Setterland and Associates: Code Consulting

Code Consulting

“The physician can bury his mistakes, but the architect can only advise his client to plant vines.”
— Frank Lloyd Wright

The brilliance of the grandmaster lies in the ability to envision the chessboard a dozen moves ahead. Like the wizards of the king’s game, Setterland and Associates’ professional building code consultants analyze every action in terms of its kaleidoscope of potential outcomes and consequences.

Setterland and Associates offers architects, builders, and property owners an expert’s understanding of design implications from a building code perspective. We appreciate the fundamental and often arcane ways regulations and requirements intersect. As a result, we can accurately predict the impact of design changes on a building’s compliance. Even more importantly, we can offer sound, cost-effective alternative solutions.

Unlike many code consulting firms, Setterland and Associates’ analysis isn’t just about page numbers and subsections. We specialize in the art of function. We view code requirements from a platform of aesthetics, translating what is beautiful artistically into what is acceptable legally. Because we comprehend the “why” of your design challenge, we can help you navigate successfully to a doable “how.” And because of our reputation, we can negotiate with the building official or fire marshal and work through an alternative solution to code issues.

Enlisting Setterland and Associates’ creativity and experience early in the design process saves you money. Timely code consulting up front will identify design discrepancies and potential complexities before you’ve spent a fortune in design or construction work that has to be redone. It’s far easier — and far less expensive — to change lines on a sheet of paper or on a monitor screen than it is to change concrete and steel. If something can’t be accomplished within code compliance, we’ll show you alternative methods and materials that will produce the aesthetic result you want while satisfying the intent of the code.

When you’ve already touched the chess piece, it’s too late to take back the move. Call Setterland and Associates’ building code grandmasters at (707) 829-3800 or e-mail us before you make a costly misstep. We’ll show you the path to compliance before an inspector — or your accountant — can say, “Checkmate.”

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Setterland and Associates, Inc.