When remodeling or doing other work at your home, be sure to have the proper permits!

Reasons for obtaining various permits:
• A permit is required for anything structural, electrical, plumbing or HVAC related as well as outside work. Before doing any work, call the Building Permit office to see what you need. Your contractor will get them.
• The permit process looks at zoning, setbacks, safety concerns, and that a licensed contractor will be doing the work. (We had a neighbor finish building a big shed in the wrong place. He had to take it down, move it, then build it again)
• The inspector is a double check for work done by licensed trade workers.
• In some of our remodeling projects, I have seen work done by licensed “professionals” which was not inspected that could have caused the house to burn down. And to add to the pain, the homeowner already paid once to have it done “correctly”, then paid again to have us fix it. (some of you reading this have been there)
• A permit is about $90 for each type of remodeling work done. In relation to your project, it is not big dollars.
• If a contractor tries to talk you out of it, be aware, it may bite you in the butt, and it is illegal to not get one.
• When selling your home in the future, after some remodeling has been done, the public records will only show the work which has been permitted. So if you had a basement finished without permits, it will show as unfinished space. I have had many calls from homeowners over the years asking what they have to do, because they did not get a permit. To make the house salable, the homeowner must prove to the inspectors that it was built to code, which means cutting holes in sheetrock, taking apart walls- they can ask you to do anything, then you get to pay to fix it as well as fix all your “holes” in the walls. BTW the permit fees are doubled.
• Get your permits, be happy.