Don't upset the inspector

[Oren]

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:)

[John Grabowski]

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....

[Edwin Pawlowski]

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.

[RicodJour]

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 piss into the wind without getting wet. ;)

R

[SteveB]

What do you mean, no one is perfect?

What about you?

Putz.

Plonk

Steve

[S. Barker]

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

[gfretwell]

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 bullshit 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.

[SteveB]

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

[Richard J Kinch]

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.

[Richard J Kinch]

Until your neighbors rat you out.

[thedarkonelives]

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

[Norminn]

clipped

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?

[salty]

Your "renegade" needs to grow up. Otherwise this story will not have a happy ending.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

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.

[Kurt Ullman]

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.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

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

[aemeijers]

(snip)

Rueful chuckle. About 15 years ago, my father (a residential designer of

40-some years experience at the time) tried to set up shop in Hartford, CT, to be near his new-at-time grandkids up the road in central MA. He found the permitting and approval process in both CT and MA to be so onerous, that he could not get enough work to get by, and had to move back to Louisiana (where he had had a thriving practice) within a couple of years. It is pretty much a guild situation around there- they wanted AIA and/or certified engineer stamps for the most trivial of remodeling projects. Getting something stamped basically required the customer to pay for the work twice- once for him to do the design (which the customers always liked- he is good at what he does)- and then again for someone with a stamp to look over and approve his plans. Guess what priority reviewing 'outside' designs has in most design/engineering shops? The time delays and added costs just made the whole thing unworkable as a business model, which was pretty clearly what the locals wanted. Do it all Their Way, or don't do it.

He went back down to Louisiana, which is thankfully less civilized, and now, at the age of 81 (and half blind) still has more work than he can handle designing mansions for rich doctors.

-- aem sends...

[Doug Miller]

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.

[Bill]

There are those in my area who do not listen to advice nor do they follow any rules or law. Darwin tends to get these types. I read about them in the newspaper! (Fatal car accident, house burns down and no insurance, arrested, etc...)

[Norminn]

But sometimes the train leaves the track, and Darwin gets the poor sucker they sold the home to. Or the children of.

It is still amazing how many people manage to snuff themselves with portable heaters or generators.