From what I've seen, policies regarding the length of open building permits really varies according to location. We completed our retirement house a little over a year ago- after 4 long complicated years of building, and our contractor managed to keep our building permit open for the entire 4 years. In that county ( in southwest Florida), a building permit was good for six months, but it could be renewed either by scheduling and going through an inspection, or by paying the county for another six month extension. At the time, there was no limit on the length of time the permit was open ( I think they may have changed things and there is a one year limit now). As long as the building permit was open, the building codes in effect when it was first issued applied to the building. If the permit was allowed to expire, the builder had to apply for a new one, resubmit the plans for approval one more time, and the codes in effect at this later time would apply. I think it's pretty standard policy that any item approved by the county under an existing permit cannot be "unapproved" later on in the event of building code changes. So I'd imagine an evaporation pond approved under a previous permit is safe regardless of how much current inspectors might hate it or how environmentally "unfriendly" county bureaucrats might regard such a device, LOL. That is, hopefully, if there was a final inspection to "close out" the permit for that project. The final inspection "closes out" the permit, ie, the inspector/county signing off that the work has been completed in a workmanship-like manner, meets current standards and codes, etc. Without that final inspection, the permit remains open, expires sooner or later, and the work done under this permit is considered uncompleted. THIS type of scenario is what subjects a homeowner to problems sooner or later, ie, fines, additional inspections and the possibility to being required to tear down the construction, and rebuild according to building codes in effect that the time the open permit is discovered. This situation has occurred in our area where county building and zoning employees discovered that several townhouse and condo developments built after Hurricane Andrew in 1992 were built without the additional hurricane protection ( no hurricane straps on trusses, rebar reinforcement in the outside walls, attachment of tie beam to outside walls) required by more stringent building codes put into effect after 1992. Apparently these dwellings also had open permits that had never been completed, this was discovered about 10 years after the building was finished. The homeowners living in these places at the time this was discovered had no idea these problems existed, but they were still held responsible by the county to make the required fixes. Most of these folks didn't have the money to make these fixes, had their homeowners' insurance policies canceled, couldn't get new insurance and couldn't sell their homes either. The last I heard, they were suing the builder ( well known mass production builder I won't name), the owners at the time of said company ( a large theme park whose name I won't mention either), and maybe the county for not catching these deficiencies during the building process. The builder and theme park both disavowed responsibility for these problems, but I don't know what the outcome finally was. I wouldn't skip a final inspection, and getting that CEO....

Home inspectors are not code inspectors, and neither are architects tough they should have a better understanding of code requirements, they are unlikely to have knowledge of ALL the bits and pieces of ALL the codes. Even AHJs often have separate inspectors for mechanical, plumbing, electric, etc. A typical home inspector is looking for visible defects. If they cannot be seen or easily detected (like run all the faucets at the same time to check water supply and DWV performance) they are not going to find much. Having the architect (or a home inspector) IS another set of possibly fresh eyes, but that is about it. At least some of the home inspectors organizations disavow new home construction inceptions.

In my experience, final inspections from the building department are sort of a non-event. The real inspections are the ones that were done while work was in progress and before walls and ceilings got closed up. The final inspection is usually just a check for any glaring problems (unlikely), to ensure that things like smoke detectors are in place and operating, and that energy conservation requirements are fulfilled. When it comes to your punch list, it's always a good idea to hold back some amount of your final payment until the items on your list are satified, but it's probably unreasonable to withhold the entire final payment. If you have a good working relationship with your GC, there's probably no reason to think that he'll skip out leaving you unhappy at the very end of the process. I've always found that the best way to deal with the punch list and any withheld payment is to simply discuss it with the contractor and find a number that you both find agreeable. Depending on the scope of the project, and unless there are a number of very large items on your punch list, $2,000 to $3,000 is probably in the ballpark -- but you'll probably have some sense on what you think is a fair number. Your contractor most likely will want to get things wrapped up quickly, too -- just so he can close his books on your project. Hope this helps. James

Thanks, everyone. It is a big relief. For a large part of the time, the front door looked like this... What will I do with my free time? Few hundred bulbs in and some #$%#@$ bamboo out. Move a baby deodar cedar. Shoot more squirrels with my power ranger squirt gun. Finish the decorating. Only 12 more window panels to sew! Party -or- Relax? Which one has more margaritas? If I could make it rain in Texas, I surely would. It hurts my heart to think of y'all plus your neighboring states, plus georgia and the drought. I will wish for you a nice, mild, slow moving, tropical storm. And best wishes to all those who have suffered the loss of family or their home. You are stronger than you know.