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Ok first I'm in town of North Hempstead (from what I've read I'm kinda screwed...) so bought a house need to get some work done asap. As in not one appliance works/need to get kitchen renovated sooner than later. And to gut 2 bathrooms that are leaking from who knows where. (before people think I'm crazy sellers had to sell so got the price waaay down) Also want to make a door way in a wall (unknown if load bearing or not probably is b/c nothing is easy here)
Kitchen
I know I don't need a building permit to redo a kitchen just electrical/plumbing (which it probably needs).
Kitchen is next to a 3/4 bathroom that I'd like to take a shower out of to make it so the refrigerator can actually be in the kitchen instead of a hall closet next to the kitchen. (probably/definitely need a building permit for this)
Bathroom
Need these done probably before the kitchen as I'm fairly certain they are unusable without plumbing repair. What is generally done in that situation if there is an active leak? Do you have to wait for the permit to go through or can you do the work as "an emergency situation" and do the work before the permit? As far as removing the shower does that require a permit would it be stupid to not get one considering that changes the house from a 3 bathroom to a 2.5?
Doorway made in wall
Need a permit I know but what is required. I've read I need drawing from a licensed Professional Engineer or a Registered Architect. Like seriously? To make a less than 40" opening in a wall I'm going to have to spend thousands on getting drawing of what I'm assuming is the whole house? Also I've seen I need a survey can I use the one I got 3 weeks ago when buying the house?
Over all should I do the doorway first to avoid questions about permits for the kitchen and bathroom (Kind of hard when I need the rest done asap) or do it all at once/kitchen and bathrooms first since I technically don't need a building permit for the rest. (besides plumbing and electrical)
Can I start demo (as in removing cabinets/ flooring in kitchen and removing bathroom fixtures before permits are issued? What is the time line for getting the permits? I've seen anywhere from 2-12 weeks. Can I get them sooner if I go down and wait (In Atlanta, Ga you can just go wait and they'll give them to you.) or can I get them expedited personally (without having to pay a company) Would having a baby in April be a reasonable enough reason to get things moving along?
p.s. According to TONH you aren't allowed to have a fence in front of your house (new law in 2013 I think) but ours has one made of decorative cement block I believe. It's fairly obvious it's been there more than 3 years, but do we need proof? If we do get a permit (for the inside work) will we have to take it down?!?! I would be pretty ticked if so.
Also they "finished the basement" pretty terribly (and not legally as far as I can find) in what I would guess was the 80s. Would it be a problem to just tear out everything they did as if it was never there?
Sorry it's so long. Semi new to Long Island and have never heard so many horror stories when it comes to home renovation so to say I'm worried is an understatement so any advice is greatly appreciated.
I can answer as a former TNH person who left LI in 2013. I remodeled both my kitchen and bath without permits and it included both plumbing and electrical. I sold with no problems in either case. I have many neighbors that opened up walls during kitchen remodels and they never applied for permits, a few of whom have sold with no problem since I left. My advice is to skip it, but if you need to consult with an engineer to determine if that wall is load bearing or not, I would do that before changing it. There is a thread somewhere about a guy who had to retrofit a wall that was load bearing and had been removed and he had major problems.
I had my own tussle with the town regarding a fence installation that they blocked due to a central a/c that had been installed years prior to my purchase and I closed with no problem at that time. As a result of this, I would pretty much advise everyone to play it by the books, but, this time I see it differently, with the exception of what you find out about the wall.
Re; the fence. That could be a problem. It is not a new rule as it was there when my parents bought in TNH in 1951. Perhaps it was changed a bit then, but it has been a rule as far back as then. If you don't need the permits I would leave it alone until they tell you it is illegal. Just out of curiosity is it shown on your survey? It should be, unless it was put after the survey was done.
Re: the baby, save your breathe, they will tell you it is to make sure you home is done safely, and if that takes time so be it.
Good Luck.
Thank you so much for your response. Making me feel much better about all of this haha. If you couldn't tell I'm slightly stressed about this. We can always wait to open up the wall it's not really part of the kitchen/bath reno. For some reason I thought I had read it changed in 2013 but I really don't remember. I haven't actually seen the survey as our lawyer has all our stuff, but they are suppose to be sending us a copy asap. (when I said we bought the house that was slightly jumping the gun as we close next week) But when I look the house up through the nassau county website it's in the picture they have no idea if that means anything though.
Thanks again
I wouldn't get permits for any of that. Towns don't really care that much unless you are doing stuff that changes the footprint of the house or requires a variance, or you're dealing with safety issues like an egress window in the basement. But I would never consider getting a permit for the kitchen or bath remodels, and I'm someone who got screwed like nuts did with a house I bought that lacked some permits.
As far as your fence, sounds more like a wall. How high is it? You can't have things over a certain height in your front yard for safety reasons.
I must caution you that because it is in the picture means nothing other than they have not caught you. You are new so a short synopsis of my fence sage. Bought in '97 ....hosue came with C/A, closed not problem with title, attorney or survey which showed a/c unit. Reno'd kitchen in 98, added breakfast room new survey needed. A/c still on survey. In 2011 my neighbor took down a fence and replaced it with PVC. I decided to follow suit. Filed permits for the fence and that was when I was turned down due to an illegal A/C (no permit). Between permits and penalties, electrical underwriters, Nassau county ONLY electricians, and then a variance, with of course penalties. It cost me, if memory serves me,$1400 for 2 parts that in a local electrical supply house in a ritzy neighborhood might have been $100 and at HD maybe $75.
Essentially, if it is put there and does not belong they can make you tear it out. Redo you stuff and forget about the permits is my advice.
Yes that is my fault it is for sure a wall. If i remember correctly it is 3ft and goes around the entire perimeter as well as splitting the front yard from the back on the left side and along the driveway separating it from the backyard on the right. The driveway has a gate as does the walk way to the front door. I can't seem to find anything about how tall something can be in front of your house.
I thought they may care b/c we are taking out a shower making it a 2.5 bath instead of a 3.
Since you mentioned getting screwed, what would be something that would give you issues in regards to lacking a permit?
I must caution you that because it is in the picture means nothing other than they have not caught you. You are new so a short synopsis of my fence sage. Bought in '97 ....hosue came with C/A, closed not problem with title, attorney or survey which showed a/c unit. Reno'd kitchen in 98, added breakfast room new survey needed. A/c still on survey. In 2011 my neighbor took down a fence and replaced it with PVC. I decided to follow suit. Filed permits for the fence and that was when I was turned down due to an illegal A/C (no permit). Between permits and penalties, electrical underwriters, Nassau county ONLY electricians, and then a variance, with of course penalties. It cost me, if memory serves me,$1400 for 2 parts that in a local electrical supply house in a ritzy neighborhood might have been $100 and at HD maybe $75.
Essentially, if it is put there and does not belong they can make you tear it out. Redo you stuff and forget about the permits is my advice.
Sorry quick question, You still get a new survey even if you don't get a permit? or had you gotten a permit for the breakfast room?
All of these rules and regulations are pretty ridiculous, They make you get all this stuff to buy the house (like a survey etc.) But in the end it doesn't even help you b/c you still have to pay for someone else's mistake that they essentially didn't catch the first time.
Sorry quick question, You still get a new survey even if you don't get a permit? or had you gotten a permit for the breakfast room?
All of these rules and regulations are pretty ridiculous, They make you get all this stuff to buy the house (like a survey etc.) But in the end it doesn't even help you b/c you still have to pay for someone else's mistake that they essentially didn't catch the first time.
You understand better than you are giving yourself credit for. No the breakfast room was done with all proper permits in place. We had to get a new survey because the footprint of the house had changed.
If you scroll down to page 2 and 3 you will have your answer. Forget about the height, it is all about breaking the plane of the building line and that is not allowed in the front.
Thanks yes I had seen that a while ago but at the time I thought it was a newer law so thinking it was an existing feature we might be ok. But anyway we finally got the copy of the survey and it is there. Any thoughts?
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