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Codes Matter | by Howard Shingle | Joe Belcher knows what's most important to the success of a storm protection business. Mark Haworth Photography How important is the building code where you do business? Very important. "The storm protection business can live or die by the code," says Joe Belcher, code consultant and owner and president of JDB Code Services, Inc. Yeah, that's important. Belcher, who leads a seminar summarizing changes between the 2010 and 2013 Florida Building Code at StormEXPO 2013, would want everyone in the storm protection and mitigation industry to understand that the need to know building code cannot be understated. "I do not believe one can be successful in this business without such knowledge. So much of storm protection is based on code requirements and standards adopted within the codes that I do not see how it would be possible to be successful without being highly knowledgeable of the provisions of the documents that will be used to judge whether a project passes or fails," he says. More succinctly: "You will not stay in business long if you cannot learn the requirements governing your livelihood," Belcher says. All About Codes Belcher's current focus is on the Florida Building Code (FBC) and the International Residential Code (IRC). "We are trying to get changes accepted in Florida into the national code," he says. This is a task in which Belcher is well versed having done it before in earlier code updates. With more than 35 years experience, he is not new to this kind of work. 14 STORM & SECURITY PROTECTION / PEOPLE IN THE KNOW 2013