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What kind of work can you do yourself?

I realize local ordinances vary but in general is a home owner allowed to do whatever construction work is necessary as long as they meet county/city codes? Including things like electrical and plumbing?

Reply to
Aaron
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Generally, yes, with the exception of natural gas work, I believe. I have no licenses, but have done electrical, framing and plumbing with the blessings of inspectors and permits to show in the future when we sell.

Reply to
ibarakicho

Around here a homeowner can purchase one or two permits a year...after that they must use a licensed bonded and insured...but more importantly a tax paying business to do the work.

Permits are not about getting a job well done...they are about collecting taxes.....and the reason a city or county government restricts homeowners from doing a lot of work is that it pisses off the licensed contractors who pay taxes on their business license each year....Ive seen inspectors breeze thru jobs so fast they could miss major mistakes in workmanship but not all are like that.

Wholesale only is the same way....some wholesale houses will tell a homeowner they wont sell to them because of insurance and liability issues but the real issue is that it knocks contractors, the wholesalers customers, out of work and also the contractors dont want homeowners finding out that the switch the contractor sells you for

40.00 only costs 3.00....

~:>

Reply to
cornytheclown

Sorry to hear you have those problems where you live. Where I live it is not like that. I am sure a few people think it is, but from my personal experience it is about getting the job done safely first and right second with no other hidden agendas.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

Most anything. It depends locally of course. Around here the limits come up quickly when it comes to multi-family dwellings however.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

The same is true in my locality. There is no listed limit on permits and the inspections are detailed enough to catch most problems. I had to redo some electrical wiring details, after an inspection. They were just matters of opinion, rather than violations of code, but I want to be able to tell anyone to whom I sell this house that all of the work has been inspected and approved. Peace of mind about safety and reliability are also factors in wanting a good inspection, and they do that well.

Luc

Reply to
Lucid

In this little town, you can do the work required on your own house with no permits. To work on someone else's house, you must be a licensed plumber, electrician, etc.

Reply to
Larrys25

I had no problem with natural gas work. Permits, inspection, lots of advice from inspector, no problem.

Bob

Reply to
Bob

In my town anyone can do gas plumbing, but firms must be licensed to do water plumbing. Can't explain that, except maybe gas pressure is so much lower that almost anything is good enough; but the cost of an error seems rather higher... I "believe" that individuals do not have to be licensed to do water plumbing, but I have never specifically asked.

Reply to
Toller

Do they simply not enforce the law, or is there really no requirement for a permit? I thought permits were always required. The rural county I have a cottage in lets stores sell illegal fireworks, but still requires permits.

Reply to
Toller

In my town, only the Owner or a licensed contractor (acting on behalf of the owner) can get a permit. So if your some guy who wants to do work, the owner has to pull the permit and hire you as a second step (and you don't need a license for that, its buyer beware). Without a contractors license to file a complaint against or property to lean, there is simply no recourse for a city to sanction a third party.

Case in point. My boss sold a tree to a contractor (tall palm). Contractor lied and did not (actually could not) get a permit to remove (told my boss he worked out a deal with city). Showed up while he was at work and dug up the tree. Neighbor called the city and they blockaded the truck until he came home. Ultimately, city and cop released the truck even though owner said he did not authorize. Bottom line, since he accepted payment, it was not a theft and he was responsible as the property owner for not obtaining the permit. The rest is s civil case between the contractor and the owner, city is done when it collects its fine (up to value of tree plus 3X permit cost, price not decided yet, could be $10k). I hear the tree moved to San Diego for $14k.

Moral of that story, the owner is ultimately responsible for all permits, regardless of who obtains it.

Reply to
PipeDown

You can do any kind of work you want to on your home. You just need to do it in accordance with local codes for such things as electrical, plumbing, gas, etc. Someone who knows has to look at it and make sure it isn't going to kill someone or be a biohazard. As for carpet, cabinets, drapes, etc, you can put in the most hideous colors and crappy jobs known to man, and you won't be penalized for it like you would for an electrical or plumbing mistake.

Something you can do is pick brains. If you have a friend, relative, in-law, etc. who will tell you what code is and help you to do it to that standard, you can save big bucks and still have it done right.

Codes vary. I recently woke up to a leaking hot water heater. $350 and four hours later, I was lighting the pilot light on a new one. I have heard here that some communities require a licensed contractor to change a hot water heater. That is probably why I don't live in one of those communities. People stated that they paid $1,000 for a hot water heater replacement, up to code, earthquake straps and all. Even if you live in an area where there are earthquakes only every few hundred years. Point is, on some jobs, you can do it yourself if you know how, codes allow it, and no one cares. If you call a repair guy you better provide your own KY jelly.

Knowing the difference in all these things can save you some big bucks, and you will end up with the same quality work and materials. Or better.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

The variations of what you (as an owner/builder) can and can't do are often politically motivated. Lobbying groups (especially local unions and some funded by private contractors) work very hard to keep jobs in the hands of their membership even when it infringes (IMO) on the rites of the property owners to do their own work. These reasons are often cloaked in otherwise rational reasonings like "we feel there is a need to protect the city water supply from non compliant hookups" or "an error in this type of work can effect poeple not on your property" (you'll find that at the root of many restrictions)

In reality, if you screw up and cause harm, you'll be sued or arrested for negligance and held accountable. This fear keeps most reasonable people from trying things well beyond their capability. I suppose some forms of negligence go unidentified until long after the jackass has left the scene.

WRT how much work or limitations on the extent of work, this is often based on the city's desire to control growth whether that be expansion or gentrification. A city's income is largely based on these types of zoning descisions as they specifically determine the permit costs and the impact on the tax assessmsnt for each property permitted.

As you can imagine, anything so political would be highly regionalized.

Reply to
PipeDown

In this case, iiuc -- let me know if I got it wrong -- the owner wanted to sell the tree, but needed a permit to do so.

The neibhbor liked the tree, and wanted to stop the sale.

In practice, could the owner have gotten a permit if he had requested one? Could the neighbor have stopped it? How much would the permit have cost? (Y + 3X = approx. 10K, but how much is Y and how much is X?)

Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let me know if you have posted also.

Reply to
mm

I see everyone saying around here. What state are you guys in? I would image the guys going thru the most hassels live in the NorthEast while people with an easier time are in the South or Western states.

Reply to
Aaron

I happen to be in Ohio. Just a few miles from me you can do almost anything you like without a permit and no one cares. Where I am you better have that permit. The difference is I am in a city and not far away it it farm land and I guess they don't bother even trying to get those farmers to pull permits.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

Absolutely, even in the Northeast region. However, be prepared to be scrutinized more heavily by the inspectors. You also accept all responsibility if things go wrong. They assume you don't know what you are doing even if you do. They are there to protect you, your family and your home. Once you prove to them you know what you are doing, they typically ease up. The inspectors are there to help you with your project. If you pressed for time, I suggest that you hire a professional. Here are some tips I have used and would like to pass on:

  1. Do things right, be prepared and ask if you unsure.
  2. Be patient, respectful, courteous and non-confrontational with the entire building department, they are people too. They can be a wealth of information.
  3. Submit detailed plans, have them approved and try not to deviate much from them. If you do deviate, revise and resubmit the plans.
  4. Ask questions about codes that you are not familiar with, especially plumbing and electrical.
  5. Ask questions about their process, which inspection do you want and when.
  6. Don't say things like "My taxes pay your salary" or "that is not how I interpreted the code to be". It is not your job to interpret the code book, it is theirs.
  7. Thank them for their time.

I hope this helps

Ed B

Reply to
Ed B

allowed

yes, most local ordinances allow general home repair to be done without special approval. however, often times local ordinances will require approval on a task which might seem trivial. For example some require permits to build a loft in a bedroom. Others have restrictions on materials and colors of roofing, siding and stone that you can use on your exterior.

One of the funniest ordinances I have heard of is that based upon the International Code Counsil you are allowed to have older windows in your house , but if you make any type of renovation or remodel you aren't allowed to use those same windows again. Even if you are just transeferring them to a different part of the house.

all-in-all, if you aren't sure you're allowed to be doing it, you might as well check the books

Reply to
GeorgeH

I built my own house and the only inspection was on how the breaker box was connected to the meter. Zero inspections after that.

Reply to
Mike Dobony

"Permits are not about getting a job well done...they are about collecting taxes.....and the reason a city or county government restricts homeowners from doing a lot of work is that it pisses off the

licensed contractors who pay taxes on their business license each year....Ive seen inspectors breeze thru jobs so fast they could miss major mistakes in workmanship but not all are like that."

Reply to
robertp

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