"dpb" wrote:
You could start in that determination by asking the office that
currently issues building permits if they even now actually require and
file blueprints for residential construction. If the answer is "no"
now, it certainly wouldn't have been "yes" years ago.

The key is "approval" isn't in any way to be construed as "on file".


I live and work in Massachusetts. Been doing carpentry for 35 years.
I am not a contractor. To my knowledge, in order to get a building
permit for a single family residence you *must* submit a set of
working drawings. I don't believe they are kept on file permanently.
Plus, I've never seen a set of plans that wasn't revised after the permit
was pulled. The chances of a local town or city agency having a set of
plans that give the exact location of all the pipe runs in a house is just
about zero. Often, plumbers will improvise a run when they see how a
job was framed, and which obstacles they encounter.

--
Steve Mc