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Jackass neighbor

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MagnusTheBrewer said:
Permits exist for consumer protection and so that you have some recourse against shoddy work. It may not apply in the OP's case but there is a valid reason beyond the money for them. DrPizza you live in the boonies in a small community and don't have the problem of not knowing the contractors, what it says in the building code or, what the law says regarding consumer rights.
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This. building permits and inspection do have a purpose and its one i agree with.
 
BoomerD said:
I agree. There are SO-OO many "fly-by-night" contractors out there who do shoddy work, that permits are a must.
I can only imagine the "whaa-aa-aa-mbulance thread the OP would have posted had his house burned down because the contractor did crappy work...without a permit. (in many areas, insurance companies won't cover un-permitted work)

Not only does the permit process cover the ass of the current homeowner, but also (to a lesser degree) it covers the ass of future homeowners who can feel somewhat safe, knowing work of this kind was done properly and inspected.
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I really don't have a problem with the permitting process. However, look at some of the costs involved. I think the OP mentioned $100? To have a furnace installed? The inspection shouldn't take longer than a couple of minutes. $100 for a 5 minute (tops) inspection.

edit: the $100 permit was for someone to have a water heater installed. That's an even quicker inspection, of something that's incredibly routine - so routine that it would be really tough to fuck it up.
 
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DrPizza said:
I really don't have a problem with the permitting process. However, look at some of the costs involved. I think the OP mentioned $100? To have a furnace installed? The inspection shouldn't take longer than a couple of minutes. $100 for a 5 minute (tops) inspection.

edit: the $100 permit was for someone to have a water heater installed. That's an even quicker inspection, of something that's incredibly routine - so routine that it would be really tough to fuck it up.
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One of the most common and easily missed water heater screw ups is the vent not being properly sealed at the top of the water heater. It is indeed a quick thing to inspect but one that few homeowners know about until they spend a butt load of change to diagnose problems down the way.

The idea of an inspection is to catch those things that the homeowner simply isn't aware of. You read these forums and know that many of the posters here shouldn't be let out alone in the world let alone be home owners so, inspections and the permit process is cheap if only for the education aspect.
 
DrPizza said:
I really don't have a problem with the permitting process. However, look at some of the costs involved. I think the OP mentioned $100? To have a furnace installed? The inspection shouldn't take longer than a couple of minutes. $100 for a 5 minute (tops) inspection.

edit: the $100 permit was for someone to have a water heater installed. That's an even quicker inspection, of something that's incredibly routine - so routine that it would be really tough to fuck it up.
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the people probably arent mentioning that they had electrical and/or plumbing redone and thats what the permit was for.

I just checked mine and its kinda insane, 50 buck minimum.

50 bucks if I get a permit to put in my laundry sink? thats more than the sink cost.....
 
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slag said:
No, he's bitching because he has a nosy neighbor, get with the program.

I wouldn't pull a permit either. Permits exist solely to make money for the local govt.
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I'd be keeping an eye on a neighbor like this too. If they can't follow the simple rules they are bound to steal and shit too.
 
herm0016 said:
most of the inspectors could not tell the difference between your plumbing and your furnace anyway. I have seen tons of "permitted and inspected" work that was very very scary.
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pretty much this after I got home me and the guys chatted for a while and from the sound of it the inspector was more looking for a bribe to just ignore the problem...

he made several comments on how the guys drove 1.5 hrs to work on my place and asked why they were hired over "his guys" and he asked them several times what your going to do for men, I have a feeling when the work is inspected this is going to turn into a mess since this guy sounds like a class act who came out this afternoon.

The guys working on my place did not allow him access to the house thankfully since I was not present and I have marching orders form my dad and them to explain why things were done a certain way when its inspected, hopefully all will go well.

Also while joking around with the guys I asked both of them (both who have been doing this for YEARS) if they pull permits on jobs like this when they are doing it for normal customers and they laughed at me and siad fuck no. This is no fly by night operation its a multimillion dollar company.

But what made my night is when they asked me if said neighbor had some kind of wierd relationship with his dog...me and my gf glanced at eachother and busted out laughing, we long suspected him of being some kind of dog fucker......and the fact they picked up on it in 2 days without us saying anything about it was classic
 
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This happened at my house. We put in a wall to turn a second living room into a large bedroom. It was a simple task, frame the wall and drywall etc. No electrical or plumbing required, room already had a window, shouldn't have been an issue. A neighbor of ours who is a city councilmember saw the work trucks and ended up calling the city who promptly sent someone over to take a look at the work. Basically they ended up extorting us - Well we'll fine you like $500, or you can just buy the permit for 100 bucks.

My stupid county requires permits for water heater installs too. In some towns the permit costs over $200! More than the water heater costs!
 
Permits are there for your protection. Assuming your area has competent inspectors.

Any time you touch structure, electrical, HVAC , etc you require a permit. At least here they take this seriously.

I have seen too many no-permit renos and they were scary. Imagine something goes wrong and you file an insurance claim. Without permits your claim will be denied.
 
Falloutboy said:
i'm pretty sure if you do anything to your house you need a permit techinically. and thankfully I also had my water heater replaced while all this was going on but it was buttoned up and replaced and the old one gone by the time the inspector was there so i didn't have to pull a plumbing permit.
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Thanks to my father-in-law (lawyer) who explained things to me, it turns out that what needs a permit is a big gray area. Unless you are modifying structure, there is no real reason for one.

Example. I took my kitchen down to studs and rebuilt it. No permit. Even knowing all this, he said I did not need one. Technically, anything I did could be argued as being cosmetic. You don't need a permit for painting walls afterall.
 
I had a fence at a rental that was looking rough, so I replaced a 20' section of it. Couple days later I get a letter from code enforcement saying I needed to get a fence permit. I went in and asked why I needed a permit to repair a fence. They said the fence wasn't permitted when it was originally built. I had to pay $50 for the permit. It cost me more for the permit than it did to repair the fence. No one came out to inspect it. Can anyone tell me how that isn't a money grab?
 
alkemyst said:
I'd be keeping an eye on a neighbor like this too. If they can't follow the simple rules they are bound to steal and shit too.
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I don't pull permits for anything and dont "steal and shit". Read my earlier post, permits exist solely to make money for the local government.
 
I just spoke to my step-father who owns a large construction business. He said they only pull permits for new construction or add-ons (changing the structure of a house). If it's inside only and no major re-wiring he doesn't pull a permit.
 
Permits may be a pain, but ...

If I were in the market for a house I would avoid those that had had work done without a permit. Permits not only protect the homeowner but optential homeowners as well.
 
I love my neighborhood. There are very few situations where a permit is necessary, and even when it is, they are cheap.

I didn't need a permit to build a shed, build a fence, or widen my driveway.
 
DrPizza said:
edit: the $100 permit was for someone to have a water heater installed. That's an even quicker inspection, of something that's incredibly routine - so routine that it would be really tough to fuck it up.
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damn for $100 permit the inspector ain't leaving until it's fixed... otherwise he's gettin' locked in the basement like everyone else
 
MagnusTheBrewer said:
One of the most common and easily missed water heater screw ups is the vent not being properly sealed at the top of the water heater. It is indeed a quick thing to inspect but one that few homeowners know about until they spend a butt load of change to diagnose problems down the way.

The idea of an inspection is to catch those things that the homeowner simply isn't aware of. You read these forums and know that many of the posters here shouldn't be let out alone in the world let alone be home owners so, inspections and the permit process is cheap if only for the education aspect.
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Yes, let's all just cut the government a check so they can protect us from our own stupidity... 🙄 You seem to forget that
20060311-meetings.jpg

The government is simply the collective stupidity of its constituents. If the constituents are idiots, their representatives must also be idiots to appeal to them.
 
drnickriviera said:
I had a fence at a rental that was looking rough, so I replaced a 20' section of it. Couple days later I get a letter from code enforcement saying I needed to get a fence permit. I went in and asked why I needed a permit to repair a fence. They said the fence wasn't permitted when it was originally built. I had to pay $50 for the permit. It cost me more for the permit than it did to repair the fence. No one came out to inspect it. Can anyone tell me how that isn't a money grab?
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what the hell kind of fence can you put up at $2.50/ft?!?
 
Permits are for people who have no clue on how to do something but think they do. I have seen some pretty fucked up shit that was done by people that did so because they never pulled a permit. Have I always been happy about it? No, but it is something you should be aware of before ever start a project.
 
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