Permitting process for remodels is a joke.

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Nope. No permits for remodeling. There are some rules but I live in a rural area, rules are more lax here. I am more familiar about the rules for plumbing because my ex-husband was a plumber and I helped him study through years of plumbing school. Work on gas lines was supposed to be supervised by a master plumber; he had to sign off on it or be onsite when the gas company showed up or they wouldn't turn the gas back on, but if it was something easy that didn't require turning off the gas at the street then most people didn't bother having a plumber look over their work and they would hire someone from the next county over to come and do the work under the table. I remember listening to the plumbers moan about it at every single get-together. The next county over is even more rural than the one I live in and doesn't require licensing for tradesmen. My ex had the tool for turning off the gas, a long metal rod (forget the actual name of it) with a special wrench type end that he would put in the ground to turn the valve to shut off the main and he regularly used it to do side jobs for people, bypassing the gas company altogether. There are perks to living in the country!

Ah I see yes we have that rural country laxness here too in some spots though some is at the county level (not my county but ones near me). I get you now.

 

[WorldWacky]

My in laws are moving into my basement so we are having it finished.

In Metro Atlanta in the past it was much more common to NOT permit a basement then to permit it. But more and more people are moving to our area from parts of the country where not permitting a basement remodel is unheard of and those people are reluctant to buy a home that has had non permitted work done. So we picked a general contractor who was pro permit.

It is just over 1200 sq ft that is being finished so not a trivial amount.

So far we have had a combined HVAC, rough electrical, and rough plumbing inspection. From the time the inspector opened his car door until he drove off was 3 minutes.

Today we got the rough framing inspection. Once again 3 minutes.

There is no way the inspector could have possible looked over the work being done well enough to actually say if it was done properly or not.

At least the permit only cost $329 and will give us as the seller some peace of mind later but this process has made me realize that just because something was permitted does not mean it was done right.

Buyer beware!

I completely get what you’re saying kdonnel. When we renovated our house we had to get every permit and variance known to man. I was in those offices so much, people probably thought I worked there. But my FAVORITE permit was the one I received, after paying a fine, for my inground pool that was filled in. As it turns out, you need a permit to fill in a pool. My backyard had an ABOVE ground pool when we bought the house and that we had taken down shortly after moving in. Apparently, two owners BEFORE us, had an inground pool. A pool that I never had the pleasure of enjoying, or the decision in filling. But I got the fine for it not being “properly filled in.” Now...just because I wrote a check doesn’t mean they now know it was filled in correctly. The town just wanted my check. The fine was paid, the permit was granted, and to this day we don’t know if I’ll fall into sinkhole or live happily ever after.