Weld County Basement Insulation Requirements
Like many local governments Weld county has adopted the 2018 IRC (international Residential Code) standards and is in the process of working them into their local code. One of those things that is currently required that is different from many towns in the area is the insulation requirement. Insulation in the walls of your basement is always required here in Northern Colorado, the rule in Weld County is that blanket, or continuous insulation must be at least R-15 and cavity or batt insulation must be R-19. Not a huge change, however catching this detail early can really save a headache!
Adding Bedrooms to Homes on a Septic System in Weld County
If you are on city sewer and water adding a bedroom is not a huge deal, however if you are in a septic leach field there is a limit to how much use it can see before it is backed up or fails! Adding a bedroom assumes that you may be adding occupants and thus upping the volume that will be headed to your septic. When your home was built an engineer and the Weld County health dept. determined what size septic field you would need, often accounting for additional occupants. A copy of the permit and septic field specifications can be easily obtained from the county and will help you to be sure you have room for your desired addition. When you submit for your permit the size of your septic field will be relevant to the plans examiners approval process.
Backwater Valves and Sump Pumps
A delightful topic no doubt however relevant! If you are on city sewer it is required that your basement bathroom be isolated behind a backflow valve to protect your newly finished basement from the sewer backing up into your basement. If you have one in place it will be obvious as a 6″ wide black pipe coming up from the floor, remove the top and you should see another cap in the bottom that is the valve itself. If you are on a septic system your basement plumbing will likely be on a sump pump system to remove groundwater and septic from the basement and up to the septic pipe headed outdoors. Check to make sure that you have the correct sump pump installed to handle the solid waste that a bathroom produces.
