned about those?

As any architect knows party walls have much more stringent fire rating requirements than typical exterior walls precisely because fire crossing between dwellings is a huge risk. Exterior walls would not have similar rating requirements. The minimal distance here means you effectively have the fire risk of a party wall. Zoning seems to have been exactly that stupid in this case. I would get a fire code inspection from an Nfpa inspector asap. Usually zoning has some cover their ass language that says we approve this on the condition it does not violate the Nfpa code which we incorporate. I can't imagine those walls have appropriate Nfpa ratings for their distance, especially since one is a garage which could potentially store hazardous materials/fumes adjacent to a dwelling unit. No this is not dramatic at all as codes exist for a reason usually as the result of loss of life. This architect has seriously put his professional liability on the line over this vendetta, which is pretty shocking no matter what came beforehand.

Again, very dramatic - which lessens your argument.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I care more about the idiots who allowed him to change the building code I really hope it doesn't apply to other lots too. You can't even get a fireman with equipment through that narrow of an opening between two structures, so you are just courting disaster. Where was the common sense of the zoning board? How does this not violate the fire code?

That si awfully dramatic. A firetruck could go in the front or back. Is the garage three city blocks long/deep, such that it would be an issue? Probably not. I am sure this was reviewed. Zoning isn't that stupid. Have you seen some of the add-ons they have allowed? Shouldn't they be more concerned about those?

As any architect knows party walls have much more stringent fire rating requirements than typical exterior walls precisely because fire crossing between dwellings is a huge risk. Exterior walls would not have similar rating requirements. The minimal distance here means you effectively have the fire risk of a party wall. Zoning seems to have been exactly that stupid in this case. I would get a fire code inspection from an Nfpa inspector asap. Usually zoning has some cover their ass language that says we approve this on the condition it does not violate the Nfpa code which we incorporate. I can't imagine those walls have appropriate Nfpa ratings for their distance, especially since one is a garage which could potentially store hazardous materials/fumes adjacent to a dwelling unit. No this is not dramatic at all as codes exist for a reason usually as the result of loss of life. This architect has seriously put his professional liability on the line over this vendetta, which is pretty shocking no matter what came beforehand.

Great points.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I care more about the idiots who allowed him to change the building code I really hope it doesn't apply to other lots too. You can't even get a fireman with equipment through that narrow of an opening between two structures, so you are just courting disaster. Where was the common sense of the zoning board? How does this not violate the fire code?

That si awfully dramatic. A firetruck could go in the front or back. Is the garage three city blocks long/deep, such that it would be an issue? Probably not. I am sure this was reviewed. Zoning isn't that stupid. Have you seen some of the add-ons they have allowed? Shouldn't they be more concerned about those?

As any architect knows party walls have much more stringent fire rating requirements than typical exterior walls precisely because fire crossing between dwellings is a huge risk. Exterior walls would not have similar rating requirements. The minimal distance here means you effectively have the fire risk of a party wall. Zoning seems to have been exactly that stupid in this case. I would get a fire code inspection from an Nfpa inspector asap. Usually zoning has some cover their ass language that says we approve this on the condition it does not violate the Nfpa code which we incorporate. I can't imagine those walls have appropriate Nfpa ratings for their distance, especially since one is a garage which could potentially store hazardous materials/fumes adjacent to a dwelling unit. No this is not dramatic at all as codes exist for a reason usually as the result of loss of life. This architect has seriously put his professional liability on the line over this vendetta, which is pretty shocking no matter what came beforehand.

Again, very dramatic - which lessens your argument.

+1