How to Contain Construction Costs on
OSHPD-Permitted Renovation Projects

When looking at a renovation project in a building with areas of obvious code violations, you may be tempted to bring the entire space up to current code. But if your budget is limited, you can make your project more financially manageable by demonstrating that areas outside the immediate project met code when they were first built. This is a smart strategy that saves money.
 
Areas of construction must comply with current code, but adjacent areas do not if they met code when built. OSHPD clearly explains this in CAN 2-102.6 pages, 34-35.
 
Knowing the exact edition/year of code in effect when your renovation project was originally permitted allows you to demonstrate that adjacent areas do not require alteration.
 
Unfortunately, determining the exact edition of the building code in force when your project was permitted may not be easy for two reasons:

• Many healthcare facilities were built using phased building permits sometimes called “increments.” Typically, the first phase (increment) or sometimes feasibility drawings submitted to OSHPD for review establishes the building code edition to be used for the entire project. This can be confusing, because the architecture / building phase / increment drawings may be dated and submitted to OSHPD five or six years later—and the date on the drawing will not represent the building code edition in effect six years before.  
• Tracking down the correct information can be daunting if original drawings were not carefully preserved and stored in an accessible location. Clues of first date submittal can be found at OSHPD Facility Detail, but actual drawings are needed to confirm accuracy. 

Building codes are amended every 18 months. Fortunately, building owners are not required to rebuild every 18 months to comply with code revisions, with some accessibility, health, and safety exceptions. We’ll discuss these exceptions in a future  News You Can Use post.