Home ownership
Maybe I missed a thread similar to this, but that's ok. I have been in my home for 10 years now, and there are some things I wasn't prepared for or aware of as a homeowner. I am not scared to admit them if it helps someone else, and please share any stories you have about things you didn't know when owning a home for the first time, whether they be small or large, costly or not.
I will start with not knowing about changing the furnace filter until the a/c stopped working and I had to spend $300 on a new blower motor. Also, I knew nothing of cleaning my gutters, until one became clogged, held water, froze, and had the weight pull it down. Replacing the gutters was another $1000. I'm sure I'll think of other things but those are the 2 that stand out the most at the moment.
ITT we talk about home ownership, and things that aren't always obvious but need to be done to save on maintenance and repairs.
I plan on replacing my front porch. I have a coworker that has quoted me a pretty sweet price. He said to just buy the material and he'll start rocking and rolling. I asked about a permit and he said "nah, don't worry about that."
What are the odds that the porch permit police come a knocking?
What state? In Kansas, about 0%. In Washington, about 87%.
NY
When it comes time to sell you will definitely get busted.
There are areas where it's basically a free-for-all but around me, CE having you tear out or make expensive modification to unpermitted work is something that actually happens. You really need to pull permits especially for anything in public view at least, you never know when some neighborhood Karen is annoyed by the work (or you, or your friend, or the music on his work radio) and starts sticking her snout into what you're doing. Or, you have some building materials sitting in your driveway and CE comes knocking.
If you're in some rural part of NY outside of Buffalo who knows? I'm a little familiar with some Ulster County as it was 10-15 years ago but that might be completely unlike your thing.
It might even be no big deal, you should be able to jump online to your city/township/county website and find code requirements pretty easily and start there. You might find it's all of $80 and submit a sketch with specs and that's it, and you're Karen-proof. Then after all that some dude named Charlie comes by and makes sure the steps are the right size and that he can't fit his 4" ball between your balusters. And that's it, you have a new deck and it's legal.
It's amazing to me how much this varies by jurisdiction. My step-father, who is a retired carpenter and GC, did full permits and plans for his workshop in his back yard, and got visited so regularly that he had to install a fan over the toilet in there before he even built the walls separating it from the rest of the workshop, because the inspector said "if it's functional, it needs to have a fan," and threatened to shut down the build.
Meanwhile, in Wichita Kansas, if the work is being done by the homeowner, there are no permit requirements at all, even if the homeowner has no idea what they are doing, and no inspections unless someone complains after the work is completed. If the home inspector doesn't notice when the house is sold, code doesn't get enforced at all, afaict.
To try and answer the last question, where I live or where I used to live I would guess the odds of getting a front deck completed without any issue is less than 50%. Go lower the more houses in your immediate vicinity and the longer the project is expected to take. My last job I caught a visit due to a Lowes delivery of some decking boards, who knows how that came to be but I was just replacing boards on an existing permitted deck which doesn't require a permit. Maybe just freak chance the guy was in neighborhood or just passing by, maybe some **** neighbor called it in, but Lowes delivered on a Wednesday and I didn't make it to the weekend before getting the knock. Either way it's pretty clear permits aren't a corner I can cut, ymmv.
Since it's only replacing some decking, I'd just knock it out some weekend when inspector types are unlikely to be around.
The Friday before Memorial Day, SW neighbors mentioned the fence was looking bad. We looked at it, a couple rotted-out fenceposts. Generic cedar fencing around here.
Sunday, got started dismantling. Then smashed the old concrete out of the postholes with sledge and 6' steel bar over the course of a couple days. I may be getting too old for this. Between the working of swinging the implements and up-and-down to clean out chunks, overworked old muscles. Was pretty sore for a while after.
They'd hired someone to repair last time, so my turn & I knocked it out. Ran across a couple issues with the previous effort, but worked around them. These made the outcome not perfect, but it's o.k.
After finishing the job the other day, went for a walk around the neighborhood. All the gutters were colored with what looked to me like thin yellow paint. As if it had been diluted by water, then set on the concrete. WTF, who's pouring yellow watercolor in every gutter in the neighborhood?
Took me a while to realize it was pollen. Never seen it that thick. Goes a long way toward explaining why my allergies have been so intense this year. Sigh.
They'd hired someone to repair last time, so my turn & I knocked it out. Ran across a couple issues with the previous effort, but worked around them. These made the outcome not perfect, but it's o.k.
If you're not a pro and taking on harder tasks yourself, on your own home, "not perfect but ok" is a good result in my book for most thing. If anything there's a certain charm to it. Not that I have much choice, the contractors I've met here so far have been a clown show.
Since it's only replacing some decking, I'd just knock it out some weekend when inspector types are unlikely to be around.
I may be putting some spin on this but I definitely didn't type that I was replacing some decking...I'm replacing all of the decking. It just makes no sense that I would need a permit to pull up a board and put another board down, repeatedly.
And....I'm replacing the railing and steps. So with that I'm 99.9% sure I need a permit.
My guy showed up today and replaced about 80% of the boards. I just have this feeling in the pit of my stomach that this is a bad idea.
I'm considering halting the project and applying for a permit and see if they take pity.
So at this point, you're just replacing 20% of the boards, the railings and steps? Sounds like a repair job to me.
I'll be honest, if I was just replacing existing boards, not doing any concrete work or changing any shape, area, etc., I don't think it would ever occur to me to see if it needed a permit. I'd just do it. Even from the get-go, it sounds like repair, not construction, imo.
IANAL or a GC.
From the city of Buffalo permit site....you do not need a permit for:
Repairs, provided that such repairs do not involve:
The removal or cutting away of a load bearing wall, partition, or portion thereof, or of any structural beam or load bearing component;
The removal or change of any required means of egress, or the rearrangement of parts of a structure in a manner which affects egress;
The enlargement, alteration, replacement or relocation of any building system;
The removal from service of all or part of a fire protection system for any period of time.
Now I think I'm good. The only hiccup imo is the steps since I'm replacing the stringers.
Or am I just interpreting this the way I want?
You're not removing or changing the means of egress unless you take the old stairs out and leave them out. You're just repairing the existing means of egress. I think you're fine.
I'm sitting here looking up the definition of means of egress and I agree with you.
I'm feeling better.
This is basically what I'm doing. The structure already exists.
Maybe I phrased it incorrectly.
So at this point, you're just replacing 20% of the boards, the railings and steps? Sounds like a repair job to me.
I'll be honest, if I was just replacing existing boards, not doing any concrete work or changing any shape, area, etc., I don't think it would ever occur to me to see if it needed a permit. I'd just do it. Even from the get-go, it sounds like repair, not construction, imo.
IANAL or a GC.
You're not removing or changing the means of egress unless you take the old stairs out and leave them out. You're just repairing the existing means of egress. I think you're fine.
if the structure is existing and isn't changed, the rest of the work is most likely considered maintenance and repair if replacing with something close to the original finish material in a similar location.
varies by jurisdiction always suggest checking local codes
if the structure is existing and isn't changed, the rest of the work is most likely considered maintenance and repair if replacing with something close to the original finish material in a similar location.
varies by jurisdiction always suggest checking local codes
Agreed. And my neighbors should be happy. It will be a massive improvement.
👍
congrats on the facelift
Thanks pal
Unfortunately, too late now that your guy has done 80% of the work. I would've liked to see before and after pics, and get any stories of
I just have this feeling in the pit of my stomach that this is a bad idea.
I'm considering halting the project and applying for a permit and see if they take pity.
They aren't going to take your house away, nor will they hang you until death if they catch you. Relax man, it's a small fine. You'll be fine.
I upgraded my electrical service this weekend. No permits. New panel, new meter box, new feeder wires. I was slightly worried that the utility company might pop in to check why their fancy remote monitored meter was offline but they had plenty of more important **** to worry about around here with all the recent storm damage.
They aren't going to take your house away, nor will they hang you until death if they catch you. Relax man, it's a small fine. You'll be fine.
I upgraded my electrical service this weekend. No permits. New panel, new meter box, new feeder wires. I was slightly worried that the utility company might pop in to check why their fancy remote monitored meter was offline but they had plenty of more important **** to worry about around here with all the recent storm damage.
I am retired from an electric utility and was the guy who shut the power off and then reconnected when panels were changed, sometimes 5 or 6 per day. One issue everyone needs to remember is that work, especially electrical, requires a permit to be in line with insurance coverage.
In the event of a fire the adjuster will know the panel is new and ask to see the permit. If there is none, they will not pay the claim so a million dollar house burned down and isn't covered because someone dodged an $85 permit. High risk, low gain plan.
In some jurisdictions this could also a be violation of state statutes.
