Building permit

IDK what "sheathing panels" you're talking about for finishing a basement, doesn't make sense. But if you have just done framing and it's all still open and visible, you can go pull permits now. They inspect after you've done work, not before. The problem is if you've gone too far so they can't see what they need to see.

They are not allowed to look inside unless you let them in. The 4th amendment applies to inspectors as much as cops. In fact getting a permit waives your 4th amendment right. No permit? They can only look at what they can see from the public road or a neighbor's property if they are granted access. In fact the permit only allows them to look at what is on the permit but that is a gray area that has not really been tested in court and they do stretch what inspecting that work involves.

Much depends on the inspector. Some are great, others are jerks, a few are too dumb to know what they are looking at.

The good ones just want to be sure things are done safely. I know of a couple of cases where the inspector was looking at the permitted item but took the time to help the homeowner with other issues in the house and how to fix them.

When my stepfather was in business he did some major jobs that needed permits. Permits and inspection was my mother's job. 'This was in a large city with plenty of bureaucracy. He always followed the code so there were never issues. My mother would never consider giving the inspector money as a tip either. She did, however, put an envelope down while talking to the inspector and it would always disappear magically.

I was an active inspector for 8 years and have been in the community for 25. The idea of "tips" pretty much went away after Andrew and that was really just an East Coast problem then. Maybe it was because those folks over there came down I-95 from Tony Soprano land. I have never heard of tips and bribes in my time in the business. Florida will put you in prison for it ... on the first offense. (both the tipper and the tipee) There are even rules about when you can take a "free" cup of coffee. A lot changed after Andrew when they found out incompetent or crooked inspectors were as responsible for the devastation in Homestead as the hurricane. Most of the damaged homes were nowhere close to even the northern building codes and far below the Dade code. Unincorporated Dade county got swallowed up by the City Of Miami because of the total level of corruption. Florida also started state licensing and certification of inspectors. Most of the "good old boys" couldn't make the cut.

It may happen, I am just saying my wife was a builder for 10 years and I was an inspector and neither of us heard about bribery being a thing that happens in SW Florida. The builders didn't even joke about it although she did greet a structural inspector holding a puppy once.

Get permit and inspection> It's not just a cash grab. it makes sure everything is done to code and mankes it a lot easier when the time comes to sell the house.

There is a difference between a "home inspector" and the local "code inspectors" - both building and electrical.

Most of the latter two know their stuff, while most of the former are either blind or stupd (or crooked or a combination)

Home inspectors are largely a joke and it is fairly recent that there was even any real regulation about who could call themselves a home inspector. I was hanging around the HACHI web site for a while, trying to dispell some of the "electrical code" things they were saying that had gained a life of their own and I finally just gave up. In the mean time I took the test and it was so superficial that the only questions I missed were a couple about boilers and I have never seen one. There is no limit to how often you can take that test, shoot till you win. I could have been a "certified home inspector" if I was willing to send them a check. My kids hired a home inspector and the only thing he wrote up was a few uneven pavers, on the neighbor's property. This stuff was just fine.

When I put in a new furnace and AC I had three inspectors schedule and show up here in NJ Electrical, plumbing, and fire. I passed all. I don't think many people put in their own. Maybe I'm getting like that Arlen Holder fellow? But I still won't change tires at home. Big difference in saving $4000 and saving $15. Also, in the process of scoping it out to DIY, I realized that I could move the condenser from where it was outside the den, right by a window, to the unseen end of the house where it's outside the bathroom, not near a window either. Went from it being a noisy thing, to barely noticeable. I had a couple contractors out to give estimates and not one mentioned anything about moving it. I only thought of it well into the process myself. In terms of additonal work, very little.

Well Gino, now that you've told God and everybody, hell yeah!!

When I got my new Trex deck a couple of years ago as mentioned here there was a final inspection on site. During construction pictures were sent to the county by the contractor. Then along came the tax inspector who said since I just replaced my old deck the taxes would not go up. Sure enough he lied and it now costs me about $10 more per year. My son bought a house and put up a rail fence with wire inside for his dogs. His property tax went up too.

A friend is getting a new deck where the old house plans showed a deck that was never built. I told him his taxes will go up irregardless.

A lawyer once told me that to avoid Robin Hood you go around Sherwood Forest.

The formula they use is so convoluted I don't even try to guess what my taxes will be, improvements or not. I usually have something new every year tho. Some make the list, some don't but they always see any change in the footprint. That is from satellite pictures.

Decades ago I needed to get a second septic drain field and the inspector looked in my garage and saw a pull down stairs to access the attic section and went back and said I had an unaccounted for loft and increased my taxes. I was pissed and called the county and told them to come out and I would pull down the stairs and let them look. They did and removed the tax increase.

Right, don't call it a bedroom.

I brought a home real old one the plumming and elec was all done except a updated breaker panel box.i replace the water pipes and the box. Plus I recover all the floors. Replaced bath room sink . I found out the other owner did not get a permit.i didn't know about permits I only replaced Items with new one like I said from water meter to house plus the pipes in the house from under the wooden floors. One pipe was leaking so done them all.what I do to get a permits now .

Good news, the floor covering probably does not need a permit. :)

Next question is, at this point, do you want to open a can of worms? How confident are you that the vast majority of the work was done to code and will pass? If it's some small stuff and it gets flagged, no big deal. But I know of people who built outside decks and the town made them tear it down, because they could not access what was there to inspect it. Same thing could happen if you did wiring and it's now behind walls. If you want to make it legal, then call up the building dept and ask them how to proceed. You could start out calling in anonymously and seeing how it goes.

If the work is done properly you should have no worries. No one knows what was there before either.

Outside visible work you should follow the rules and get the proper permit. Interior work aside from structural changes, I'd never bother. It adds to cost and in some cases they raise your taxes next year.

What is important is to do the work to code. You don't want problems from a half-assed job that can cause fires or other damage. Cosmetic work like a bathroom remodel usually does not need inspections anyway unless you make plumbing or electrical changes. IMO, it is not the town's business if I tile the floor and wall or add a shower enclosure.

Replacing the main electrical panel, yes, get the permit and get it inspected.

"Use a pay phone." :-)

Never got a follow up from OP.

First thing I would have done was look up the county and see what projects permits are required for. They should be on line along with the code.

Recall I did this for a new deck a while back and our little state of DE with only 3 counties had different requirements for each county.

Might add that getting a permit means a visit by an inspector which here often results in a property tax increase.