Permits & DIY in Unincoprated DuPage County (sale, how much)

[Thatoneguy123]

We are looking at some homes in unincorporated areas of DuPage county. It looks like you need to grab permits for just about anything you do in the home. The thing that is troubling me, unless i'm misreading the permit applications, is that it looks like that you pretty much need a contractor to carry out any DIY work in the home as the permit seems to require signature of a registered contractor.

Anyone know if thats the case or have stories to share from their experience doing DIY in the unincorporated areas? Some homes we were looking at would require us to put in some basement walls, replace bathroom sink and bath fixtures, as well as do landscaping with dirt around our house to make water flow away from the home. All these things seem like they may require some sort of permitting as well as a contractor to conduct the work.

Hoping I am misreading this. This is probably going to be a deal breaker from buying any home in unincorporated limits if we aren't going to be able to DIY remodel as we have done in previous homes.

[ez1234]

Anything load bearing/structural or inside the walls probably needs a permit, but DIY'ers don't bother.

As far as outside/landscaping is concerned, if you are just digging, calling JULIE should be fine. Patios over 500 sq ft, decks, sheds require permits.

[Thatoneguy123]

Originally Posted by ez1234

Anything load bearing/structural or inside the walls probably needs a permit, but DIY'ers don't bother.

Some of the homes we are looking at need.. more work than others. We've always been okay with moving into things that are liveable and bringing them up to our standard over time.

My main concern is if I have to go through a contractor every time I want to fix something up, that's going to add on some real $. There some things I would rather have a contractor deal with, i.e. HVAC, large flooring projects.

Anything that's encroaching on load bearing changes, i'd be okay erring on the side of caution with a contractor.

When it comes to just adding in walls, outlets, lights, and fixtures, i'd like to know I can do that myself. If it means I need to pull a permit and have them OK the work, then that's what it is. Just don't want to have to go through a contractor for everything.

I do understand that "don't bother" sentiment but with how much some of the homes need, I don't know if I want a sale to fall through because of permit-less, DIY work all over the place.

[MSchemist80]

There is a ton of BS in the code that DIYer's don't bother with. One is it is not code to use any sort of flex connect to the furnace or water heater. You have to use soldered copper for water and hard plumbed black steel for gas. That is stupid and designed to force more work to union plumbers as flex connectors allow for some movement which makes it less likely to leak and in fact are code in anyplace with earthquakes. Tons of water heaters are hooked up with the yellow flex gas lines and the flex copper lines for water. I will probably be replacing my water heater in the next few years so I haven't decided if I am going to go to the extra trouble of hard soldering the new one in and get all the lengths of gas plumbing (nipples) needed.

Unfortunately the code is as stupid and corrupt as our politicians. Welcome to Illinois.

[Hiruko]

One of the biggest problems people don't mention when discussing going without permits is: What happens if the neighbors complain? When neighbors complain, you can have a very big problem on your hands. My recommendation is get whatever permits you need. Unless you reside in a historically sensitive area, it should be reasonably straightforward and inexpensive.

[ez1234]

Originally Posted by Thatoneguy123

Some of the homes we are looking at need.. more work than others. We've always been okay with moving into things that are liveable and bringing them up to our standard over time.

My main concern is if I have to go through a contractor every time I want to fix something up, that's going to add on some real $. There some things I would rather have a contractor deal with, i.e. HVAC, large flooring projects.

Anything that's encroaching on load bearing changes, i'd be okay erring on the side of caution with a contractor.

When it comes to just adding in walls, outlets, lights, and fixtures, i'd like to know I can do that myself. If it means I need to pull a permit and have them OK the work, then that's what it is. Just don't want to have to go through a contractor for everything.

I do understand that "don't bother" sentiment but with how much some of the homes need, I don't know if I want a sale to fall through because of permit-less, DIY work all over the place.

You can always get a quote and they will mention it. A lot of the stuff you are looking to do like HVAC and flooring doesn't require a permit in Dupage.