Findings Of Fact The Respondent, Clarence Kimball, is a professional engineer licensed to practice engineering in the State of Florida, holding license number PE 0009427. The Petitioner is an agency of the State of Florida charged with enforcing standards and principles of professional engineering practice imposed upon licensed professional engineers in Florida and enumerated in Chapter 471, Florida Statutes (1981), and with monitoring and regulating the licensure status of professional engineers in Florida. The Respondent was retained to draft engineering design drawings for a multi-family residential project known as Westwind Villas, to be constructed in Lee County, Florida. The project consisted of two two (2) story buildings each containing four residential units. The drawings depict the first floor of the two buildings as built in place out of concrete block. The second floor of the building as depicted in the drawings, would be built of prefabricated modular units mounted on top of the concrete block, first floor construction. The purpose of these engineering drawings was to define the scope of the work to be done by the building contractor, who would do the actual construction, and to define the materials to be used by the contractor and the manner in which those materials were to be assembled. These permit drawings contain an inconsistency as to which way the buildings are to face. Sheet 1 of the drawings depicts a plot plan and drainage plan for the Westwind Villas. That sheet indicates that the units are all facing west. Sheet 2 of the drawings also shows the units facing west. Sheet 5, however, depicts the units as both facing to the north. This fact was established by Petitioner and indeed, was acknowledged by the Respondent in his testimony. Sheet 2 depicts the elevation and design of the foundation of both buildings. There are a number of areas of the foundation design where the drawing depicts an increase in the width of the concrete slab involved, but with no indication of the Respondent's intent as to what the dimensions of the widened portion of the slab were to be. The Respondent acknowledged that the failure to indicate the width of the slab as widened with regard to the drawing on Sheet 2, was a mistake on his part. Sheet 2 also contains a note that says "number 5 bars in the concrete fill are indicated by a little square." Indeed there are numerous small squares on the foundation plan indicating that number 5 reinforcing bars are erroneously sticking out of the floor of the structure. The Respondent admitted that the filled squares indicate reinforcing bars out in the floor of the structure, as opposed to the foundation, and that those are mistakes. Sheet 2 also provides no indication or direction to the building contractor as to the degree of compaction of soil required, the grade of lumber to be used, nor the grade and type of reinforcing steel to be used in the concrete portion of the construction. Sheet 4 of the permit drawings contains details and cross sections. Section AA calls for an 8" x 16" concrete tie beam and in depicting the typical cross section of that same beam, the Respondent shows it as an 8" x 12" concrete tie beam, which would have less "shear load "or weight bearing ability. Section CC of Sheet 4 illustrates a section of the wall for which the Respondent indicates that a single wall is to be constructed of interior type wall materials. Due to the offset of the two units in their alignment arrangement with each other however, there should have been two "stud walls" designed with the exterior portions of those walls constructed out of exterior materials, since, as designed in an offset pattern, portions of the walls would indeed be exterior walls. The Respondent acknowledged here again that he should have designed the two walls providing for materials suitable for exterior wall construction. As Respondent admits, Section CC also does not indicate how the contractor is to anchor prefabricated units consisting of the second floor structure, to the beams on which they are to rest. There is no indication as to what material is to be used for the attic floor of the structures. Section 5 depicts cross sections, trusses and framing details. There is inconsistency between the elevation depicted on Sheet 2 and the roof rafter plans shown on Sheet 5. The roof after plan indicates that the prefabricated second story unit is 14 feet wide without overhang on the sides. The elevation drawing, however, shows an overhang of 1' 4" on each side. There is thus an inconsistency there, and also an inconsistency between the ceiling plan above the second floor and the truss detail both of which are shown in Sheet 5. The ceiling plan indicates that the ceiling joists are to be 2" x 6". In truss detail "A" the ceiling joists are shown to be 2" x 8". Additionally, the 2" x 6" ceiling joists are overstressed in that the attic was designed to have a pull down staircase and thus is clearly intended for storage use. The standard building code in effect for this structure, requires that an attic space to be used for storage should be designed with a live load capacity of thirty pounds per square foot. The Respondent designed this attic space with a live load capacity of fifteen pounds per square foot, and thus has failed to meet building code standards. Sheet 5 contains illustrations of "Sling and Jack Points" thus showing a method for lifting the fabricated units onto the concrete block first floor structure. The owner of the building ultimately decided not to use this method for lifting the prefabricated units atop the first floor, but the Respondent failed to notify the Lee County Building Department of this decision and did not file a revised sheet showing the elimination of the use of sling and jack points for lifting in the design. The drawing with regard to placement of the second floor units on top of the first floor concrete block structure was incomplete. The Respondent referred to a temporary support beam to be used during the lifting operation and indicated the specification for that beam "as depicted by reference on another sheet of the drawings. Respondent, however, did not indicate what other sheet the contractor was to refer to. The permit drawings for this project, signed and sealed by Respondent, are to some extent an amalgamation of drawings from other previously designed projects, some of which are inconsistent when an attempt is made to combine the drawings into a single new design. There are a number of construction problems the Respondent failed to resolve with his drawings, and while many of the errors and inconsistencies standing alone would not be significant, the sum total of all the inconsistencies, ambiguities and inaccuracies in the drawings result in a final product which would, if used to construct the building, result in a poorly constructed, and possibly unsafe building, because of the substandard and ambiguous nature of the drawings at issue.
Recommendation Having considered the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, the candor and demeanor of the witnesses, and the pleadings and arguments of the parties, it is, therefore RECOMMENDED that a Final Order be entered by the Board of Professional Engineers suspending the license of Clarence Kimball, the Respondent herein, for a period of four years, provided however, that if, within one year from the date of such final order, the Respondent, through enrollment and successful completion of appropriate continuing engineering educational courses, can establish that his engineering skills have been remediated and rehabilitated, then the remaining three years of suspension should be abated and his licensure reinstated to its former status. DONE and ENTERED this 27th day of June, 1984, in Tallahassee, Florida. P. MICHAEL RUFF Hearing Officer Division of Administrative Hearings The Oakland Building 2009 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32391 (904)488-9675 FILED with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 28th day of June, 1984.
The Issue The issues are whether Respondent violated Section 489.227(1)(f), Florida Statutes, for the reasons stated in the Administrative Complaint, and, if so, what, if any, penalty should be imposed.
Findings Of Fact Petitioner is the state agency charged with regulating the practice of contracting in the State of Florida. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation has jurisdiction over the unlicensed practice of contracting pursuant to Section 455.228, Florida Statutes. At no time material hereto was Respondent duly registered or certified to engage in the practice of contracting pursuant to Part I, Chapter 489, Florida Statutes. Augustine Weekley and Marilyn Weekley, the homeowners of a residence located at 2619 Bayshore Boulevard, Tampa, Florida, sought to remodel specific areas of their home. Initially, Mr. Weekley hired Wedgewood Contractors ("Wedgewood"), a licensed contractor, to perform the construction work. In the fall of 1999, Wedgewood obtained a building permit and commenced work on the Weekley project, but was eventually terminated by Mr. Weekley for unsatisfactory work. Mr. Weekley, a licensed contractor, then hired Respondent to take over the construction work. Mr. Weekley and Respondent entered into an oral contract whereby Respondent would complete work on the Weekley home and he would be paid as the work progressed. Between November 6, 1999 and June 16, 2000, Respondent sent invoices to the Weekleys totaling nearly $30,000 for labor and materials related to the construction work he performed, which amounts were paid in full by the Weekleys. The scope of the work performed by the Respondent as evidenced by the invoices, when considered as a whole, required either licensure or permitting. Admittedly, a building permit cannot be obtained by Respondent because he is not licensed. The building department records of the City of Tampa show that Respondent was never identified as the contractor of record for the Weekley project. The Weekleys became concerned when Respondent failed to deliver certain building materials that they had paid him to provide. On June 16, 2000, Respondent abandoned the Weekley project. Thereafter, Mr. Weekley hired another contractor to complete the work required for the project. Although Mr. Weekley is licensed as a general contractor, he did not determine whether Respondent was licensed. At no time did Respondent represent that he was a licensed contractor. The Department's investigative costs for this case total $350.62.
Recommendation Based upon the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is RECOMMENDED that Petitioner enter a Final Order finding Respondent guilty of violating Section 489.227(1)(f), Florida Statutes, imposing an administrative fine in the amount of $1,000, and requiring Respondent to pay costs of the Department's investigation in the amount of $350.62. DONE AND ENTERED this 30th day of July, 2002, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. WILLIAM R. PFEIFFER Administrative Law Judge Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building 1230 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3060 (850) 488-9675 SUNCOM 278-9675 Fax Filing (850) 921-6847 www.doah.state.fl.us Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 30th day of July, 2002. COPIES FURNISHED: John R. Bishop 2212 Spyglass Hill Circle Valrico, Florida 33594 Hardy L. Roberts, III, General Counsel Department of Business and Professional Regulation 1940 North Monroe Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2202 Patrick L. Butler, Esquire Department of Business and Professional Regulation 1940 North Monroe Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2202
