A friend who shall remain nameless called. He lives in the county
in a different state. He launched into a small addition with no
permit. He has it framed and dried in. He received a letter from
the county ordering him to cease and desist. He called wondering
what they can do to him if he just keeps going.

I didn't really have an answer. I did tell him that if there was
a need for the electric company to do any work on the service,
they would not perform without permit approval. Other than that,
what can they do? This guy is a bit of a renegade. I explained
about the yes, sir/no,sir - gee, I'm sorry approach. He's headed
a bit more along the my castle, my kingdom, damn the torpedoes
approach.

--
______________________________
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)

DanG wrote:
A friend who shall remain nameless called. He lives in the county
in a different state. He launched into a small addition with no
permit. He has it framed and dried in. He received a letter from
the county ordering him to cease and desist. He called wondering
what they can do to him if he just keeps going.
....

Other than fines in addition to costs for the permits they could refuse
COO or even order the property put back in its original state. Being
the cease and desist order is issued, the question of his being outside
a jurisdiction requiring permits is almost certainly settled against
him. At this point its only how onerous the particular regulations are
and how punitive they care to be assuming he chooses not to cooperate.

--

"DanG" wrote in message
...
A friend who shall remain nameless called. He lives in the county in a
different state. He launched into a small addition with no permit. He has
it framed and dried in. He received a letter from the county ordering him
to cease and desist. He called wondering what they can do to him if he
just keeps going.

I didn't really have an answer. I did tell him that if there was a need
for the electric company to do any work on the service, they would not
perform without permit approval. Other than that, what can they do? This
guy is a bit of a renegade. I explained about the yes, sir/no,sir - gee,
I'm sorry approach. He's headed a bit more along the my castle, my
kingdom, damn the torpedoes approach.


I'm curious what a permit would cost him. Any idea?

On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 19:36:47 -0500, "DanG" wrote:

A friend who shall remain nameless called. He lives in the county
in a different state. He launched into a small addition with no
permit. He has it framed and dried in. He received a letter from
the county ordering him to cease and desist. He called wondering
what they can do to him if he just keeps going.

I didn't really have an answer. I did tell him that if there was
a need for the electric company to do any work on the service,
they would not perform without permit approval. Other than that,
what can they do? This guy is a bit of a renegade. I explained
about the yes, sir/no,sir - gee, I'm sorry approach. He's headed
a bit more along the my castle, my kingdom, damn the torpedoes
approach.

The city limits expanded out to and around my Grandfather's house in
the 1950's. The city notified him he would have to have an 'indoor'
bathroom. He was happy with what he had and told the city off, in no
uncertain terms.

He fought with them and then; eventually built the bathroom. It had
all the current features, tub, sink, toilet, mirror. All the fancy
stuff. He did not connect the plumbing to the city.

He returned to city hall and told the *******s: 'now make me hook is
up'.

Eventually he did.

dpb wrote:

DanG wrote:

A friend who shall remain nameless called. He lives in the county in
a different state. He launched into a small addition with no
permit. He has it framed and dried in. He received a letter from
the county ordering him to cease and desist. He called wondering
what they can do to him if he just keeps going.

...

Other than fines in addition to costs for the permits they could
refuse COO or even order the property put back in its original state.
Being the cease and desist order is issued, the question of his being
outside a jurisdiction requiring permits is almost certainly settled
against him. At this point its only how onerous the particular
regulations are and how punitive they care to be assuming he chooses
not to cooperate.

--

I believe that where I live, violating an order to cease and desist can
get one arrested. I'm just going from memory. I had a neighbor whose
son was jailed for failing to comply with an order to clean up his
property. Whatever the penalty, it would be incredibly stupid to keep
going. If it is simply a matter of not having a permit, he might be
good to go by applying for a permit and, perhaps, paying additional
fees. If he is violating other ordinances, like required setbacks, he
may have to start over or apply for exemption. I would put on my
friendliest face, go down to the county building dept., and humbly ask
how to correct the matter.

DanG wrote:

A friend who shall remain nameless called. He lives in the county
in a different state. He launched into a small addition with no
permit. He has it framed and dried in. He received a letter from
the county ordering him to cease and desist. He called wondering
what they can do to him if he just keeps going.

I didn't really have an answer. I did tell him that if there was
a need for the electric company to do any work on the service,
they would not perform without permit approval. Other than that,
what can they do? This guy is a bit of a renegade. I explained
about the yes, sir/no,sir - gee, I'm sorry approach. He's headed
a bit more along the my castle, my kingdom, damn the torpedoes
approach.

Hmmm,
He had to undo everything he did. County can force him on legal ground.

Oren wrote:

On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 19:36:47 -0500, "DanG" wrote:


A friend who shall remain nameless called. He lives in the county
in a different state. He launched into a small addition with no
permit. He has it framed and dried in. He received a letter from
the county ordering him to cease and desist. He called wondering
what they can do to him if he just keeps going.

I didn't really have an answer. I did tell him that if there was
a need for the electric company to do any work on the service,
they would not perform without permit approval. Other than that,
what can they do? This guy is a bit of a renegade. I explained
about the yes, sir/no,sir - gee, I'm sorry approach. He's headed
a bit more along the my castle, my kingdom, damn the torpedoes
approach.


The city limits expanded out to and around my Grandfather's house in
the 1950's. The city notified him he would have to have an 'indoor'
bathroom. He was happy with what he had and told the city off, in no
uncertain terms.

He fought with them and then; eventually built the bathroom. It had
all the current features, tub, sink, toilet, mirror. All the fancy
stuff. He did not connect the plumbing to the city.

He returned to city hall and told the *******s: 'now make me hook is
up'.

Eventually he did.
Hmmm,
I did not know *******s work at city hall. Looks to me your granny was
*******. Imagine every one in the world acts like your granny, then what?

"DanG" wrote in message
...
A friend who shall remain nameless called. He lives in the county in a
different state. He launched into a small addition with no permit. He has
it framed and dried in. He received a letter from the county ordering him
to cease and desist. He called wondering what they can do to him if he
just keeps going.

I didn't really have an answer. I did tell him that if there was a need
for the electric company to do any work on the service, they would not
perform without permit approval. Other than that, what can they do? This
guy is a bit of a renegade. I explained about the yes, sir/no,sir - gee,
I'm sorry approach. He's headed a bit more along the my castle, my
kingdom, damn the torpedoes approach.

Thee are a few possibilities. He may be able to say he "forgot" to get a
permit, pay the fee and keep on going. If he decides to contest it all,
they have the power to make him take it down. In any case, I'd not do any
outdoor work until the situation is resolved as that will just aggravate the
officials. Doing the indoor finishing is risky too, as they will want to
inspect electrical, etc before it is closed up.

If he is building to code it is much easier to resolve than if he is in
violation, not matter what he, you, or I think of the practicality of the
situation.

At work we moved our production into a building we bought 8 years ago.
Suddenly we have to bring the entire building up to code due to the new use.
This is over $250,000 in upgrades and we have no choice. I suspect your
friend will be in the same situation.

On Mar 15, 4:36*pm, "DanG" wrote:
A friend who shall remain nameless called. *He lives in the county
in a different state. *He launched into a small addition with no
permit. *He has it framed and dried in. *He received a letter from
the county ordering him to cease and desist. *He called wondering
what they can do to him if he just keeps going.

I didn't really have an answer. *I did tell him that if there was
a need for the electric company to do any work on the service,
they would not perform without permit approval. *Other than that,
what can they do? *This guy is a bit of a renegade. *I explained
about the yes, sir/no,sir - gee, I'm sorry approach. *He's headed
a bit more along the my castle, my kingdom, damn the torpedoes
approach.

--
______________________________
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG *(remove the sevens)


It is a dammable shame that property owners cannot build their own
homes. It is happening all over the US. The insurance companies and
financial institutions have attempted to stop people from building
their own homes so people are forced to go into debt. I live in
Alaska in a borough where we can build our own homes, put in our own
wells, and septic systems. That is why I live in Alaska and suggest
the rest of you move here and help us keep the banks and insurance
companies out of our lives.
My motto is this: I had rather live in a 2 by 4 shack that I own than
live in a mansion with a mortgage.

DanG wrote:

A friend who shall remain nameless called. He lives in the county
in a different state. He launched into a small addition with no
permit. He has it framed and dried in. He received a letter from
the county ordering him to cease and desist. He called wondering
what they can do to him if he just keeps going.

Somebody down the street from us tried that, got a big notice nailed right
to the front door, a contractor we know said for sure there was a fine on
top of having to get permits to start up again. Presumably anyone trying to
tough it out past that point will find himself standing in front of a judge,
and that always has the possibility of time in jail attached to it, judges
don't like being ignored.

On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 19:36:47 -0500, "DanG" wrote:

A friend who shall remain nameless called. He lives in the county
in a different state. He launched into a small addition with no
permit. He has it framed and dried in. He received a letter from
the county ordering him to cease and desist. He called wondering
what they can do to him if he just keeps going.

I didn't really have an answer. I did tell him that if there was
a need for the electric company to do any work on the service,
they would not perform without permit approval. Other than that,
what can they do? This guy is a bit of a renegade. I explained
about the yes, sir/no,sir - gee, I'm sorry approach. He's headed
a bit more along the my castle, my kingdom, damn the torpedoes
approach.

Steve might be right about there being nothing you can do. Maybe wait
a day until this thread is on groups.google and send him the link so
he'll hear it straight from us.

Being an inspector is probably boring a lot of the time, but they keep
at it partly because they need a job and partly because they have
convinced themselves they're doing something worthwhile. Which they
are, 98% of the time. A case like your friend's puts excitement in
their lives. And if he can just ignore their orders, then everyone
else will think they can too. Plus it's an insult to be ignored.

They won't let this go.

The longer this goes on, the more your friend will pay, in time,
money, effort, and delays, maybe permanent, in getting his room built.



Although all the facts are different, this reminds me of when I had to
borrow 50,000 dollars from my brother to buy my house. He didn't
hesitate to lend me the money, but when I asked him to send it express
mail, he balked at the 10 dollars even though I was going to pay it.
He said it was too much money and WHAT COULD THEY DO TO ME if I didn't
have the money that day. This was a guy who had already bought a
house for himself. I said the contract was expiring and he might sell
the house to someone else**. He send the money Express Mail.

**Another friend had a house for sale and the buyer couldn't get a
mortgage in the 45 days allotted. The day after the contract expired,
someone knocked on my friend's door, liked the house and paid cash.

On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 22:16:12 -0400, mm
wrote:


They won't let this go.

So he should be humble, apply for the permit, apologize, be humble,
ask what he do to make things right, be humble, apologize, and maybe
the inspector will be nice to him, like he would have if he had gotten
the permit in the first plac.e

mm wrote:

On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 22:16:12 -0400, mm
wrote:


They won't let this go.


So he should be humble, apply for the permit, apologize, be humble,
ask what he do to make things right, be humble, apologize, and maybe
the inspector will be nice to him, like he would have if he had gotten
the permit in the first plac.e
Hey,
We are all human after all. No one is perfect. Are you?

permit fees in my area are based on the cost of the remodel. We did a
complete foundation replacement, a 12x22 extension/room addition, and new
sewer lines and the permit was about $400.

steve
"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
"DanG" wrote in message
...
A friend who shall remain nameless called. He lives in the county in a
different state. He launched into a small addition with no permit. He
has it framed and dried in. He received a letter from the county ordering
him to cease and desist. He called wondering what they can do to him if
he just keeps going.

I didn't really have an answer. I did tell him that if there was a need
for the electric company to do any work on the service, they would not
perform without permit approval. Other than that, what can they do?
This guy is a bit of a renegade. I explained about the yes, sir/no,sir -
gee, I'm sorry approach. He's headed a bit more along the my castle, my
kingdom, damn the torpedoes approach.


I'm curious what a permit would cost him. Any idea?

DanG writes:

Other than that, what can they do?

It's the government brute squad. Unlimited resources to take your life,
liberty, or property, as they see fit.

Don't think they won't. Building codes and permits are chiefly about
boosting the profits of a few tradesmen via barriers to entry and restraint
of trade, so the code/permits/licensing goons tend to have powerful
enforcement when they are roused by a cheeky homeowner.

Although Florida has a law guaranteeing her citizens the right to work on
their own domicile within codes and permits but without a trade license,
I've stood in the Broward County building department and listened as the
chief plumbing inspector said a guy with three engineering degrees wasn't
allowed to replace an ordinary kitchen faucet in his own home.

Your friend should either submit fully to these authorities, or hire a
construction lawyer to contest anything unfair.

On Sun, 16 Mar 2008 02:23:42 GMT, Tony Hwang wrote:

mm wrote:

On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 22:16:12 -0400, mm
wrote:


They won't let this go.


So he should be humble, apply for the permit, apologize, be humble,
ask what he do to make things right, be humble, apologize, and maybe
the inspector will be nice to him, like he would have if he had gotten
the permit in the first plac.e
Hey,
We are all human after all. No one is perfect. Are you?

No, I'm not. What difference does that make? He still needs a
permit, and he needs to avoid or minimize fines.

"Richard J Kinch" wrote in message
Although Florida has a law guaranteeing her citizens the right to work on
their own domicile within codes and permits but without a trade license,
I've stood in the Broward County building department and listened as the
chief plumbing inspector said a guy with three engineering degrees wasn't
allowed to replace an ordinary kitchen faucet in his own home.

Anyone dumb enough to get a permit to replace a kitchen faucet is probably
too dumb to do it right.

DanG wrote in message
...
A friend who shall remain nameless called. He
lives in the county in a different state. He
launched into a small addition with no permit. He has it
framed and dried in. He received a
letter from the county ordering him to cease
and desist. He called wondering what they can
do to him if he just keeps going. [..]

There are a couple things they _will_ do if he ignores the
notice and continues building, none of them very pleasant; the
worst involves fines and jail-time. They [the country
inspectors' office] could also make him tear it down. This
happened to a neighbor of mine that built an enclosed patio
"extension" when he went to sell his home. All that effort and
money because he also had a
"Permits!-we-don't-need-no-stinking-permits!" attitude.

The cost of a permit is nothing compared to the aggravation
(and increasing frustrations) he's going to be feeling if he
continues to ignore the order.

As others have said, he should visit the county offices with a
humble attitude. A quick purchase of the permit, set up an
appointment to have it inspected, a minor walk-through to let
the inspector point out a few "areas of improvements," and your
friend will get to keep his new structure.

The Ranger

"DanG" wrote in message
...
A friend who shall remain nameless called. He lives in the county in a
different state. He launched into a small addition with no permit. He has
it framed and dried in. He received a letter from the county ordering him
to cease and desist. He called wondering what they can do to him if he
just keeps going.

I didn't really have an answer. I did tell him that if there was a need
for the electric company to do any work on the service, they would not
perform without permit approval. Other than that, what can they do? This
guy is a bit of a renegade. I explained about the yes, sir/no,sir - gee,
I'm sorry approach. He's headed a bit more along the my castle, my
kingdom, damn the torpedoes approach.

--

There's nothing you can really say to someone who knows it all. They will
either learn or not learn by their own experience. If he's a friend of
yours, don't say anything, and just watch.

Steve

On Sun, 16 Mar 2008 01:51:55 GMT, Tony Hwang wrote:

Eventually he did.
Hmmm,
I did not know *******s work at city hall. Looks to me your granny was
*******. Imagine every one in the world acts like your granny, then what?

Gottcha granny..

Did you say: We are all human after all. No one is perfect. Are you? .

Norminn wrote:
....

I believe that where I live, violating an order to cease and desist can
get one arrested. I'm just going from memory. ...

Undoubtedly, eventually it could lead to that in virtually an
jurisdiction if the recipient were stubborn enough. Just how far one
could push it would depend entirely upon the locals--if they've gone far
enough to issue the order, it would be unwise to ignore it, certainly.

--

Oren wrote:

On Sun, 16 Mar 2008 01:51:55 GMT, Tony Hwang wrote:


Eventually he did.

Hmmm,
I did not know *******s work at city hall. Looks to me your granny was
*******. Imagine every one in the world acts like your granny, then what?


Gottcha granny..

Did you say: We are all human after all. No one is perfect. Are you? .
Hi,
I am not. I never ran into a inhumane inspectors. They were always
helpful and kind. Also I believe in what goes round comes around.

On Sun, 16 Mar 2008 03:04:08 GMT, Tony Hwang wrote:

Hi,
I am not. I never ran into a inhumane inspectors. They were always
helpful and kind. Also I believe in what goes round comes around.

Fully agree. The OP seem to imply how 'hard headed' people can be when
dealing with officials. I relayed an experience from observation.

I'm not that hard headed, knock on wood

"DanG" wrote in message
...
A friend who shall remain nameless called. He lives in the county in a
different state. He launched into a small addition with no permit. He has
it framed and dried in. He received a letter from the county ordering him
to cease and desist. He called wondering what they can do to him if he
just keeps going.

I didn't really have an answer. I did tell him that if there was a need
for the electric company to do any work on the service, they would not
perform without permit approval. Other than that, what can they do? This
guy is a bit of a renegade. I explained about the yes, sir/no,sir - gee,
I'm sorry approach. He's headed a bit more along the my castle, my
kingdom, damn the torpedoes approach.


Yes that attitude always works well when dealing with city hall. NOT!!!!
They could revoke his certificate of occupancy making it impossible to sell
and possibly jeopardizing his current mortgage. After all if a bank is
holding the mortgage he is not really the true owner. If that property
suddenly becomes worthless he may not have a pot to....

"SteveB" wrote in message
We just did a 1,000sf addition to our house, and the inspector was a joy,
although we heard from others what a putz he was. We just did it
according to the code, and several times he told us what code was and how
he wanted it.

There are, or course, a few putzes for inspectors, but often the inspectee
makes them that way. Follow the code, do what he wants, things go smooth.
Don't curse or demean him or his position or the laws he has to uphold no
matter how dumb you think they are.

We have a state licensing inspector/examiner with a reputation for being a
hard assed p***k. I think he is a heck of a nice guy. When I had to call
him to have some people tested in a short time frame, I had my concerns.
When he answered the phone, my first words were "I need your help". The man
helped considerably, gave me all the time I needed and we got the job done.

On Mar 15, 11:48 pm, "John Grabowski" wrote:
"DanG" wrote in message

A friend who shall remain nameless called. He lives in the county in a
different state. He launched into a small addition with no permit. He has
it framed and dried in. He received a letter from the county ordering him
to cease and desist. He called wondering what they can do to him if he
just keeps going.

I didn't really have an answer. I did tell him that if there was a need
for the electric company to do any work on the service, they would not
perform without permit approval. Other than that, what can they do? This
guy is a bit of a renegade. I explained about the yes, sir/no,sir - gee,
I'm sorry approach. He's headed a bit more along the my castle, my
kingdom, damn the torpedoes approach.

Yes that attitude always works well when dealing with city hall. NOT!!!!
They could revoke his certificate of occupancy making it impossible to sell
and possibly jeopardizing his current mortgage. After all if a bank is
holding the mortgage he is not really the true owner. If that property
suddenly becomes worthless he may not have a pot to....

If they pull the CO, he can't legally live there - he could be evicted
from his own house.

Dan, maybe you should tell him that he should keep ignoring city hall
for your entertainment. Who knows - maybe he'll be the one to ****
into the wind without getting wet.

R

"Tony Hwang" wrote in message
news:Ow%[email protected]...
mm wrote:

On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 22:16:12 -0400, mm
wrote:


They won't let this go.


So he should be humble, apply for the permit, apologize, be humble,
ask what he do to make things right, be humble, apologize, and maybe
the inspector will be nice to him, like he would have if he had gotten
the permit in the first plac.e
Hey,
We are all human after all. No one is perfect. Are you?

What do you mean, no one is perfect?

What about you?

Putz.

Plonk

Steve

ANY work not seen from the outside would be stupid to fool with a permit and
inspections. Just asking for more trouble and work and expense.

s


"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
. net...

Anyone dumb enough to get a permit to replace a kitchen faucet is probably
too dumb to do it right.

I'm curious what a permit would cost him. Any idea?

They will tell you at the permit office followed by, "You got a problem with
that?"

It costs what it costs. Projects done according to Hoyle are a breeze. We
just did a 1,000sf addition to our house, and the inspector was a joy,
although we heard from others what a putz he was. We just did it according
to the code, and several times he told us what code was and how he wanted
it. He saw we were owner contractors using subs that he knew for the most
part. The work was quality work, save the sheetrock. He saw from the get
go that we just wanted to build this and do it right. People who want to
build things their own way just don't get it. Unless you live in a very
remote place, there are rules.

Messing with the inspector is about as smart as really ****ing off your
barber before a haircut.

Or a shave.

Steve

"SteveB" wrote in message
...
I'm curious what a permit would cost him. Any idea?

They will tell you at the permit office followed by, "You got a problem
with that?"

It costs what it costs. Projects done according to Hoyle are a breeze.
We just did a 1,000sf addition to our house, and the inspector was a joy,
although we heard from others what a putz he was. We just did it
according to the code, and several times he told us what code was and how
he wanted it. He saw we were owner contractors using subs that he knew
for the most part. The work was quality work, save the sheetrock. He saw
from the get go that we just wanted to build this and do it right. People
who want to build things their own way just don't get it. Unless you live
in a very remote place, there are rules.

Messing with the inspector is about as smart as really ****ing off your
barber before a haircut.

Or a shave.

Steve



How much? I've scanned your message for numbers, but I've found none.

wrote in message
news
On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 19:36:47 -0500, "DanG" wrote:

A friend who shall remain nameless called. He lives in the county
in a different state. He launched into a small addition with no
permit. He has it framed and dried in. He received a letter from
the county ordering him to cease and desist. He called wondering
what they can do to him if he just keeps going.

I didn't really have an answer. I did tell him that if there was
a need for the electric company to do any work on the service,
they would not perform without permit approval. Other than that,
what can they do? This guy is a bit of a renegade. I explained
about the yes, sir/no,sir - gee, I'm sorry approach. He's headed
a bit more along the my castle, my kingdom, damn the torpedoes
approach.


Have you talked to them and figured out what a permit entails.
Hopefully they will just double the permit fees (or whatever the
regular spanking they do) and inspect what you have but some places
(Florida in particular) will want engineered plans with raised seal
and are generally a pain in the ass if you try to draw them yourself
(I am in that quagmire as we speak)
I have just about decided to abandon the project and live with what I
have after about $500 in bureacratic bull**** without moving a shovel
of dirt. They still want "one more piece of paper" as they did in my
last 5 trips downtown.
Worst case is they will fail your foundation or something and you will
be tearing it down or doing serious remedial repairs to make them
happy. Again you may need an engineer.

That will all depend on your building department and what you built.
No matter what, you are in it now, so that "humble" approach is next
... take your checkbook.

BTW the way they deal with this in the 2 states I have lived is as a
civil court matter. Basically they sue you for not having the permit,
a slam dunk case and the "fine" is actually a judgement against the
property. They just slap a lien on you and forclose if you don't pay
up. These "suits" can actually be daily fines so it can get expensive
in a hurry. You will really have to stick your thumb in their eye to
get in criminal court (jail)

I am a Florida licensed inspector so I am required to take the law
courses every 2 years.

You're not a good inspector if you can't find SOMETHING wrong.

From day one at Inspector School.

It's a smart idea to just go along with the program.

Steve

Edwin Pawlowski writes:

Anyone dumb enough to get a permit to replace a kitchen faucet is
probably too dumb to do it right.

It would be dumb to not distinguish a BUILDING PERMIT from a PLUMBER'S
LICENSE. The permit was for a larger project. The plumbing inspector
refused to sign off on the larger permit, at least until his boss agreed to
override him under threat of lawsuit.

S. Barker writes:

ANY work not seen from the outside would be stupid to fool with a
permit and inspections. Just asking for more trouble and work and
expense.

Until your neighbors rat you out.

On Mar 15, 11:58*pm, "Edwin Pawlowski" wrote:

There are, or course, a few putzes for inspectors


Dennis Rader - the BTK killer - worked in permit enforcement.
Described as an over-zealous asshole.

"Richard J Kinch" wrote in message
. ..
S. Barker writes:

ANY work not seen from the outside would be stupid to fool with a
permit and inspections. Just asking for more trouble and work and
expense.

Until your neighbors rat you out.

Ever been to Home Depot or Lowes? What do you think the Town Hall office
would look like the next day when everyone there is applying for a permit?

Any work done should be according to code for safety reasons, but minor
work, the town has no business getting involved.

clipped


As others have said, he should visit the county offices with a
humble attitude. A quick purchase of the permit, set up an
appointment to have it inspected, a minor walk-through to let
the inspector point out a few "areas of improvements," and your
friend will get to keep his new structure.

The Ranger




We had seawall work done because the yard was washing into the channel -
thirteen tiebacks
with concrete anchors. The concrete that is used under water. Permit,
drawings, whole nine
yards. Inspection when the holes were dug and rods in place. Red tag
because there happened
to be water in the hole when the inspector arrived (usually two high
tides per day, of course). My
hubby was bldg. mgr. for the condo, so we did just about everything
together and I was uaually
able to keep him out of trouble. The contractor called the inspector
back when there was no
water in the hole, laid off his crew for a full day as a result, got
approval and continued. I chatted with the inspector and
found out he was the same who passed our lousy reroof. The contractor
was a nice guy, good
to work with and did good work. I found out later there was also a $50
fee for the "red tag".
While I know some inspectors are scum, I have great respect for the
authority of the city
to require min. standards. Last year the idiot (unlicensed) upstairs
burned up some of our
wiring while remodeling without a permit. City didn't do squat. Yet.
Wonder if the prosecutor
would?

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:

"Richard J Kinch" wrote in message
...


S. Barker writes:



ANY work not seen from the outside would be stupid to fool with a
permit and inspections. Just asking for more trouble and work and
expense.


Until your neighbors rat you out.



Ever been to Home Depot or Lowes? What do you think the Town Hall office
would look like the next day when everyone there is applying for a permit?

Any work done should be according to code for safety reasons, but minor
work, the town has no business getting involved.




Our codes seem to be framed with the "let idiots kill themselves but not
anyone else" mind. One
can build their own home, but not rent it out for a year. Can't do
structural work in a multi-family
without permit. All elect., gas and plumbing requires a permit. Makes
perfect sense to me, especially
since I have seen what idiots can do in the way of remodeling. We have
had great luck with the
contractors we have had contact with - the roofer had a crew that didn't
nail shingles on right, but
the contractor was perfectly willing to do what it took to make it
right. Paint, seawall, tile, kitchen
cabinets, electrician - all have been great to work with and done almost
flawless work. Couple
of issues with kitchen re-do were handled without problem. It also
helps to educate yourself
and know how it should be done; intelligent questions might help keep
them on their toes.

"Doug Miller" wrote in message
news
In article , "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:


How much? I've scanned your message for numbers, but I've found none.

There's a reason for that, Kanter: permit fees vary widely from one place
to
the next. Some places, it's a flat fee. Other places, the fee is based on
the
value of the work.


I'm asking because (as you may have guessed) I'm wondering if the cost of
non-compliance will make the cost of non-compliance look like peanuts in
comparison. I suspect it doesn't matter to the maverick in question, though.

In article ,
"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:

"Doug Miller" wrote in message
news
In article , "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:


How much? I've scanned your message for numbers, but I've found none.

There's a reason for that, Kanter: permit fees vary widely from one place
to
the next. Some places, it's a flat fee. Other places, the fee is based on
the
value of the work.


I'm asking because (as you may have guessed) I'm wondering if the cost of
non-compliance will make the cost of non-compliance look like peanuts in
comparison. I suspect it doesn't matter to the maverick in question, though.

But in the non-compliance situations, the fees involved are always
peanuts compared to fines, costs of tearing things down, attorney's fees
if one decides to dig their heels in and fight city hall, etc. etc.etc.

"Kurt Ullman" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:

"Doug Miller" wrote in message
news
In article , "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:


How much? I've scanned your message for numbers, but I've found none.

There's a reason for that, Kanter: permit fees vary widely from one
place
to
the next. Some places, it's a flat fee. Other places, the fee is based
on
the
value of the work.


I'm asking because (as you may have guessed) I'm wondering if the cost of
non-compliance will make the cost of non-compliance look like peanuts in
comparison. I suspect it doesn't matter to the maverick in question,
though.

But in the non-compliance situations, the fees involved are always
peanuts compared to fines, costs of tearing things down, attorney's fees
if one decides to dig their heels in and fight city hall, etc. etc.etc.


Right. I'm wondering if the OP had this discussion with his friend.