Building code advice hits the road
"Republished with permission from The Charlotte Observer.  
Copyright owned by The Charlotte Observer. of

By ALLEN NORWOOD

If you're a do-it-yourselfer, and don't know about Mecklenburg County's Residential Technical Answer Center, you should. It's staffed by building-code experts who can answer all your questions before you tackle home projects.

Now, those experts are coming to you.

This month, as the fall chore season kicks into high gear, the county will begin sending a mobile answer center to four Mecklenburg town halls once a month.

The mobile center will be in Matthews Monday, Mint Hill Tuesday, Huntersville Oct. 17, and Cornelius Oct. 18. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. In the months ahead, it again will visit Matthews on the second Monday, Mint Hill on the second Tuesday, Huntersville on the third Wednesday and Cornelius on the third Thursday.

The mobile center also will be available by telephone at (704) 621-6628.

The main RTAC desk is at the county's Hal Marshall Center, 700 N. Tryon St. It operates 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, and you can reach it by phone at (704) 336-4189 or (704) 336-4180.

To reach the experts by e-mail, visit www.co.mecklen burg.nc.us/coeng and leave a message.

The main answer center receives 1,000 questions a month, said county spokesman Alex Burnett.

"Because of that success," he said, "the Code Enforcement Department decided to offer the walk-up service to folks in the outlying towns, so they wouldn't have to drive all the way into Charlotte."

Association law

At the request of a handful of readers, I'll repeat some information I shared in The Observer's recent Living Here newcomers' guide: