Category: Construction Related

The terrorist organization has a fight coming…

We’ve had 8.3 million guns sold in the United States since March, meaning 2020 is on course to be the biggest year for gun sales in American history.

Come take over our subdivisions, terrorize our part of the world. We won’t back down from the gates of HELL.

Construction gets more EXCITING each and every year here in Florida… We’re Riding the Short Bus!

RE: Product Approval Application to the 7^th Edition (2020) Florida Building Code – Will be accepted starting July 1, 2020

Fees – Application(s) fees will be waived between July 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020 for all submittal including those for the 6^thEdition (2017) Florida Building Code

This is to inform you that the 7^th Edition (2020) Florida Building Code (FBC) is slated to go into effect December 31, 2020.  

Building permit applications submitted on or after that date should demonstrate compliance with the new code. Likewise, the Florida Building Commission (the Commission) and Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) approved products will also have to demonstrate compliance with the new edition of the code by the effective date or risk being rejected by local building departments.

Starting July 1, 2020, the product approval application process for demonstrating compliance with the 7^th Edition (202) Florida Building Code will commence and the updated Building Code Information System (BCIS)/Product Approval Module will be available to accept applications for compliance with new code.  In preparation for your submittal, please take notes of the following:

Please go on-line at www.floridabuilding.org to check the compliance status of your product(s) by comparing the code sections and standards listed on your approval to those found in the new code. The draft of the new code is available for review at the following link: 

https://codes.iccsafe.org/category/Florida?year[]=2020&page=1

If the code change has affected the compliance of your product, please submit a revision to reflect compliance with the appropriate section number(s) or standard(s) of the new code edition. Revisions have to be validated and approved by the Commission or (DBPR) as applicable. The current approved status of your product(s) will remain in effect during the revision process.  Once the revision is approved, your product will be assigned a “-R1” designation following the current FL number.  For example, if your current approval number is FL9876 and the first revision gets approved, the new approval number will be FL9876-R1.

If the code change has not affected the compliance of your product, you can use the “self-affirmation” process to attest to that effect. Before starting the self-affirmation process, please contact our office at (850) 487-1824 to make sure that your application can be self-affirmed. The self-affirmation process allows you to change the code version, but does not allow you to edit the application.   Please note that self-affirmation is not subject to the normal application review process and thus, if complete, the application gets approved within a few days.  In addition, as part of application for self-affirmation, if the evaluation report refers to the previous edition of the Code, the manufacturer of the approved product must submit a statement from an approved evaluation or validation entity confirming that the product complies with the subsequent code version via an attachment uploaded and submitted through the BCIS.

In order to allow for compliance with the new Code and at the same time continue the 2017 code as the searchable default code version in the Building Code Information System (BCIS), we will add a 2020 code version “Pre-2020” to the code version drop down.  This would allow products approved under the 2017 code to remain searchable. To search for 2020 code products, the code version must be manually changed to “Pre-2020”. 

Please feel free to contact our office at 850-487-1824 should you have any further questions or concerns regarding changes to your applications.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Building Codes and Standards Office
Mo Madani, Program Manager
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulations
Building Codes and Standards
http://www.floridabuilding.org

When requesting bids for public works projects, there are times when local governments are uncertain which contractor they need to specify for the project because more than one category of licensure is legally authorized to perform the work. That said, local municipalities may not prohibit any contractor that is qualified, licensed, or certified as required by state law from bidding on public works projects, pursuant to section 255.0992, Florida Statutes. Additionally, section 489.113(9)(a), Florida Statutes provides that a contractor may act as a prime contractor where the majority of the work to be performed under the contract is within the scope of his or her license and the remaining work is subcontracted to other licensed contractors. For more information regarding the scope of work for contractors please review DBPR’s License Types. Contractors may wish to consult their local government attorney regarding the foregoing.

Here are some common abbreviations and Definitions for the Florida Construction Industry.

Now if you test for a General, Building, or Residential Contractors license in Florida, TAKE THE GENERAL CONTRACTORS EXAM. The state will hold General Contractors scores indefinitely so if you are only able to activate a residential license, in 4 years you can use the same scores to upgrade to a General Contractors license, without taking any additional exams. Unfortunately, they are going to take your money but no more testing involved.

Call Gail at 1 – 877 – 542- 3673 with any questions!

When requesting bids for public works projects, there are times when local governments are uncertain which contractor they need to specify for the project because more than one category of licensure is legally authorized to perform the work. That said, local municipalities may not prohibit any contractor that is qualified, licensed, or certified as required by state law from bidding on public works projects, pursuant to section 255.0992, Florida Statutes. Additionally, section 489.113(9)(a), Florida Statutes provides that a contractor may act as a prime contractor where the majority of the work to be performed under the contract is within the scope of his or her license and the remaining work is subcontracted to other licensed contractors. For more information regarding the scope of work for contractors please review DBPR’s License Types. Contractors may wish to consult their local government attorney regarding the foregoing.