Building Code

Troy Mortier / Unsplash It’s the last week of August, which around here means two things: the humidity is still sitting on the porch, and somebody is offering to “get you in before winter.” The pitch is almost always the same: they can start next week, they know a framer, and they’ll save you the markup. There’s just one catch: you pull the building permit. In Johnson City, Kingsport, or Bristol, put the coffee down. The owner-builder permit trap in Tennessee Tennessee does l

Not every window that fits a bedroom meets code. Here's what egress actually requires — and why window size alone doesn't guarantee it.