Indoor renovations - Permit process....how does that even work?

Up there on the to do list is a kitchen remodel (pictures to come) and one of the objectives is to knock down a wall, remove the soffit and flip where the fridge/oven are.

I think I'm supposed to get a permit for the wall knock down but people are telling me to skip the permit. Regarding the new 240v plug for the oven I think I should probably get a permit. How does this even work? Do I call up the city, pay for a permit, DIY the new plug and then they come out to make sure it was well done? Any recommendations?

Not sure in your area but we had to have a certified and insured electrician do the work in my house to keep our insurance.

Enyar wrote: Do I call up the city, pay for a permit, DIY the new plug and then they come out to make sure it was well done?

Generally that's how it works, but the rules vary depending on the city. Call them on Monday and ask, or check the city website for more information.

Don't call anyone. Do the work and move on with your life. Dragging the city or county into it just makes life complicated and makes everything take twice as long.

You are in FL... You are really asking for trouble if you get a permit.

Having said that, it is also illegal for you to do it without a permit. You probably need a permit just to paint.

So what to do...what to do...kinda depends on how you intend to handle it.

The core purpose of the permit is to raise your taxes. Sucks, but true.

So, the question is, when, and how are you going to do it??

If you are going to take off 2 weeks and work on it during the work week- get a permit.

If you are unable to work clean enough that the exterior of the house looks undisturbed (including piles of debris) anytime during the work week when the inspectors are at work- get a permit.

If you are on questionable terms with your neighbors- get a permit.

If you live on a main intersection, or near any government employees or council members- get a permit.

If you can work weekends only, and keep it clean during the week, and think you will not get caught, avoid the permit.

If you get a permit in FL, I am pretty sure you will not be able to do your own work without a FL licensed contractor.

In most areas the penalty for getting caught without a permit is double the permit fee- not very expensive. YMMV in FL. FL is the most regulated state in the country for construction. (I am a licensed contractor near the border of FL, and own property in FL, but won't work in FL).

If you know what you are doing, don't pull a permit and just do it. If you decide to pull a permit, you had better really know what you are doing, and everything else in the general vicinity of where your scope of work is had better be spot on. Some places the building permit cost is based on the total cost of the job. The electrical permit should be a set fee plus a small fee for every device on the permit. One other thing to consider if you pull a permit; everything you touch will need to be brought up to code.

As I said earlier it all depends on local regulations. Go here: http://www.tampagov.net/construction-services/how-do-i#homeowner_sub_work

I've remodeled every house I've lived in to some degree or another. My rule has always been "if you can't see it from the street: no permit".

I tore down a couple of walls in my current place and it never even occurred to me to go ask the city for permission to do so. Permits are just money grabs by greedy municipalities looking to justify their own existence.

Another big reason for permits and inspections is to protect homeowners from unscrupulous contractors.

tr8todd wrote: Another big reason for permits and inspections is to protect homeowners from unscrupulous contractors.

Yes, that is the stated purpose.

30+ years of construction contracting has convinced me otherwise.

I've never seen the permitting process stop an unscrupulous contractor.

With our new barn we went through all the permitting. No way around it.

The inspector walked around the completed building for 5 minutes, signed the paper and left. His inspection meant nothing.

I'm currently ripping out a faulty old floor. Not bothering with permitting.

Interesting.

Though I am not qualified to do the work yet, I generally am pretty close to qualified once I actually get down to the task of doing it. Either through youtube, internet research or posts on here, I can get a pretty good idea of what needs to be done in order to do it right.

That being said, one of the things on the to-do list are all new windows. I was quoted $4500 just to replace 1 sliding glass door (6ft x 8inches). I read through a couple blog posts (MMM has a decent one) and figured there is no way that's reasonable. That being said, it is on the outside of the house. Permit/DIY or no?

Another one that's on my list is a new fence and a shed but it looks like that doesn't require a permit if it meets certain specs (fence 6' high or less, shed <100 sq feet).

What if I want to add a patio?

Another question. Let's say everything is done to OEM standards/ is up to code. As long as I'm not adding on a west wing to my house or anything..are their any repercussions when it comes to resale or anything? It's not like anyone would have access to the original floor plans in my house or anything. As long as it looks legit...should be ok?

You are asking too many questions.

As a homeowner, if you want to play the "ignorance is bliss" card, play it.

The building department most likely has pretty detailed plans, including drive by video, if they choose to use it.

Like I said, the penalty is generally double the permit fee. There have been cases where they made the owner rip out un-permitted work.

Florida is generally pretty tough.

Real answers:

Tampa- When is a license required?

Tampa- When is a building permit required?

Tampa- When is a permit required for other trades?

Tampa- Permit fees

Didn't find anything on fees and penalties for doing unpermitted work.

Bottom line: Yes, you can do your own work as a homeowner. Yes, you can pull a building permit. No, you are not supposed to do work without a permit.

Not sure if you can pull a permit as a homeowner for mechanical trades.

if my house, i would not. if customer's house, i would. i get permits all the time, and mostly it's a cash grab by the municipality. they could care less if i put a window in properly or that it ever actually got done, as long as they get their $ for the permit. some places want a permit for major structural work or mechanical work and nothing smaller, some want a permit for you to blow your nose. one inspector walked into a customer's house that we were working in, uninvited, because we had the door open and he claimed to watch us unload cabinets the day before then come back to finish. he told me the customer would need to get an electrical permit to do a tile backsplash in the kitchen because she would have to install box extensions.

they get pretty silly sometimes.

As a rule, I would not even think of getting a permit for any work that I am doing myself on my own property. I try my best to pretend that I actually own my property even though the truth is that I only rent it from the government because if I stopped paying property taxes they would come and take it.

My neighbor had to get one of her HVAC heat pumps replaced. It has propane plumbed to it for her heating. The final inspection from the city inspector took place about 3 months after the work was completed. If it was to make sure she was safe and would not explode in a propane-fueled fireball it was ineffective. If it was a process that employed a couple city workers without adding a lot of value, then it worked great. The net result was that the contractor had to leave a step ladder sitting beside her house for 3 months so the inspector could get a look at whatever it was he was inspecting and to extract some dollars from people's wallets.

I've got permits for things that change or add to the floor plan of the house. That way I could count in the changes when I sold the house. My 1st house I purchased was an unfinished cape cod that I finished the upstairs myself. Got the permits to change it officially from a 2 bedroom/1bath to 4 bedroom/2 bath that significantly changed the value when I sold the house. Things to consider is future plans. Plan on selling sometime? Does the changes raise the value if documented?

The only changes that I think would want to be documents for value would be the windows (for insurance purposes), the patioo and if I decided to enclose part of the garage as a mud/laundry room. The latter is a long long way down the to do list and I don't know that I want to lose the sq footage in the garage anyway.

I can't speak for Clearwater, but here a Permit is required if you alter the roof line or the building's foot print.

The building inspector here told me they don't drive around looking for infractions, 99 times out os 100 a neighbor turned you in.

I wouldn't get a Permit but I would get familiar with terms like Bearing Wall and some basic engineering load calculations.

Dan

Took the drawings to add a carport to front of garage plus a new front porch. When I went to pick up the permit I was told I needed to put up fire proof drywall on the interior wall between the garage and the house.

I laughed at the inspector and told him " Ain't going to happen. I am not making any modifications to the garage and the wall in question is already solid concrete block from floor to roof."