Who Would You Choose?

I was recently visiting a friend of mine in another part of the state and as we visited our conversation touched upon our City's recent commitment to affect positive changes through the enforcement of minimum basic standards and he shared a story with me that I would like to share with you.

My friend was the pastor of a very large and very old church. Five years before his arrival, it was discovered that the church needed a new roof and two licensed contractors submitted bids. The lowest bid was $5000 less and the contract was awarded to the lowest bidder. Since he claimed to be volunteering a portion of his time and wanted to save the church money, he did the majority of his work over a long weekend and "saved the church money" by not obtaining the required permit. Accordingly, there was no inspection of his work.

Five years later, my friend is now the pastor of the church when a heavy rain comes and a large portion of a ceiling caves in. It is found that the lowest bidding roofer achieved his low bid by omitting flashing and, since there was no permit and no inspection, this discrepancy was allowed to exist (and to allow the entry of moisture) for five years. During that time, much of the roof lathing and rafters had rotted and the repairs to the structure and ceiling (along with another new roof) cost the congregation an additional payment of $38,500.00.

Since the minimum basic standards for putting on a new roof includes the requirements for flashing at certain points, compliance with these standards would have prevented the additional loss of $38,500. How much money did the church "save" by not requiring and paying for a building permit?

JAMES H. BUSHART, CMI

Board Certified, Master Inspector Certification Board

Member, International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (iNACHI)

Member, American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI)

Member, Missouri Association of Building Officials and Inspectors (MABOI)

Member, The Alliance of Missouri Home Inspectors (TAMHI)