As you can see, there are as many answers as there are locations. Each
governmental entity decides for itself what work needs to be permitted.

I'm not antagonistic about our local building department. Most of their
people know what they are doing, and all of them know more than I do. I
once asked them just when a permit was necessary, and they admitted it
was not clear. Decorating doesn't require a permit; changing electrical
fixtures doesn't; replacing a gas water heater does; replacing a gas
stove or drier doesn't. If I have a question as to whether a permit is
needed, I call and ask. Once I added some outlets, which required a
permit. When they came out for final inspection, he said I had to put
bushings at the ends of the conduit; I would have if I knew to, but I
didn't, so I had to go back and put in bushings. When I did that, I put
them into the installations that were here when I bought the house, too,
as apparently they weren't required when that work was done. My
electrical is grounded to the water supply, so the inspector checked to
see if there was a jumper across the water meter (there was, but only
because I had recently read about it in the newspaper and put it in
myself). When I pointed that out, the inspector said that requirement
was fairly new, but he always checked it even when the work was on a
different part of the electrical system.

Interestingly, in my town, some tradesmen can become certified as
self-inspectors, and when you use one of them, they don't have to get a
permit, nor is there an inspection, but somehow the building department
has come to an agreement that those registered tradesmen will meet code
on everything they do.

In any event, permits here are inexpensive, and I take some comfort in
knowing that someone who knows more than me is giving me advice.

Incidentally, I was a lawyer until I retired, and those people talking
about insurance companies denying claims for damages caused by
unpermitted work are absolutely correct. They are not in business to
give away money.

Oh_Jeeze wrote:
Here's a silly question... so why would you pay for a permit and/or
inspector to inspect work you do inside your home? Before someone
scolds me keep this in mind, I am a first time homeowner and I have
only been living in my home for a few months. What types of things
require permits or inspectors? I recently painted some walls, replaced
a toilet, and added a light fixture outside my garage. I have other
things on my agenda for the next few years and I can't see why I would
pay someone to inspect my work. With regards to plumbing, if you don't
do it right you get immediate notification in the form of a leak. The
electrical stuff seems pretty trivial to me since I am an electrical
engineer with a masters degree. Although I must admit to having to
look up the correct wire gauge for the spotlight I added outside my
garage. A follow up question would be what if the previous owner did
something without getting a permit or getting the work inspected?
Would I be responsible for paying for those things?


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