Staircase permit

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by pocopc

i agree i've never gotten a permit for any inside work to my own home. i find it silly, its my house... why do i need to ask permission to do something? Thats basically all a permit is... As long as you follow the code you should have no problems later if you decide to sell.

You know I agree with you but you are one of the few who does follow the code. I've done rental inspections where the refridgerator was plugged into a ceiling light, the toilet emptied into the back yard (town sewer available) and the water came from the neighbor's well through a garden hose (before we had town water). And the landlord was charging top dollar for this. This was not once but dozens of times. Also, decks were nailed into the house wall on a 1 x 6 ledger board, the joists were at 36" and the posts were cracked. That was new construction and the guy was a contractor.

[Roaddog81]

Here in Scranton you need a permit for everythng .We alway get permits as we have very annoying neighbors I think they have the city on speed dial. And its easier then stopping due to a inspector .they come in check it out leave .

[John From Scranton]

Originally Posted by Roaddog81

Here in Scranton you need a permit for everythng .We alway get permits as we have very annoying neighbors I think they have the city on speed dial. And its easier then stopping due to a inspector .they come in check it out leave .

Keep in mind if you are doing inside work in the city, the only way a inspector can come into your house is if you let him in or had the doors wide open for him to just walk in on his own.

Don't tell the neighbors what your doing and go shopping for your wood and such when it gets dark or after 5pm. Try to do any work that it loud on the weekends and you'll slip right thru the cracks!!

Also build smart! If you buy alot of wood, dont stack it outside where people can see it. Also anything left over to take out to the trash, do it the night before or the day of pick up.

Happy Building All!!

[mathjak107]

not sure how it works in pa but here in nyc our neighbor didnt file the plans for some work they did on the house... they went to sell it and the plans didnt match what was on file for the CO. needless to say sale was halted

[KarenRice]

Originally Posted by DE_NePA

Or...you could say this is my home, and I will do with it what I see fit. Gather knoweldge and build your staircase. Build it right, and it will serve you well. Build it shoddily, and if you or someone else injures themselves on it, you'll pay...dearly.
I'm 45 years old, I've built my own decks, done my own plumbing and electrical work, etc, etc, and I have never asked for a permit from the government to improve my own property. And, it's all been up to whatever the code was at that time. Now, I've never done any work that would draw the prying eye of the local bureaucrats, like building a garage or an addition to my home. You're just asking for trouble by not getting a permit for something visually obvious like that.

ABSOLUTELY RIGHT, DE_NePA.

Sneaking the work is all well and good until you decide to sell your home (or you die and your family sells your home) and it is somehow discovered that there was work done without a permit.

Then you've opened a whole Pandora's Box that could quite possibly jeopardize the sale of your home, or cost you hundreds more than the measly old permit would have cost in the first place.

This is going on with a friend of mine. The homeowner is facing outrageous bills in order to have the work "inspected" to ensure that it is up to CURRENT CODE standards (even though the improvement was done over 10 years ago). His home will not be sold until this problem is corrected.

You do not want that to happen. Just do it right the first time - because it can be VERY expensive if you get caught later.

Don't think it could happen to you? Oh, believe me, it can happen.

This situation I referenced was brought to the surface when something totally unrelated to the improvement was being researched.

[Jungle George]

Originally Posted by KarenRice

ABSOLUTELY RIGHT, DE_NePA.

Sneaking the work is all well and good until you decide to sell your home (or you die and your family sells your home) and it is somehow discovered that there was work done without a permit.

Then you've opened a whole Pandora's Box that could quite possibly jeopardize the sale of your home, or cost you hundreds more than the measly old permit would have cost in the first place.

This is going on with a friend of mine. The homeowner is facing outrageous bills in order to have the work "inspected" to ensure that it is up to CURRENT CODE standards (even though the improvement was done over 10 years ago). His home will not be sold until this problem is corrected.

You do not want that to happen. Just do it right the first time - because it can be VERY expensive if you get caught later.

Don't think it could happen to you? Oh, believe me, it can happen.

This situation I referenced was brought to the surface when something totally unrelated to the improvement was being researched.

Very true!! Sometimes the problem doesn't even stem from a permit though...

My cousins went to sell their house in NY to move here to Fla & their sale was stopped 'til they rectified a problem with their 3-tier deck in the back. They had gotten a permit & had the job done by a contractor & inspected & OK'd, but the code had changed in the 6 years since the deck was built.

The uprights on the railings were spaced 2 3/4" apart & the new code called for 2 1/4" spacing. For 1/2" they had to rip apart their entire 3 decks & re-do all the railings to "bring it up to code"....

But if they had not gotten a permit, I'm sure it might've been even worse!!

[KarenRice]

WOW, that's bad!!! And yeah, it would have been worse if it was discovered that there was no permit - they may have been required to have someone come in and dig up all the footings to make sure THEY were at the required depth...

I was under the impression that stuff like that handrailing was "grandfathered in". But I guess that varies locally as well.

[Jungle George]

Originally Posted by KarenRice

WOW, that's bad!!! And yeah, it would have been worse if it was discovered that there was no permit - they may have been required to have someone come in and dig up all the footings to make sure THEY were at the required depth...

I was under the impression that stuff like that handrailing was "grandfathered in". But I guess that varies locally as well.

They lived in Brewster NY which is supposed to be "famous" (or "infamous") for busting testicles...