Words matter...need internet lawyer keyboard warrior interpretation.

[dmspilot]

NOT (A and B and C and D) = A or B or C or D. Assuming I did not mess that up pre-caffeine soak.


As a non-lawyer, I enjoy reading the legal cases around this. Entertaining.

EDIT. Nope. Needed the caffeine.
NOT (A and B and C and D) = NOT A or NOT B or NOT C or NOT D

Nope. There is only one type of deck. The structure is simply "NOT A" where A is a group with the listed characteristics. Otherwise they either would be separate items, e.g.

(A) Building Permits. A building permit shall not be required for the following:

(5) decks at one- and two-family dwelling units not exceeding 200 square feet in area,
(6) decks that are not more than 30 inches above grade at any point,
(7) decks that are not attached to a dwelling, and
(8) decks that do not serve any egress door.​

Or written to make it clear they are talking about different types of decks, not the same one type:

(A) Building Permits. A building permit shall not be required for the followin

(5) Decks at one- and two-family dwelling units not exceeding 200 square feet in area, decks that are not more than 30 inches above grade at any point, decks that are not attached to a dwelling, and decks that do not serve any egress door.
​

 

[kmacht]

I understand there is liability they are attempting to mitigate. In this proposed scenario, if you build a deck that attaches to a house that is 200 sqft vs 200sq ft of free standing deck that abuts the house, why does the one that attaches to the house present a problem that requires a building permit? I mean you could literally build two identical decks, but just toss some lag bolts into the house foundation and only the one with lag bolts is subject to needing a permit. Same goes for a free-standing deck that abuts the house (but isn't "attached") needing a permit simply because an exterior door from the home goes out onto it. Some things are written in blood, others are trying to get blood from a turnip.

The house attachment rule is there for two reasons. The first is that most decks attached to a house do not have any other supports on that side. How you attach it to the house is critical as it takes the full weight of the deck plus what’s on it. Look at photos of deck collapses and you will see a lot of failures at the ledger board where someone just used screws or nails to attach it.

The second reason is usually if you live in a frost prone area. When the ground freezes it heaves and moves but the house does not. A freestanding deck you can build right off the ground as the whole deck will move with the earth as the frost makes it heave. With an attached deck the house side wouldn’t move while the other side of the deck attached to the ground would. This can wreck all sorts of structural havoc. The permit you will have to pull will look to make sure you have footings installed on the outside posts down below the freeze line for your area (usually 30-52”). This makes it so the deck is on the same solid non moving earth as the house.

To answer the original question, you need a permit if the deck exceeds any of those limits individually. It is an OR situation, not AND.

 

[Pinecone]

One thing to realize with regulations and laws. They ALL exist because someone did something wrong or stupid and are trying to keep it from happening again.

 

[GaryM]

One thing to realize with regulations and laws. They ALL exist because someone did something wrong or stupid and are trying to keep it from happening again.

Not ALL. There are certainly regulations and laws on the books that exist only to generate revenue, or proactively try to prevent something that has never happened (and may never happen), or simply promote someone's particular political or moral worldview.

 

[Racerx]

I've learned it's a waste of time to try to argue semantics with building and zoning. They're going to interpret the way they want regardless if they're right or wrong and you ain't changing their mind. In this case, if its over 200sq feet you need a permit. In my neck of the woods theyd want to see engineer stamped drawings