Pros and cons for and against permits for electrical, plumbing etc. Please no preaching..........
To permit, or not permit that is the question?
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For permits: so you dont get sued, or have your insurance deny your claim because you didnt have one and you had an electrical fire.
Yes those are big pros for sure.......
Can you save money by getting your own permit as opposed to having a contractor get it for you ?
And do you need to get a permit for replacing your breaker box ?
And do you need to get a permit for replacing your breaker box ?
Depends on the scope of the work. Minor repair done by the homeowner can usually be done without permit, atleast around here. Anything involved would need be a permit pulled and inspected. Not that everybody does that though, and sometimes the quality shows...
Originally Posted By: Rolla07
For permits: so you dont get sued, or have your insurance deny your claim because you didnt have one and you had an electrical fire.
Totally agree, way too easy for the insurance company not to pay a claim.
For permits: so you dont get sued, or have your insurance deny your claim because you didnt have one and you had an electrical fire.
Totally agree, way too easy for the insurance company not to pay a claim.
In the state of Washington when you sell your home there is a Form 17 Disclosure that you are required to provide to the buyer.
One of the questions on the form is whether there was any work done that requires a permit and did the permit get pulled/closed as required.
You can lie on the form or you can lose perspective buyers if you disclose.
One of the questions on the form is whether there was any work done that requires a permit and did the permit get pulled/closed as required.
You can lie on the form or you can lose perspective buyers if you disclose.
I have personally seen inspectors demand all work completed without a permit be torn out.
Sources of being tipped off included:
--Neighbors with long standing feuds.
--Other contractors angry they did not get the bid. Its not uncommon for a contractor who made a bid to snoop around in the following days or weeks.
--A zealous building inspector driving through a neighborhood and seeing a contractor making frequent trips in/out to a workvan suggesting work is being performed.
--A dumpster in the driveway is a big tip off.
In some locales, a permit can only be issued if a licensed contractor will be performing the work, even with trades such as roofing. Homeowners are not allowed to perform their own repairs and upgrades.
Ofcourse, the scope of the project plays a major part in your question.
With matters of electrical or with plumbing gas lines, I can appreciate the strict requirements since improper installation can result in high risk to anyone in the residence...or an entire building if not a single family home.
Have I always pulled permits? No...but I get along with my neighbors.
Sources of being tipped off included:
--Neighbors with long standing feuds.
--Other contractors angry they did not get the bid. Its not uncommon for a contractor who made a bid to snoop around in the following days or weeks.
--A zealous building inspector driving through a neighborhood and seeing a contractor making frequent trips in/out to a workvan suggesting work is being performed.
--A dumpster in the driveway is a big tip off.
In some locales, a permit can only be issued if a licensed contractor will be performing the work, even with trades such as roofing. Homeowners are not allowed to perform their own repairs and upgrades.
Ofcourse, the scope of the project plays a major part in your question.
With matters of electrical or with plumbing gas lines, I can appreciate the strict requirements since improper installation can result in high risk to anyone in the residence...or an entire building if not a single family home.
Have I always pulled permits? No...but I get along with my neighbors.
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Originally Posted By: m_peterson6
In the state of Washington when you sell your home there is a Form 17 Disclosure that you are required to provide to the buyer.
One of the questions on the form is whether there was any work done that requires a permit and did the permit get pulled/closed as required.
You can lie on the form or you can lose perspective buyers if you disclose.
THIS ^^^^^
In the state of Washington when you sell your home there is a Form 17 Disclosure that you are required to provide to the buyer.
One of the questions on the form is whether there was any work done that requires a permit and did the permit get pulled/closed as required.
You can lie on the form or you can lose perspective buyers if you disclose.
THIS ^^^^^
Bad contractors usually go for no permits. And it isn't in your best interest.
Spend the extra money and have a licensed person do the job with a permit if it's required.
Some minor things a homeowner can do without a permit.
Some minor things a homeowner can do without a permit.
We all have our own opinions of what areas a government(local,county districts,state, country)should be concerned with. Most local jurisdiction use the uniform building codes that include electrical and plumbing and structural. I think that is a good thing. Presently in our area, the state groundwater management district has obtained a court order against a landowner who failed to report such things as water and fertilizer usage. The landowner will be allowed to continue to irrigate for the growing season but will not be allowed to irrigate until the 2022 irrigation season. That is a very costly penalty but the requirement cover all growers. Nebraska is very, very protective of how water from the Ogallala Aquifer can be pumped by those certified to use the resource. Without such regulations, some growers would sink as many wells as they want and pump a precious natural resource with abandon. Some things need to be controlled like groundwater usage. Some landowners don't like being regulated, but the Ogallala underlies most of the state and makes possible record corn and bean harvest. And what about regulations covering aircraft operation and maintenance. A lot of lives have been lost by accidents that weren't accidents at all but lack of basic maintenance and operating equipment with known defects. We all have different opinions about what needs to be regulated and what doesn't, but don't you feel safer at 39.000 feet knowing the aircraft you are on has undergone periodic checks? Defect do go undetected sometime(I'm thinking of UA and Sioux City,Iowa) but most are found and corrected.
Around me in rural Illinois the saying is "it's better to ask forgiveness than to be turned down seeking permission". Electrical work is not licensed in Illinois. Yet the my electric company expects you to hire a contractor when working from the meter out. They thanked me though when I told them I broke the seal on my meter to replace it.
Originally Posted By: SHOZ
Around me in rural Illinois the saying is "it's better to ask forgiveness than to be turned down seeking permission". Electrical work is not licensed in Illinois. Yet the my electric company expects you to hire a contractor when working from the meter out. They thanked me though when I told them I broke the seal on my meter to replace it.
Electrical work is not licensed?
I guess I don't know what this means.
I would think individual counties and Villages can require more stringent building permit practices within their jurisdiction.
Around me in rural Illinois the saying is "it's better to ask forgiveness than to be turned down seeking permission". Electrical work is not licensed in Illinois. Yet the my electric company expects you to hire a contractor when working from the meter out. They thanked me though when I told them I broke the seal on my meter to replace it.
Electrical work is not licensed?
I guess I don't know what this means.
I would think individual counties and Villages can require more stringent building permit practices within their jurisdiction.
Originally Posted By: ArcticDriver
Originally Posted By: SHOZ
Around me in rural Illinois the saying is "it's better to ask forgiveness than to be turned down seeking permission". Electrical work is not licensed in Illinois. Yet the my electric company expects you to hire a contractor when working from the meter out. They thanked me though when I told them I broke the seal on my meter to replace it.
Electrical work is not licensed?
I guess I don't know what this means.
I would think individual counties and Villages can require more stringent building permit practices within their jurisdiction.
The state does not license for electrical work. Local contractors do register with the county to get on the "approved" list for a slight fee.
Originally Posted By: SHOZ
Around me in rural Illinois the saying is "it's better to ask forgiveness than to be turned down seeking permission". Electrical work is not licensed in Illinois. Yet the my electric company expects you to hire a contractor when working from the meter out. They thanked me though when I told them I broke the seal on my meter to replace it.
Electrical work is not licensed?
I guess I don't know what this means.
I would think individual counties and Villages can require more stringent building permit practices within their jurisdiction.
The state does not license for electrical work. Local contractors do register with the county to get on the "approved" list for a slight fee.
Very very interesting reading. I am the type who sees value on both ends of the spectrum. I like to conserve water, on a well system etc. But not a fan of county etc micromanaging things. But the plumber I had put in my filter system/water heater did not impress me. I could see some mistakes, and am not a licensed plumber. He said nah, don't need a permit........
I can understand permits for electrical and roofing. OTOH, I was told the other day by a neighbor that a permit was required if I wanted to swap out a toilet. That strikes me as just a govt money grab.
I can see it both ways.
When I was younger, I paid a craigslist handyman to remodel a bath in a rental house I owned.
Turned out that he ripped us off, and left us with poor work, and leaking plumbing.
I think for the most part, the homeowner can do a lot of stuff themselves (at least here in Texas), but when it gets into major work (electrical, large plumbing, etc) a permit is expected.
For the most part a permit is 25 dollars and you can pick one up, and you will have piece of mind when you sell the house that the job was done right and passed off.
But, many contractors think their time is worth several hundred dollars per hour, which it is not in my opinion, so many people can not afford for them to come and do a job.
When I was younger, I paid a craigslist handyman to remodel a bath in a rental house I owned.
Turned out that he ripped us off, and left us with poor work, and leaking plumbing.
I think for the most part, the homeowner can do a lot of stuff themselves (at least here in Texas), but when it gets into major work (electrical, large plumbing, etc) a permit is expected.
For the most part a permit is 25 dollars and you can pick one up, and you will have piece of mind when you sell the house that the job was done right and passed off.
But, many contractors think their time is worth several hundred dollars per hour, which it is not in my opinion, so many people can not afford for them to come and do a job.
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