Don't upset the inspector

In our town where I work, the homeowner fee is 1% of value. The commercial/industrial rate is 3%.

In Florida it appears the other thing homeowners can't do is draw their own plans. You can do all the work once you do get the permit tho.

The property appraiser seems to be a totally separate operation. They have found all my unpermitted work within a year and raised my taxes but I never got in trouble for it. They have better records of my projects than I do.

CAD, mostly.

which reminds me, I've been meaning to CAD up my house for just this eventuality, and I haven't gotten very far with it.

nate

That was one of my ill fated trips down town. They rejected a stamped plan because it wasn't the "scale" they wanted. (11 x 14, not the huge paper everyone else uses) even though the whole project fit on it in the standard 1/4" per foot. The woman actually told me they don't want to look at "hand drawn" plans. I am not sure where she thinks the rest of the plans actually come from.

snipped-for-privacy@aol.com wrote: ...

That's simply a storage/retrieval issue -- they're likely set up to handle C drawings. As the other respondent notes, the bulk of everything comes from CAD systems and the engineers and architects have the equipment to churn out drawings as easily as you can print common letterhead.

I suspect that's not part of the actual law but simply an office practice where you live. It's definitely not worth fighting a battle over, however... :)

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One approach I've heard used with mixed results is to meet the inspector with a steely eye and a pistol strapped to your hip.

A cheroot helps.

One problem with codes is that if one place has a particular requirement, it must be a good idea so we need it too. Some of the jurisdictions are trying to implement International Building Code.

Steve is correct on the WH quake straps in NV. In '95 closing on a house a Disclaimer was added, from CA rulings - lead in faucet manufacturing.

I have been in my first quake ever, a small one in the Las Vegas Valley some years ago.

The inspectors check the dates on a WH and if it has been changed after a code, then quake straps are required.

The fancy ones look like seat belts vs an early metal galv. strap from HD.

Watch out the left coast is coming your way:)

Ask your insurance agent what happens if you have a loss which is somehow related to work done which should have had a permit, but didn't.

When selling a house the purchase agreement may have an area where the seller must specify any work which was done without a permit. What now?

I don't know of anyone that ever ran into those situations. Have you?

#1. been there done that with the insurance guy. No problem.

#2. not selling the house

#3. Any such questions arise like that with me and I'd just say "Like that when we got here". Done.

nope, me neither. Never been asked about wiring by an insurance company, never brought up remodel particulars whilst buying a house (and we've bought

The town I lived in didn't have an inspector.

But, you still had to goto city hall, and get a permit for any work around the house.

Had nothing to do with getting it right... it was just "legal extortion".

Hear hear, most inspectors are professional and the work is demanding. Lots of paperwork and dealing with people with a bad attitude is not easy. There are strict guidlines that the inspector must follow but, if you look hard enough you can almost always find infractions. When the people I'm dealing with are co-operative I usually work with them to solve the problems and move on. There is plenty of work without having to return to a site.

T>>>>Eventually he did.

Reality is nature's way of keeping things straight.

Steve

I have. But I am not answering for Mike.

Steve

Extortion is extortion. You pay the money or you suffer the consequences. It's a very simple concept.

Steve

In the towns where I have lived, permits serve two purposes: First, they, if done right, insure that safety and building code provisions are met; Second, they alert the city to possible improvements in the property, which can result in an increase in property tax.

So if the tax rolls show the property I'm looking at has three bedrooms and no air conditioning, but my visit shows five bedrooms and central air, that is an indication of unpermitted work, which will, at least, increase the property tax when discovered. But more dire is that if I do such work, or buy property on which it has been done, and there is a problem with the wiring, for example, that leads to a fire, my insurance company is going to check to see if the work was permitted, and deny coverage if it was not.

Around here, if a homeowner has been cited for do> A friend who shall remain nameless called. He lives in the county