Posts Tagged ‘permits’

This is a very important thing to do if you are remodeling your home.  Many people don’t know this, but if you are making any changes in your electrical or plumbing, you must get a permit, even if you are doing the work yourself and not hiring a professional (which I don’t recommend unless you are an electrician or plumber).   In theory, this is for the homeowner’s safety; the city or county inspects the work to make sure it was done properly and to code.  Otherwise, you could end up with a fire hazard or structural damage if your electrician or plumber decides to notch joists or tie into old knob-and-tube wiring!  You don’t want something like this:

Bad Electrical Work

I’m really amazed at how many homeowners and DIYers don’t get permits, and I was determined not to be one them.  Whenever I am doing a home improvement project, I ask myself, “What would Mike Holmes from Holmes on Homes say?”  He’s the little voice inside my head saying, “Get your permits and review the people you hire carefully!”  So, I embark on the journey to get my electrical permit and hire a licensed electrician.  I know I must get permits since I need to add a dedicated 30-amp circuit to one electrical panel, move an existing 40-amp box from the floor to the wall, and install brand new lighting in the kitchen.  Supposedly, permitting and inspecting this work does the following:

• ensures my existing panel will support an additional 30-amp circuit and/or is upgraded properly to support it
• ensures I can add under-cabinet lighting to an existing circuit in my kitchen
• ensures the electrician is licensed to do the work
• ensures the electrician didn’t cut joists, add illegal junctions, overload circuits, etc.

It sounds good, right?  It’s worth the $50 permit fee!

I call my city Town Hall and ask what I need to do to get my permit.  They ask for my address and tell me I must get my permit from the county, not the city.  No sweat – I download the forms online and drive the 15 miles to the county seat to get my permit.  The nice lady there tells me I must get a permit from the city since I’m in the city’s ETJ zoning district.  I tell her the city told me I had to get it from the county, so she prints a map showing my address is in the ETJ and sends me on my way.  I go back to the city Town Hall, and the woman once again says, “You must get these from the county since you aren’t in the city limits!”  I tell her the lady at the county office told me to get them from the city and showed her the map.  Finally, the clerk at the city says, “Well, I just don’t know how to do them.  This is a new system for us.  Can you leave your application here, and I’ll call you when it’s ready?”

Damn, damn, damn.

It took them a full week to figure out how to issue a permit for electrical work.  My poor electrician (who is licensed and comes highly recommended) is frustrated.  I can’t blame him, and now I guess I see why so many people don’t get permits!  On top of that, my electrician says he’s worked with the city’s inspector on prior jobs, and she’s a clueless twit who doesn’t know how to read schematics or anything.  She’s been known to fail work because she didn’t know what she was doing only to have her boss come in, inspect it, pass it, and tell her she didn’t know what she was doing!  Joy.  How, exactly, is the inspection process protecting me if the people are incompetent?!

Where is Mike Holmes when you need him?