Am I going to have to pay thru the nose? Any chance I'll have to tear it down?

I recieved a "stop work" notice on our front door and just a while ago someone from the city was there taking pictures...I talked to him on the phone and it appears I am 8 sq ft too big to be building the structure without a permit, but the electrical needs a permit no matter what size the workshop/shed is.

Anyone else have this happen? The guy taking the pictures did comment that it looks nice and well built, so let's hope the other inspector and the city does not bust my @ss too bad..........

One of your neighbors dropped a dime..

The city/town/county will want there permits satisfied ( permits = money)

You may have to apply for a variance for the extra area noted... and the assesed value of the property may be increased, and therefore your property taxes may increase..

Unfortunately you have to play be there rules now... cooler heads will prevail... not butting heads with the inspector goes a long way (Ive been an engineer/bridge/building/welding inspector for 25 years )

Youll get through it.. it may cost you some extra bucks... and take up a bit of your time..

Nope..........RTFRB

JPEVERYTHINGTOCODE III

I imagine its a ton tougher In CA than it is here...
but we got in minor trouble once due to a contractor not getting a permit and then he got caught on a whole years worth of jobs...

anyways a resonable amount of fees (just the cost of the permit) seemed to satisfy the city...

I do agree that playing nice with the inspector is the right thing to do...

(my motto: always show respect to building inspectors and police.. they take enough crap)

b

Don't count on it. Even podunk, non smog check, non safety inspection, Tulsa, Okiehoma has city employees who are paid to do nothing else than drive around and look for residential additions and remodels that are not on their permit list. It's all about the cash!

Good luck, MIke

PS, If he knows you are 8 feet too big, he did a complete walk around of the site.

It's going to be a paper hassle, cost you some money and a lot of time, but they probably won't make you tear it down if it conforms to code and isn't infinging on your property line setbacks as called for in your zoning. Best thing to do is let everyone you deal with from the city know that you intend to play by the rules from here on out and they probably won't hang your picture in the office for dart practice.
It's starting to appear that Murphy's law may have to be renamed, Mueller's Law.

Bummer....feel yer pain....

Get a professional permit processor, the ones that hire the former City/County Inspector and planners.....give them the job and forget about it......

BTDT and got the tee shirt to prove it....

While I agree that inspectors and the permit process can be a major pain in the ass and the walllet I have to disagree that the primary function of the permit process is money for the city. I would be willing to bet that no city of any real size makes dollar one in "profit" off of their permit and building inspection process. The codes are there to keep your dipshit neighbor from doing something that may even endanger you as much as him. Also, when you go to sell your house, it will be easier in case the buyers inspection may turn up non permitted construction. Just do it right, a home despot card does not impart construction knowledge.

As a real estate appraiser my wife runs into this all the time.
People applying for refinance tell her about all the upgrades they did to make the house worth more. Then, when she checks it out at the town hall there is no record of the improvement. Sometimes they even lie to her and say they did get a permit.
If she gets an attitude from the homeowner she might mention it to the building official... just to be sure the town didn't misplace the paperwork of course.
There are some very good reasons for having the correct paperwork in place. For instance, if you have a house fire due to a woodstove that was installed without a permit your insurance co. won't cover the damage.

Damn, I'm glad I don't live in the city...

Last time a county inspector came by my dad ran him off and he hasn't been back.

I really feel sorry for you guys that can't "live" your life without some prick bitching...

last week i had an 8,000 RPM engine on the dyno and my neighbor over a mile away called me, bitching... Our county has no noise ordnance so when they call I just grin...

So the guy calls me up and says "That noise is so loud that I cannot hear my television, you are gonna have to do something about it" . So I did... I unhooked my baffle and took her straight to 8K, and then called him back to see if it was any better!

They call the cops, but the cops all went to high school with me and thay just drive up and watch! Its a hoot! everyone for 5 miles hates me!

Im my lovely town, it is all about harassement, and niosey busy bodies who have nothing better to do than tell you what you can do on your own property, becuase they do not like the the looks. here they want everyone to conform to their sense of what lloks good. keep in mind we have no restrictions on the books when we purchased house, but the god damn city tried to make all kinds of laws (and the city council is ran by realitors in this town)

They tried to ban parking of trailers, boats RV, on our own driveways (because it lowers property values they claim, no why the hell would I want to lower my properties value??) they even wanted to ban people from parking there own work trucks on there own driveways. They want to make permits required for non-major car repairs, outlaw all major car repairs, outlaw even working on a car inside your gargage 9they cited fire hazards, but when asked, could not provide one single instance of a fire from someone working on a car in the garage. They said RV s on the street endangered children who might run into the street and be hit cause the RV blocks views, but never had an instance of that on record, and even a small car is taller than a typical ten year old anyway. They wanted to ban clotheslines even. All this was proposed by a "Buetification committe" appointed by the city council. we got over 500 signitures,a nd took over the next three council meetings, so they voted it down, and then we kicked the two ringleader council members out of office the next election. I walked the beat and got 200 signatures, and when election time came along, walked the beat again to get rid of the scum.

Turns out one of the council members was a bastard realator, who would call the police to tage cars 72 hours before he would have a open house, just to get the cars moved.

dumb shit laws most of them are.

The whole permit thing is a real sore spot for me.
When unlicensed contractors ( boot leggers ) run the gauntlet without permits, insurance, workmans comp, license renewal fees, etc, all it does is make the ligit guys suffer. I refuse to lower my prices to stay competitive with the lawbreaking bozos. Permitted work benefits the homeowner. Why?
For the owner, the city verifies that the work in being done to code. Who wants a temporay house? Want cheap work? Hire cheap-illegal-guy ! You always get what you pay for.
I can rant for days... But I won't.

Mike, the worst that will happen to you, is they will double your fees and delay you until you straighten it out.
They will VERY unlikely make you tear it down.
You may have to open sample areas to prove compliance. If you have somehow made an error in your electrical load limits/wiring, wouldn't you rather have it caught by the inspector instead of the local fire dept with hoses roaring?

BIG advice to all in dealing with inspectors is this: "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir " They get to be the big boss while you look at them for their five minutes.

BTW, I used to boot leg myself...USED to. BE cool.

FYI: only homeowners or licensed contractors can pull a building permit. Don't believe a boot legger. The job copy of the permit MUST be posted on site until final inspection is signed off.

As far as getting caught, the inspectors are in all of our nieghborhoods looking at legit jobs regularly. When they see a new job they can look at the database and find that no permit exists. You'll see city cars all the time.

Play by the rules. Be happy . Sleep well.

Lose the 8 feet mike and the problem goes away.

In San Jose 5 years ago a 10'x12' structure was ok w/o permits. Get creative and claim an awning or porch for the unpermitted part. Then bolt on temporary panels/walls later. There are grey areas in the code. I'm surprised someone with CAD capabilities doesn't have plans.
Felix

The only thing thats been a big fuss around here is they tried to make everybody get rid of their chickens, cows, horses, and pigs out of their back yard. The new rule is if your kin to someone that is in school you can keep them for educational purposes. To build a building it cost $15.00 for a permit, 7 ft from your fence line, and pay Mr lewis $25.00 for inspection. I hope everything works out for you without a big fuss and extra cash on your part.

As a contractor I could go on and on about inspectors and permits but you need to suck it up and play by the rules. They may charge you 2x or 3x the permit fee as a fine, than you'll have to bring it up to code.

Don't try to get out of it, just go down to the Building Dept with your hat in your hand and tail 'tween your legs and ask for help. (take them some donuts too,)


Paul

I got two love letters from the City because my trash cans were in view.

I got taged when I moved in here. Switched a door and window around. New stairs. Inspector said you need a permit. I played dumb. Told him I thought I owned the house not the city. $50 later permit in hand, never saw them again.

Jake, things must get better with the distance because out here in WA state I think you're all right.

And Mike,
My Dad's a civil engineer - been around the block a few times when it comes to dealing with municipalities. One thing he taught me was "You can't fight city hall." and that's the truth. I've watched them stall a developer into bankrupcy because he didn't act humble enough. (insert Cartman "Respet ma authoritah!" soundbite) Unfortunately when it comes to local governmnets you've got to kiss butt to have any chance of coming out alive. Try to rebel and they'll make you suffer. It's some kind of "I didn't finish school and have low self esteem, but I've got this county job and a little authority so I'm going to make you do what I say or I'm going to stick it to you." attitude. Three or so years ago the city brought the hammer down on a long-time city-council member because he replaced his own water-heater without a permit. Good freakin greaf. It's a simple appliance for crying out loud. This guy was a real conservative and was known as the city watchdog/whistleblower. He was a great councilman if you were a citizen, but a PITA for the local government. So they rairoaded this poor old guy. Really chapped my hide. I always meant to write him a letter of give him a call but he died shortly after that. Dang it, now I'm all pissed off again. Anyway, my point is RUN, don't walk to go get those permits. Do whatever it takes to let them know you are all about full compliance. As soon as they see that you "Respet" their "authoritah" they'll most likely give you their merciful and benevolent blessing (thick taxpayer sarcasm).

-Ben M. (Me? I try to pre-fab most of my stuff and then put it up in the dark )

My Dad & I built a patio cover many years ago in So-Cal, some ACC member reported us, and... we had to bust-up the patio, to re-set the 4x4's ! The structure was about 10" too close to the easement !
Funny thing was, that the"Real"neighbors, didn't give a rat's ass...
It's all-about CYA these days... Hang -in-there...
You renegade,(Mike), We give you an "A" for effort.

Dude - that sucks. Sorry to hear you ran into problems. I think that Ury is right - everything I have heard runs to the theme of "Inspectors want you to talk too them and involve them in your process", and I have heard that the San Francisco inspeactors (not that this appies to you) are pretty friendly about stuff these days. I would go down there, apologise and ask how you can put it right.

Jake - Uh. Should we congratulate you on your neighbors hating you? You ought to be careful - there are people that can f**k with you, and if anyone figures that out, you're going to look daft when you post about it. Especially given the amount you ramble on about how living here (Ca) sucks. Seriously dude - give it a rest.

Mike, you should have little problems if you play nice.......

Our plant in Antioch had operated for years in the wrong zone....in commercial rather than industrial.

Go in, plead ignorance....pay the fees, ask for help and really just kiss ass on all of the clerks and inspectors...

I do know of one guy who built a sunroom addition on his house without a permit...he was in a pissing match with the people next door...he had to tear it down...45K lost.....

good luck, herb

Good news

I went down to the city today with 6 pages of detailed plans and my building permit was issued

Now the fun begins in a few weeks when they come out to start the inspections

total cost of the permit was only $158, not bad at all...not too sure if that included the "fine" I was supposed to get or they just waived it......

No noise ordnances, no inspectors, and no matter how much anyone bitches, I'm in the county- not the city...

My neighbors bitched worse in the 60s when my Grandpa had a still in the basement that made 900 gallons a week of the finest peach brandy you ever tasted! That smelled really good, but he got away with it for 20 years before he turned himself in!

In the morning he would fire it up at the same time the sawmill down the road did, and he wouldn't make anything unless the neighbors on the other side of the road had Chickens in their houses... Their sounds and smells kind of covered up what was going on up on top of the hill.

The county jail is now 500 yards away from the shop, normally when someone calls me in the cop will come up here just to see whats on the dyno, stay a bit and then leave.... They love it because the dyno echoes right into the inmates cells and drives them batty all day!

If they ever bitch too much, or go nuts I'll make it quiet....till then hammer down!

Rules.

Don't you just hate it when someone makes you follow them?

Paul

If your bulding is designed as well as your products appear to be (don't have any of them...yet), then I suspect that you'll have no problem meeting/exceeding the building codes.

It's just your time and money.

Now, when I built my current house, there was this inspector who...

...nah, that's another loooong story

Haha! I can see it now.. Roller bearings on the garage door opener

Hey, I'm 2200 miles away and I hate you

Couldn't resist a line like that!

Happy to live where there are no codes, and the sheep run scared.

Three years ago we remodled a home my folks built back in the early 70's (gutted the first floor added on 1800 sq ft), and the only code we had to worry about was electrical. Had to get a rough in inspection and a finished inspection and that was it.

The only codes they have here are "don't kill yourself" and if you do it isn't very enforceable!

PK

Sweet!

I did a garage a few years back (wiring too). The final inspector came out after I thought one already did. Doh! She pulled up and I kid you not, her car was sounding really bad. Make a long story short, I fixed her car and she never even walked up to my garage. Just signed the paper and said "looks nice".

Glad to hear everything is workin out for you. I grew up in a construction family, so I too have my share of "Damn Inspectors" stories...
Just don't forget, these are the same people that keep your skuzzy niehbor (not the nice guy with the new lawn mower, the OTHER guy...) from opening a porno shop nextdoor and mounting a 100ft tall cell tower on his roof!

HAving worked with may Government employees and being one myself it's a question of respect a lot of times. Just common respect, an expectation by the Citizen that "my taxes pay your salary so give me what ever I want" syndrome.

It seems that citizens have a license not to treat a person standing behind a government counter with respect when in fact that respect should be given to that person because they are there to perform a job for not just you but everyone. By enforcing codes and laws and servicing you.

Granted, the lines at the DMV and the attitude can be just as bad as the citizen's I have found that when I'm treated with disrespect I don't respond nearly as well as I do when I am treated with some measure of respect.

Treating others as you would like to be treated can go a long way.

On the otherhand I have met more people in government work than anywhere else who I truely "Can't work with" because of their issues (lazy, attitude etc) but they are the exception as most are quite good where I am.

Jake, was that in Hazard County? And do you drive an orange car with welded doors?

Nope that car is right down the road from me.

(I'm not Kidding)

I beleive the Boys from "Hazzard County" were actually looked down the street from Brad and some of the other Cali boys.

Which one? They wrecked a couple hundred 69 Chargers for that show. My uncle used to drive 'em... He tells me they were good for precisely one jump, then they threw 'em away.

--DD

Crap, I hit reply on the E-Mail vs: posting, momentary brain fart I guess.

It's at least a pretty true to form copy of the general lee. Don't know if its a
"real" one or not. Come to think of it I haven't seen it in a while, it used to
be outside at least occasionally.

Guy I work with name of J Lobis claims that he "built" them, and that the roll
cages all had a plaque that said built by "J Lobis".

No idea if its true or not. I heard he was also a "Stunt Man" in a previous
life.

FWIW

Heh. I'll ask Uncle Dave if he remembers a "J Lobis" on the cages or in the guild.

BTW, Uncle Dave's last movie that I know of--2 Fast 2 Furious. Not only was he a stunt driver, but they had a close-up on him getting out of a cop car and aiming a pistol. Yaaay!!

--DD

i shore am glad i live out here in da boondocks.
plus my house was built in the teens when permits were not required.
by the way dave d ,keven at arcane automotive in fresno says hello.

JT

City inspector came by yesterday (I made an AM appointment, he showed up at 4pm....)

anyways...so far so good, I just need to add a couple of GFI outlets, a rain gutter and finish the paint and trim on the outside of the workshop and install the main door....that should be finished this weekend...

I hope to have them come out next week and sign off for me to start hanging sheetrock and closing up the walls

Will hang sheetrock for bearings.

KT

the wife wants to remodel my bathroom, we might be "talking" soon

still not sure what we'll do for her bathroom, but I've been eyeing these really cool blue tiles for my floor

OH>>>>PUHLLLLLLLEEEEZZZZEEE, today I had the the electrical service go from 100 amp to 200.....I'm up in the garage....hiding from the wife....power goes off.....freaking kids....summer school ended yesterday....wanna go go BOWLING....WTF?

I'm welding on Frankensteen......like I have a deadline dude....I HAVE to have thIS rat RUNNING......

Christ I'm in the middle of speel check and drinking beer and l.....my.....shit where was I ?


OK....brain freeze....I had the oh hellll...what was I bitching about.......?


Oh yeah.......I can't even go to bed cause all the kids are on the couches....I'm trapped in the garage.....I can polish wheels, watch the Olympics, wait until the guys show up at 7am.....arrgghhhh.....stoopid DOGS all have ring worm......hmmmmm, bad time to quit my Heroin addiction........

Fuck....Jay Leno is over.....Shoot me NOW....

And people wonder why I like graveyard shifts.....

I'm eating Rocky Road Icecream ouuta da box.....

........and your avatar needs a new sports bra!

yipppeeeeee.....

city inspector just left, signed off on the workshop....tested a few outlets to ensure the GFI tripped and away he went...now to install the insulation and sheetrock and then move my equipment into the shop.....

congratulations dude!!!

I got a permit when I built my shop 3 yrs ago. What a fuckin waste of time and money
$85 bucks!! I posted the permit at the site and the first thunderstorm we had claimed it.

Had the slab poured--no inspector.
The shop went up--no inspector.
I did my own electrical--no inspector.

6 months later there's a "construction completed" document and the fucker signed off on it stuck in the door. What a joke.

I don't mind electrical, but I will never touch insulation or drywall again.

I have at times, had a problem with loud rap music interupting my sleep.. say around 3am, so I bring out the big ammo once a year, when I get so pissed off I could spit blood.

200 watts of British tube amp trumps any old thing they can come up with, and everyone loves the Star Spangled Banner.



M