In our township the permits are pricey, but the process wasn't bad. For electric, we had to say what we were doing (adding recessed lights) and have a rough inspection when the wiring was done. We'll need a final inspection when the kitchen is done. We actually needed to do alot more to get the kitchen up to code, but I'm glad we did. For plumbing, again just state what you are doing (installing new sink, moving it down about a foot).That will require an inspection as well. To remove a wall between the kitchen and dining room we had to remove the drywall and have it inspected before taking it down to be sure it wasn't load bearing.In our township there are specific costs of each permit needed, which in our case was a building, plumbing and electric permit. Then, the building permit cost also is based on the cost of the whole job, which is a complete racket. So someone getting completely custom cabinets, highest grade granite and fixtures, best quality flooring will pay more for a permit than someone doing the exact same kitchen layout with stock cabinets and lower cost fixtures. This is where we lowballed our estimates, and we are dyi'ing the whole kitchen. But I've heard that contractors also lowball here, since it's not a fair process for permit pricing.In the end, I'm glad we got the permits, especially since we ended up needed so much more electric work done.

What permits are required for versus what they are not required for is rather complicated where I live. On top of this, as beagles has mentioned, sometimes there is no real inspection process, just the registration of the permit with no follow up, and I think this is a way to raise your property taxes (another labyrinthine thing where I live).

Apparently unions will also follow the permitting process and hassle certain types of projects if you are using non-union.

I would find out from the horses mouth what types of projects you need permits for or not, and act accordingly.

I work with people who are always willing to pull permits and document their work, but have not pulled permits for everything that has been done, just some things (most of which apparently did not require it).

We had no choice but to pull permits (GC mentioned permits from the get-go, anyway). Our code officer drives around our town and will actually knock on your door if he sees a contractor out for any length of time...

I have to say, though, that I felt much better knowing that he was inspecting...our GC was highly recommended from lots of people, but since our code officer is such a stickler, I knew that everything would be up to code and then some. We had separate electrical and plumbing inspectors, too, who also did very thorough inspections. In the end, I feel very safe with what we had done.

JME

Permits can be anything from a life-saver to a royal pain-in-the-arse moneymaker for your municipality, but either way: you really shouldn't go with a contractor who doesn't want to pull them. It's just part of the job any professional grumbles about but knows they must do.

Permits might be worthless in terms of actually guaranteeing the work itself, since some inspectors are not very competent and following "code" still only ensures that you've got the worst acceptable job (hopefully a pro will do much better than merely follow code) -- but where they really protect you is for insurance and resale.

In the event of fire, flood or other calamity, you will need to prove that all work was done to code in order for insurance co. to cover you. In the event of resale, ditto for the new buyers.

When you have an older structure, held together with gum, duct tape and promises, a smart GC takes pictures like he's going out of style. That documents preexisting conditions and stands up in court. Both for you with the permitting process and them if you blame them for something that happens after the fact.

As a matter of fact, it's not such a bad idea of you to take many pictures yourself. Piles of materials, holes in the walls, smiling workmen holding up hammers. "After all," she simpered, "I've gotta show my progress on Facebook." Then file it away. Get pics of the trucks and license plates, believe it or not. Overkill? Maybe. Maybe not. Hope for the best and prepare for the nightmare.

At this point I could care less if it's a way for the city/county to make money. Like I ranted, if we'd had the threat of an inspector coming through every so often, I wouldn't be rebuilding and living the way I have. (If in doubt about how bad it is, find my rant about people who piss and moan about a few weeks or months.)

Another thing you can do is request the most experienced inspector. When they come, ask for their card so you can call them directly. Then there's none of that he said, she said stuff.

I'm shocked that no one ever stopped at my house. With Tyvek paper over the whole house for 3-4 years, no windows, then the windows showing up? Things like that? OMG. did they miss an opportunity.

I wish they'd been around for zoning, when my lying-piece-of-crap neighbor permitted for an attached garage and has built a 2-story, 3000 SF church 15' from my property line. We're in Open Space, which prevents development and commercial activities. Go figure.

Anyway. Get your permits. You don't want them making you tear everything down just because someone had a momentary constipation.

In my county, permits are needed for moving the plumbing, making changes to the wiring, altering load-bearing walls, that sort of thing. Changing a ceiling light to a fan -- no. We have had inspectors in the past find things that were done incorrectly (the workers probably would have argued with us but couldn't argue with the inspector), so I don't hesitate to have permits pulled. For our current reno they haven't slowed things down at all; they came out very quickly to do the rough inspections, and the permit cost wasn't unreasonable in my opinion. They aren't perfect (you get different answers when you call the permit office depending on who answers the phone -- when you go there in person it's better) but it sounds as though we might be luckier here than in some places.

Something just occurred to me.

If/when a GC blames the permit process for delays, don't hesitate to call yourself. Just to "check" that whatever call has been made to them, or if there really is a hold up.

OTOH, let the GC and workmen talk with the inspectors. You don't need to stick your un-construction-educated nose in where it might just create more trouble. Sometimes when you open an old home, those previously grandfathered things are not any longer.

They might be just fine, but now they'll need to be redone, etc. Sometimes that's a good thing, but sometimes it's just more expense and time to you.

It's hard to remember that although you/we're the owners, the owner of the job is the GC. He/she is in charge of your satisfaction.

We eliminated two firms in our area who didn't want to be held to the Permit process. This is a HUGE RED FLAG. When a General Contractor "does not want to pull a permit" there is a good reason for that: The permit makes the contractor responsible for their portion of the work -- and they should be.

If the homeowner pulls the permit, or worse ignores the process completely then the contractor has no liability BUT the homeowner DOES.

"We have pulled permits for some things and the ignorance of the inspectors and the lack of consistency in what is ok and what isn't is amazing. One will say to do it one way and the next will say to do it another. Most have no actual building experience. Simple bureaucrats. Studied code boks perhaps but have no idea why and what it means. "

which is why I called our permit office and asked about WHAT he would check! I'm the one who will burn and / or suffer loss if the electrical is bad and the place burns down!

putting in a light bulb? a minor electrical change (with a certified/licensed electrician)
? no, I wouldn't get a permit.

just changing out a window (no structural change)? no permit pulled

major electrical (changing things at the box/hooking up a whole house? yes, a permit

major plumbing vs changing a faucet? a permit

my dbf has replaced faucets for me (no permit). I do know that he knows what he's doing there tho. He's in contracting and has been for 50 yrs or so. He owns many homes and commercial bldgs. He knows when it's something he can do and when he needs his electrician/plumber to come on the scene.

I know the electrician he has used at least in the past 20 yrs, so I also trust him. I also follow him around asking question like 'Why are you doing that?', 'do you know what you're doing?' lol! He costs more than some, but it's worth it to me. I wouldn't let just anyone mess with my electrical.

You need to use some common sense and educate yourself. It's your money being spent AND it could mean your life (and that of your family). or a major life investment - your home.

I doubt I'd know much about the permits IF I hadn't worked where I did (and had a coworker who had prev run the permit office). From that I knew enough to know I needed them when I bought my land and had to have electrical brought in and a septic put in.

This board is also a wealth of info / education too!

and watching a few episodes of Holmes will cause you to wake up and pay attention.

We are acting as our own GC (hiring out a building company to do the structural work, beam, new windows, siding, roof deck, etc., but doing the interior kitchen remodel DIY). We pulled the permits for the whole project. We live in a small city that has recently improved their permitting process -- for residential remodels like this, it's a one-week turnaround on the permit, and we can schedule inspections and check inspection status online. This is a big-for-us project (probably $80,000 when all is said and done), but the permits are only needed for the beam, roof, plumbing, energy efficiency (insulation) and electrical. It's a full gut job, but no permits are needed for floors, cabinets, countertops, etc. The city considers all those "finishes," not "fixtures."

Yes, permitting is a way for the city to make money. What's wrong with that? I'm happy to contribute to the community. Living here is a joy and privilege, and our lives here have an impact, so we should pay our fair share. Also, we see permitting and inspections not as a hassle for us as homeowners during our own project, but rather as a protection against OTHER people's projects. Most of the inspectors here are real experts and are conscientious about their work, and I'd rather they find problems and have homeowners fix them than be affected by a neighbor's fire, water damage, sewer mess-ups, etc.

I should note that my strong opinions about permits relate our current situation. Our remodel of a 1911 Craftsman kitchen is actually a clean-up project of a 1970's era un-permitted addition/remodel. When we started demo, we discovered the entire west wall of the house was cut out to accommodate the addition, and no support posts or beam were installed to keep the second floor from falling in. An argument against permits would be: Well, it's stood this long, hasn't it? Yes, good point, but would it stand when the next earthquake comes? There was a window where a support post should have been -- no wonder it never closed correctly -- it was a load-bearing window! The jerry-rigged flat roof caused the entire NW corner of the house framing and sheathing to rot out. The mess of wiring could have caused a fire that not only would have impacted us, but also our close-by neighbors. Etc., etc.

In other words, we're happy to have the slight hassle and cost of the permits in exchange for the slight additional protection provided by inspections (of our project, and others' projects).

As a last note to eelena's question about who pulls permits for what: In our area, if you hire a plumber or electrician for a smaller one-time job, they pull the permits if they are required, and that's included in the cost of the project. For example, when we had our electric hot water tank replaced with a gas tankless, the plumber took care of all the permitting. For bigger projects like our remodel, the city planning department includes electrical and plumbing in the building permit, so as our own GC we're responsible to arrange for inspections, etc. This may be different in other jurisdictions. Another thing that's unique to our community is that the planning department and permitting department are SUPER helpful. They got heat for years about being slow and obstructionist, and the last mayor's administration led a real turn-around. Now, when we walk up to the counter with our draft plans, we immediately get to talk to a planner who gives us suggestions on what to change before submitting the permit application, and they respond to email within a day of inquiries. When we submit the application, we get a response within a week. If we want to schedule or check on an inspection, we can do it online. Plus, the building market here has been so slow the last few years they're very available and eager to have customers!

We are in the middle of a major kitchen remodeling project involving plumbing, electricity and removing some interior walls. I asked several contractor about permit and was told it is not necessary as long as they are licensed. I am a bit worried now. But we also had Renewal by Anderson open up some windows a few years ago. That project involved cutting exterior walls and moving electrical outlet. They did not pull permit either. We live in Fairfax County in Virginia.

Here is an older thread regarding permits. Older, "testier" crowd and many DIYers. The kiddie pool is insane. LOL

Here is a link that might be useful: Permits?

In our community, while permits are required, they're not really a money maker for the local gov't. When you get a permit, you are also exempted from paying sales tax on the materials used in the project. (and because we're isolated and only accessible via airplane or several hours on a boat, almost all materials are purchased locally) In many cases, the permit can cost less than the amount of money saved in sales tax avoidance. They're using a carrot approach rather than the stick approach - and it seems to work well. Now, are all of the inspectors competent...?

If you're unsure about a permit - call your town's Building Dept. Do not rely on your contractor to provide you the gospel truth about permits - he/she might, but then again they might not - and as we all know, "ignorance of the law is no excuse". If there's a problem regarding code or an inspection - TALK to the inspector. It's always amazing to me how many problems can be avoided or resolved by talking. It doesn't always work, but not talking about problems almost always fails to resolve them.

The insurance risk is reason enough to comply with all permitting requirements. You can always call your town's inspectors' office to ask if a specific project requires a permit.

I don't care about people who skip the permit when they replace a light fixture using a licensed electrician. But I would not in ten thousand years purchase a house with major renovations and no permits on file at town hall--at least, not unless it was priced the cost of land alone less demolition and removal. A permit doesn't guarantee a great job, but lack of a permit for a major reno guarantees corners were cut.

Of course, doing a major reno without a permit, you better be sure you are on best terms with your neighbors as well as anybody who happens to drive down your street. Otherwise you might be halting your appliance shopping so you can empty your bank account to tear your brand new $100K or $200K addition down to the ground.

I would absolutely pull permits if anything structural is being done or if new wiring or plumbing is being done (beyond just replacing existing lights or faucets with new ones at the same locations).

We decided not to apply for permits for a "minor" kitchen remodel in our last house. We replaced all the materials in the kitchen (cabinets, counters, tile, appliances, sink, faucet, etc.), but the existing footprint was not changed - sink, appliances, etc. stayed where they had been previously. We had replaced all the electrical wiring in the house 2 years prior (with permits) and made sure we had a dedicated microwave circuit and other electrical needs covered in the kitchen so we would not need electrical work later when we made the kitchen pretty.

Also, in Maryland there is a Guaranty Fund that I don't believe you are eligible for if you knowingly failed to have a permit pulled. The fund covers the "actual loss," which means the cost of restoration, repair, replacement, or completion that arise from an unworkmanlike, inadequate, incomplete, or abandoned home improvement. My MIL had to use it when her contractor did REALLY shoddy work that did not pass the inspections.

Jjnv, here is the Fairfax page that outlines requirements. They do a great job on the website spelling it out for you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fairfax County, VA

"the inspections that go w/those permits are to protect YOU from sloppy (or unknown) electrical or plumbing work"

If only.

They are mostly a way to collect money and then an excuse to raise assessments.

The inspector is not really there as QA for the work, and with the few minutes spent on the inspection are not going to catch anything but the most egregious violations.

The insurance company has to pay for your mistakes.
They would like to be able to go after someone else to pay, like a pro that carries insurance.

Glad to see you advocate for more rigorous inspections.

Around here, unless one is moving electric/plumbing/etc...one doesn't need to pull permits. Just replacing cabinets and appliances? No need to pull permits.

It looks like I may, MAY finally get to do my kitchen. Those of you who have been around the forums for forever and a day may remember me...I'm holding my breath and crossing my fingers.

(Something will blow up. Whenever I have the money together to do this kitchen...SOMETHING BLOWS UP. sigh.)

We had to pull permits for electrical, plumbing, and HVAC but not putting in new cabinets using the same footprint.

I only have a minute so didn't get to read through this whole thread so excuse me if I am repeating what someone else said. We are having our basement done and need a permit. I would highly recommend going to the permitting department yourself and asking for the names of the 3 best contractors they deal with when inspecting the work. I would start with them for quotes. That is what we did with our basement and the guy is amazing...and reasonably priced. Also, not sure your situation where you live but we relocated almost 4 years ago and put a bid on a house that didn't have a permitted basement. My husbands company would not pay the closing costs.... with the relo package on that house because there was not permit so we had to back out. HTH :o)

Gosh...now I'm scared! We just finished a kitchen remodel without permits. They did make some electrical and plumbing changes (correcting work done by other contractors in the last few years which they said had not been done properly). And we moved the door going to the garage over about 20". Throughout the process they told me things had to be done a certain way to align with code, such as a dedicated circuit for the MW. I guess some things an inspector can see..like the circuit panel, but how can they possibly determine if plumbing or electrical behind walls is ok? My husband finished our basement 20 years ago without a permit, but he did follow the code book for the electrical. Heck, I just looked into converting our fireplace to gas and the guy at the fireplace store said the hearth has to be 18" deep. Our house, built in 1984, has a 16" hearth. Now I have to cut into my wood floor to make it 18"? How much will all this come back to haunt me?

Thanks to everyone for your insights. I've been reading the threads for the past couple months and have learned a lot. I'm hoping to post more as we start taking pictures of the current kitchen and playing with the layout.

We did not pull permits either. We were all DIY, although before you cringe, we had experienced people do the pipes and the new outlets. The issue for us was that in order to go ahead with the remodel, an inspector would likely have frowned upon our hallway just shy of 36" wide created by knocking out a closet (with no electrical or plumbing running through it). It was the single solitary way to make the kitchen at all functional. But our house is old and funky in some ways, so hopefully the slightly narrow hallway will get swallowed up in old house weirdness.
It was a risk...but we had everything done to code. And thankfully no nosy neighbors!

"How much will all this come back to haunt me?"

Maybe not at all. Maybe you'll be lucky. Maybe your house will be unsaleable. Maybe an inspector will walk through your house and make you rip out your kitchen and your basement. Yes, it happens. You'll never know until it does, or until you sell.

I see DIY differently than a GC not getting permits.
My dad did a lot of electrical work.
He was very knowledgeable and meticulous with his work.
DH and DD(now deceased) hid in the basement for 3 days to electrify the basement.
Lots of positive comments when people see the lights - nothing fancy and the basement is unfinished but it does have light!

If the work is one that will require permits, yes, I pull them. You can often get away with it, but when you get caught it's painful.

You can shorten the time by talking to the permit department first to find out exactly what parts require permits. Go, in person, with a rough plan and find out what they really want. Get copies of the codes.

You can ease the inspection process by making sure that what you put on the forms matches what gets done ... those "while we have the wall open, why don't we" moments will cause problems. Either be really precise and follow it or really vague to leave wiggle room.

If you suspect there are previously unpermitted projects, let the building inspectors know. There are lots of extremely old houses here ... "we won't know until we get the wall opened up" is acceptable to our permit guys. If the electrician uncovers a mess, it's acceptable to take a few pictures of it and fix it without adding to the permit.

We live in Florida. A friend did some work that required a permit, and did not get one. When he went to sell the house, there was a big issue regarding the work done without a permit. The work had to them be inspected (requiring opening walls)and then permit fees and fines paid in order to sell the house. That was an eye opener for me. As in any business, there are good and bad folks. A good inspector will insure the work being done is safe. When building my home, the inspector was a big pain, but did catch a few things that would have come back to haunt me later on.

I'm looking at that general fund here in Maryland. It's with the MHIC complaint I have to file here against Thompson Creek for the continued damage the new gutter system has done to my house.

It can take a couple of years over here for resolution, but what I have I got but time. Time to save and have that rebuilt. Why not. Rebuilding everything else in my house. Much of which could have been avoided with inspectors looking over someone's shoulder.

I now consider permit fees simply consultation fees for an overseer.

"We just finished a kitchen remodel without permits."

"Maybe not at all. Maybe you'll be lucky. Maybe your house will be unsaleable. Maybe an inspector will walk through your house and make you rip out your kitchen and your basement. Yes, it happens. You'll never know until it does, or until you sell."

A lot depend son exactly what work was done, and who did the work in many places.

Some places revoke a CO on sale (or even offering for sale) and then come back and do a detailed inspection looking to raise assessments.

Other places never look after issuing the CO unless the place gets condemned (a sometimes drawn out process unless you have major damage).

If the work requires a permit and none was pulled a later sale can raise issues with an inspection by the purchaser, but even that is very location and buyer dependent.

The permit system has become a money maker, and not a whole lot more.
And if something is missed you usually have no recourse against the government inspector unless you can show outright fraud (as in a bribe).

Incorrect. There is no need to send out an inspector to increase an assessment. There is no need to do a tear-out to increase an assessment. That can be done after permitting or simple observation driving down the street. Inspectors can and very, very frequently do find and tag code violations.

AHJ's can be capricious and some localities have ridiculous requirements, and both homeowners and contractors are right to complain about them. But contractors who try to call into question the entire process simply want to cut corners to save time and money.

Another consideration is if you will ever have work done in the future that perhaps WILL require a permit. If the inspector or construction people will see it, you'll have to do it over again to get up to code.

We were just going to switch rooms around and add two cantilevered bump-outs to those rooms. But - OOPSIE! The foundations for those rooms weren't up to code. I say foundations because each contiguous room had a different one. Congratulations, we have added basement space! Because they had to tear out the old foundations! And dig down four feet! And pour new footings and foundations! And a new concrete floor! Adding time and $$ to the project!

Just something to think about.

bean

Pulling a permit depends on the type of work you are doing. If it is a simple kitchen redo with no structural, plumbing, or electrical work within the walls to be done what is the permit for. The inspectors for the town look at these modifications and not whether your contractor installed the cabinets right. If trim or the paint is bad they have no power to make them do it right. They deal with building codes and what changes were made that affect those codes. If you have new electrical work done from the panel then yes get an underwriters certificate. Most building departments will tell you if you have to pull a permit based on the scope of the work. If simple interior replacement what will the inspector look at? If major redo with walls moved, plumbing moved or extensive upgrade of electrical then get the permits. Permits will not insure a good job only a job that meets code. Only a good contractor can do that for you permit or not.

Others have touched on this, but I wanted to make an explicit point. Even if you DO do your work to (current) code, there is still a potential problem going sans permit. Namely, codes change. Say you redo some of your electrical system without a permit, and, by golly, you make sure you follow code to a "T." You are smug, because you figure the worst-case scenario is that they find you and ding you with a fine. (For the moment, let's leave aside the scenario of having to open up walls here.) Then, 6 years later, your jurisdiction adopts the new version of the electrical code. And let's say that the code changes affect your earlier work. (Who knew they would require tamper-resistant outlets in the kitchen, or a dedicated 20 A circuit for a bathroom?)

Now, you want to make another change, say, add a dedicated outlet for your fancy new speed oven. You decide to hire the job out, and your sparky pulls a permit. Ooops, now all of your earlier work must be brought up to the new code. If you had pulled a permit for the first job, it would have been grandfathered in under the old code. Just sayin'.

With all the remodeling going on and millions of homes sold every year, are permits....or rather the lack of them.... effecting home sales? I can't imagine with every sale, people are having to produce permits for work done over maybe 20 years or more, ripping down walls to prove things are to code, etc....no house would ever be sold if this is the case....I remember when my parents retired in the late 80s and sold our house after 30 years, something wasn't right with the patio (can't remember what) and they just accepted less $$ so the new owners could have the problem fixed (which most people don't unless it is a safety issue) ...they weren't fined, or asked for permits, etc....

If I'm having work done, I'm sure to have permits pulled. If they don't want to pull permits, they don't get the job. (My city does inspections within 24 hrs;my previous city could take weeks.) If I'm doing it myself, permit schmermit. I'm offended I'm supposed to get a permit to change a light fixture or faucet!

It can affect resale. The house I purchased last year was priced more than $100k less than it would have been if the kitchen had been permitted--and that is on top of the price drop from just needing remodeling.

The kitchen is uhhh not dangerous. I think it was professionally installed (though obviously not professionally designed). Permits would have been prudent.

Sure permits affect resale. Home inspectors will find things that are not up to code yet not grandfathered, and the buyers will require them to be fixed before sale or get a discount for each item. A remodel job from the '50s may be no big deal unless something is obviously very wrong with it (a sagging addition) but a recent remodel with no permits will be a very big deal on resale.

"There is no need to send out an inspector to increase an assessment."

No on said they 'need to", just that they use the CO inspections in any number of jurisdictions to gain access to the interior to look for changes.

There is plenty of work that can be dine without anything visible from outside that would increase value.

Pretty hard to do from the street.

Some of it does not even require a permit, so they want a chance to get a look around.

It also gives them a chance to steer work to the often union tradesmen that are the only one allowed to do some type of work in various places.

Only licensed electricians and plumbers are allowed in a number of states (often in the northeast).

ANY un-permitted work they find at a CO re-inspection will often generate a 'rip it out' order, and require a licensed person to put it back.

I'm offended I'm supposed to get a permit to change a light fixture or faucet!

Are you sure that is true where you live? It is not the case where I live, and I thought our rules were pretty strict. Perhaps I am not calibrated for strictness correctly!

The house we bought had an unpermitted bathroom in the basement that was probably put in 20 years ago. We made the sellers take it out because we didn't want to be left holding the bag when we went to sell. Due to the sloppy nature of the original job, removal was complicated and it cost them a good sum of money. Then, in removing the bathroom, they exposed mold. Oops. More money for remediation. So even an old remodel can be problematic for the seller.

In emails that went back and forth with the seller, we always referred to the bathroom as "the illegal bathroom." They apparently did not appreciate this description, and kept calling it "the bathroom that is not reflected in town records."

I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for permits when purchasing a house, especially one with questionable attributes. My city was able to produce them going back to 1961.

Whether or not the inspector is useful varies, but what the threat of an inspection does is make the guy doing the work know that potentially someone who knows something more than the homeowner could maybe possibly look at it.

Anyway, it's the law. I'll break it myself, but I'm not gonna pay someone to break it.

After I remodeled my kitchen in my last home, my assessment didn't increase. (Actually it dropped thanks to the whims of the housing market but it wasn't reassessed due to the same-footprint remodel.) In my current house, we've only done maintenance stuff (roof, pool work, etc.). Just like our previous jobs, inspectors didn't give a darn about anything but what they were inspecting--except for CO detectors. They didn't actually look. They just asked.

Like Angie, we don't need to pull permits for "finishing" such as faucets or lighting units. It's only when the plumbing or electrical "fixture" is being moved or new is added. The definition of "fixture" here is specific: sink, drain, outlet box, etc. Something that is "fixed" in place, not something that is easily swapped out. Check with your local planning office -- the city code is dense, but here they have easy-to-follow one page checklists for homeowners who want to know "do I need a permit for...." Here, you can even build un-permitted structures on your property as long as it's less than 150 sqft and doesn't have plumbing or electrical.

i would not consider doing any kind of major work on house without pulling permits. what happens when you go to sell the house - the new buyer will want assurances that for example the new electrical that replaced the old knob and tube was done to code. Without a permit and the contractor long gone and no longer interested in your project how are you doing to demonstrate it was done correctly? anything that touches major systems in house, demo etc i would get a permit. replacing a front door with new like door i did not get a permit for.

I just took a look at my county's permit website. It said that in addition to installation you need a permit to REPAIR electrical and Hvac. Really? If this is the case than electricians, plumbers, Hvac guys wouldn't get any work done...they'd spend their lives at the permit office. OR do licensed contractors have "blanket approval"? We've always used licensed contractors with good reputations, why isn't this enough? Can anyone get a license as an electrician, etc...this doesn't make any sense to me.. In the the last few years we've had a new heating and AC systems installed by one of the top companies in our area..they never mentioned or showed me permits.

Joanie: I believe that those guys and gals spend more time interacting with the permit office than you are guessing. Sure, the permit office deals more readily and easily with them than with a homeowner, and, in my jurisdiction at least, there is a formal mechanism that allows licensed tradespersons to begin the job first, and follow up with the permit paperwork within a certain time of starting. For homeowners, you are supposed to have the permit before you start.

My big bath reno got the sticker in the window and multiple inspector visits. Other smaller jobs got phone calls between the inspector and the contractors, who were already well-known in town hall. But there were permits where permits were needed. I didn't ever lift a finger for them.

Keep in mind repairs can range from tightening a loose fitting to replacing a boiler or rewiring a house.

Angie -
Excellent point on the "grandfathered" conditions.

I have stuff that, while safe, is so far out of "code" that it's ludicrous. Comes from having a house built before the codes existed.

Make sure your GC is licensed, bonded, insured...and will pull permits. If you're doing a major kitchen remodel (or any major work on your home) you'll probably need several permits. It's part of the process...so take it into account, when considering budget, timeline, etc.