07-23-2016, 07:52 AM
The building codes haven't made any signifigant change, the local policies changed when the new director stepped in.
We set out for a steel frame house only to find there are no local engineers who will touch the designs anymore and this is a slab on grade single story. The engineering would need to be sent to an engineering firm in Honolulu. Those costs and the time to get the calculations would both be astronomical.
The majority of Puna along the rift and south of the rift is now subject to a new siezmic designation, placing the majority of the region under stiff engineering requirements NOT designated by code. For some odd reason, the local engineers won't touch steel projects in this area.
Obviously there aren't many engineers willing to put their insurance on the line under the circumstances, also, the days of only an archectural stamp are pretty much gone with the exception of the most basic and smallest of wood structures. Also, expect slabs to be well over the neccesary requirements now. The old crede of not building over whats neccesary has been tossed out the window in the majority of Puna.
Long and short, we were forced to go with wood frame as there was no reasonable choice otherwise. Not in this region, not anymore.
We set out for a steel frame house only to find there are no local engineers who will touch the designs anymore and this is a slab on grade single story. The engineering would need to be sent to an engineering firm in Honolulu. Those costs and the time to get the calculations would both be astronomical.
The majority of Puna along the rift and south of the rift is now subject to a new siezmic designation, placing the majority of the region under stiff engineering requirements NOT designated by code. For some odd reason, the local engineers won't touch steel projects in this area.
Obviously there aren't many engineers willing to put their insurance on the line under the circumstances, also, the days of only an archectural stamp are pretty much gone with the exception of the most basic and smallest of wood structures. Also, expect slabs to be well over the neccesary requirements now. The old crede of not building over whats neccesary has been tossed out the window in the majority of Puna.
Long and short, we were forced to go with wood frame as there was no reasonable choice otherwise. Not in this region, not anymore.