Do I need a license to do work in my own house?
Question:Do I need a license or permission to do electrical work or plumbing or remodel the kitchen? I thought that if I did the work myself, and not for profit such as a contractor would do, then I don't need to get special permission?
Answers:
In most cities you are "required" to get a homowner's permit to do some work like major renovations and fence or deck building.
Depends on what state you live in.
Its different with each state.
yea you do.. you need a builders permit but my dad built a whole other room on our house without one and since the neighbors all like him no one reported him.. so maybe you can get away with it depending on where you live
Maybe,.. probably.
Check with your county. you should be able to get some answers from the govornment pages in the phone book. Im pretty sure its called "buildings and permits". Chances are you do need a permit.4 Your county will also be able to tell you if you if you need a permit from the city state or county.
Different states and towns have different regulations regarding home improvment. You should contact your local code enforcement officer through the town office to find out about your area.
It depends on the city or or county you live in. Some really strict cities want you to hire and electrician and get a bunch of permits.
Other places don't require anything. Call your building department if your city/county has one. Otherwise call the state electrical dept and ask about requirements.
Weather you choose to get permits or not just try to keep your work up to code.
no you do not only if the work does not go outside like electrical work beyond the fuse box and the owner understans that you are not licensed and not libel==if you are doing the work for free ,than you can come to my house and do my work for me.
My husband is a licensed electrician and he said that the homeowner can, that is if you know what your are doing. I understand that you are saving money now but if you are new to wiring and plumbing, you may have to pay more in the long run. Just ask yourself will it be worth it?
The exact requirements depend on where you're located. Each town has local building & zoning laws that cover the type of things you're asking about - mainly to protect you, the homeowner!
If you decide to do any rewiring yourself, without a permit, and you do something wrong - if you ever DO have an electrical fire, your homeowners insurance may not cover your loss if they find out about your do-it-yourself job. Same thing for plumbing and leaking pipes. It's not that you CAN'T do these things yourself - it's that you have to have your worked checked out and signed off on by an expert after you've finished.
Check with your local building inspector to see what your town requires in the way of permits. Then you're covered.
In the state I live, You have to get a permit to do any improvements valued above $100 Yeah 100. This means that you can't even change your kitchen faucet without a permit. But this is for a good reason... It insures that the work is done properly, not just for you but for any potential new owner of the property. Sure there are ways to get around such restrictions like "rook" said, "have an electrician or plumber pull your permits for you" Let me assure you that this is more illegal than doing the job without any permit. Not only that but the contractor that pulls the permits for you can lose his/her license and be stiffly fined for it. I suggest that you go to the local building dept. and do your homework, You could get in trouble as well. Fines are steep. If you were to make a simple mistake and the building dept. finds this mistake they could make things very difficult for you. For instance... Lets say that you were remodeling a bathroom (without a permit) and may bee your neighbor questioned the building dept. about it. You would first off get a "red tag" or stop work order. Any work done after this is punishable by jail time, not only that but they can make you put the home back to the condition before the work began. Be very careful THE STATE WANTS THEIR MONEY.
I am going through this right now. I am a firefighter and I do home repairs on my days off. I finished a basement about 4 years ago for a guy. He is trying to sell the house and we are running into problems. The real estate agent that I work closely with has told me that if permits are not pulled, you can not count the area as sq footage when selling. If you can pull permits for your stuff and do the work, then do that. One you save money by not having a GC. 2. You have someone to double check your work. I hope that helps, good luck with your home improvement!
Generally you need a permit obtainable through the building dept of your city. And everything must still be to code, regardless. You can act as your own contractor (general) and hire subs as well. Pulling the permit means an inspector will come through to inspect your work & make sure it is to code. If you chose to not pull a permit, you MUST disclose all non-permitted work upon sale of the house AND the building dept can require you to return it to the way it was--so better to pull a permit.
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