Oh Lord Inspectors Comin

[TheRuthlessOne]

Looks really nice man

 

[Dober4]

I’m calling the inspectors office first thing in the morning.

Consider that kitchen demolished.

 

[Bald1]

Always take detailed pictures and make sure the work is up to code even if you don't pull permits. Otherwise you'll get super duper, extra deluxe screwed, with a cherry on top when you're ready to sell. As opposed to just super deluxe screwed, hold the cherry.

Place looks good and it seems like you have an idea of what you're doing. Nice work.

 

[west42]

He's flirting with you but you're not picking up on it

 

[Anung Un Rama]

Great job @ToxicShocker

 

[ToxicShocker]

Guess who checks Zillow:

So I woke up at 630 today and was happy to have slept in a bit. It felt like the best nights sleep in a while. My phone rang at 8:01 and it was the building inspector. No joke, I know this sounds set up. He said "So we saw that you have your house listed online and we noticed the pictures show you deleted a wall without a permit."

At this point I know I'm caught so I asked if he could come and do a walkthrough to discuss what needs to be done. He showed up at 1pm and was much nicer than he needed to be. I showed him my electrical panel, which doesn't have current code AFCI breakers. I showed him the master bath (remodel) which I did unpermitted. I showed him the undercounter GFCI's in the kitchen. He said it looks like things were done really well so I am going to ask you to 'only submit the beam for plan check.' I can appreciate the state/cities interest in ensuring load bearing things are built properly, this is earthquake country.

Because I had the beam drafted by an engineer I already have digital copies of everything to submit. Fast forward an hour and I find that city hall is shut down to the public and they do have an online plan submission set up yet. The inspector called me back and said hold off on submitting them I'll call you back when an engineer can review them.

I already wrote the transfer disclosure sheet for the real estate agent saying the kitchen and a few other things were unpermitted. If I can sell the house before the inspectors initiate plan check it is off my hands. I would still walk the project through the process for the next owner because its no sweat off my back, and if any work needs to be done its cheaper for me to do it for them/myself.

So from one crisis to another to another...

 

[ToxicShocker]

This is what I started with:

Spoiler

Serious advice tho, I'm from the LA area as well. If he comes back, tell him, Yes, you did remodel the kitchen, but don't mention anything about the demo wall. I doubt the city has plans on record for your home, I doubt they care enough to look it up. If they make you, pay for the remodel permit and pretend the wall was never there. Otherwise, button everything up. a kitchen remodel not showing up on permit history won't screw up a sale. It's not like you added square-footage or anything like that.

They had already been through the house so they knew the wall was there. For some reason the inspector was nice and said he wouldn't impose a fine, only the cost of the permit so I'm looking at $200-1,000 depending on what they value the work as. I told him this morning my concern was I don't want to have to demolish the finish materials for inspection and he said as long as it passes plan check he'll sign off. He did say I was wrong, if the property is transferred and they know work was done they will make the new owner pay to comply with the building codes. So no, it doesn't get grandfathered in each time the house sells.

If the house hadn't been inspected for 30 years they would not have noticed at this moment. But when a new owner turns in plans for something down the line they will compare the original ancient blueprints to the current state.

 

[Drain Bamage]

I've been remodeling my house for about a year and a half now. I started with a bathroom from scratch and pulled permits so that the extra bathroom would be shown on the property details. The permit cost about $800 and the process wasn't too bad, but I didn't like having to go back and forth with the inspector for a few months.

I had torn down a whole bunch of plaster ceiling in the hallways and they told me I had to drywall that before they would sign off a final inspection in the bathroom. A buddy and I hung about 12 sheets back up and the inspectors left with my 1 coat of mud on the halls.

Spoiler

Now that they were gone and out of my hair I went ahead with working on the kitchen without a permit. I knocked down a load bearing wall, poured huge pads in the existing slab, and put up a 25' header in the ceiling joists.

After that I ran 500 ft of wire, and about 10 new circuits in the walls and covered em up. Bought all the cabinet boxes and anchored everything down.

I brought a drywall guy in to do a perfect final coat on my drywall work and was excited to be close to done.

Knock knock

Today the inspector showed up and asked if I was doing any construction, he was standing in the entryway which opens into the hallway. I told him no, no construction, I'm just doing the final mud cost on the ceilings. He said he stopped because he saw some drywall and hardibacker in the entryway from the street. I said that stuff was there cause I'm emptying the garage of all the trash and hasn't thrown it out yet. He said make sure you pull permits when you get to the kitchen and left.

Spoiler

Now I'm panicking. If he decides he wants to come back and demand a walkthrough I'm fucked. I'm easily 25k into the kitchen, and the structural work I did can't be undone. I had an engineer draft it all, but once it's in place you can't verify that I followed his directions.

If he comes back and sees the work I've done they could demand I destroy the kitchen and rebuild it all with permits.

Anyone ever done unpermitted work and come across an inspector?

P.s. he was next door for neighbors permit when he saw the trash on my porch. Almost positive the neighbors didn't snitch on me. Greater Los Angeles area...

All this cause I left some shit outside for like a week.

Man this pisses me off. This is a house you own right? And some dude just happened to be walking by and thought it upon himself to come into your home and demand to see x and x paperwork etc.... WTF

 

[ToxicShocker]

Man this pisses me off. This is a house you own right? And some dude just happened to be walking by and thought it upon himself to come into your home and demand to see x and x paperwork etc.... WTF

Society does have a legitimate need for building inspectors. This is a very expensive house, and the next owners deserve to know they are safe in it.

 

[Drain Bamage]

Society does have a legitimate need for building inspectors. This is a very expensive house, and the next owners deserve to know they are safe in it.

Yeah seems reasonable, its just crazy that a guy who you didnt have an appointment with, who just happened to be in the area and saw some bags that you left outside, would then take it upon himself to do what he did. That's a man who takes his job very seriously.

 

[ToxicShocker]

Yeah seems reasonable, its just crazy that a guy who you didnt have an appointment with, who just happened to be in the area and saw some bags that you left outside, would then take it upon himself to do what he did. That's a man who takes his job very seriously.

This probably isn't triggered by my original post visit. It looks like it was the 2020 real estate pictures, plus some 2018 permitted work that they figured it out.

They do kinda need a 'warrant' to enter your house under everyday circumstances, but from what I've been told if they drive by and see workers coming and going, and the door is open, they can enter your house. There has to be evidence that you are doing work without a permit, and that there is evidence that it is of a nature that poses health and safety risk.

It appears the guy forgave me for lying to him which I did in the original post.

 

[The Big Babou]

Always take detailed pictures and make sure the work is up to code even if you don't pull permits. Otherwise you'll get super duper, extra deluxe screwed, with a cherry on top when you're ready to sell. As opposed to just super deluxe screwed, hold the cherry.

Place looks good and it seems like you have an idea of what you're doing. Nice work.

This.

TS you need to take enough photos of your work (during construction) to satisfy a Building Inspector.

A Structural Engineer might be able to inspect the work & provide a certificate starting that all work was built according to code (we can do it this way in Australia).

Also a lot of interior renovations can be done without a building permit... Provided they're non structural & don't alter plumbing points.

 

[The Hash Slinging Slasher]

I've been remodeling my house for about a year and a half now. I started with a bathroom from scratch and pulled permits so that the extra bathroom would be shown on the property details. The permit cost about $800 and the process wasn't too bad, but I didn't like having to go back and forth with the inspector for a few months.

I had torn down a whole bunch of plaster ceiling in the hallways and they told me I had to drywall that before they would sign off a final inspection in the bathroom. A buddy and I hung about 12 sheets back up and the inspectors left with my 1 coat of mud on the halls.

Spoiler

Now that they were gone and out of my hair I went ahead with working on the kitchen without a permit. I knocked down a load bearing wall, poured huge pads in the existing slab, and put up a 25' header in the ceiling joists.

After that I ran 500 ft of wire, and about 10 new circuits in the walls and covered em up. Bought all the cabinet boxes and anchored everything down.

I brought a drywall guy in to do a perfect final coat on my drywall work and was excited to be close to done.

Knock knock

Today the inspector showed up and asked if I was doing any construction, he was standing in the entryway which opens into the hallway. I told him no, no construction, I'm just doing the final mud cost on the ceilings. He said he stopped because he saw some drywall and hardibacker in the entryway from the street. I said that stuff was there cause I'm emptying the garage of all the trash and hasn't thrown it out yet. He said make sure you pull permits when you get to the kitchen and left.

Spoiler

Now I'm panicking. If he decides he wants to come back and demand a walkthrough I'm fucked. I'm easily 25k into the kitchen, and the structural work I did can't be undone. I had an engineer draft it all, but once it's in place you can't verify that I followed his directions.

If he comes back and sees the work I've done they could demand I destroy the kitchen and rebuild it all with permits.

Anyone ever done unpermitted work and come across an inspector?

P.s. he was next door for neighbors permit when he saw the trash on my porch. Almost positive the neighbors didn't snitch on me. Greater Los Angeles area...

All this cause I left some shit outside for like a week.

Never been bothered by an inspector. I’ve remodeled two bathrooms in my house. Changed windows, pulled 110 and 220 power around. Tore my stairs down and built a new staircase. Moved my air handler and trenched across my slab in the middle of my house because it downdrafts into my floor vents. Basically about everything you can do. I’ve never pulled a permit and haven’t had any problems.

 

[ToxicShocker]

Never been bothered by an inspector. I’ve remodeled two bathrooms in my house. Changed windows, pulled 110 and 220 power around. Tore my stairs down and built a new staircase. Moved my air handler and trenched across my slab in the middle of my house because it downdrafts into my floor vents. Basically about everything you can do. I’ve never pulled a permit and haven’t had any problems.

What state?

 

[The Hash Slinging Slasher]

What state?

New Mexico