There are too many useless, confusing, burdensome, and disproportional provisions in our building codes.   Useless provisions are those that are redundant or those provisions that are obvious.   Confusing provisions are usually those that are overly prescriptive and difficult to understand due to excessive descriptive language.  Burdensome provisions are those that are inappropriate and unnecessary for a particular structure but are required none-the-less.   Disproportional provisions are those that are unnecessarily exact and not proportional to the assumptions and uncertainty inherent in structural design.   How do we address this problem?   Are we trying to perfect our building code far beyond our practical needs of providing safe structures?  If so, how do we stop? http://structuresworkshop.com/blog/2011/10/16/9-improve-the-codes/