Final inspection?

[dldude]

Everyone is telling me not to worry about final inspection on my garage. It has been over a year since county was out and two years since I pulled permit. I am trying to avoid cost of reapplying for permit. It has been a slow go now that building is up and still not ready for a final. Everyone says if your not planning on selling don't worry about it.

 

[Richard Cranium]

do get a final inspection. Some day it will be sold, You can save a lot of head aches for some one else. (wife/family)

 

[Empty Pockets]

In my area, final inspections are mostly a formality. Get it done, it'll save headaches when the property is sold and if you have a loss it will save insurance hastles.

 

[like2wheel]

What is generally necessary?
I am trying to avoid gutters & drainage till spring. No electric. Also not pouring a floor till next year at the earliest.
At my last inspection, I was told to call for final after my doors are up, but I find it hard to believe it'll be that easy....

 

[Firebird 1]

Building should be done to get a final. Like has been said, if and when the house is sold without one will cause problems. Also, if you ever plan to do any other work, you will not be issued a permit until old ones are cleared. Whatever you had on the submitted plans will need to be done. If you showed concrete floor it will need to be there. You will also need gutters and downspouts unless you have an alternate drain system. You should be able to get an extension without paying anything. In my county, permits are good for one year, then one needs an extension.

 

[lakeroadster]

Without getting a final, your permit is still open. Finish the job, get the inspection.

The inspector probably won't be there 5 minutes.

Your permit has likely expired at this point.... additional fee's will likely be needed.

 

[ozyborn]

Probably a good idea. Depends on the local laws.
I know that my dad got fed up with the local inspectors and kicked them off his property. Never did allow them back on for any reason. He never had an issue getting insurance, no issues getting a claim filled when a tree fell on the roof of his house. After he passed away we had no issues selling it either.

 

[rburke65]

Ya just get it......you'll sleep better and worry less.

 

[RocketScott]

I have the same issue. During the downturn I was barely able to keep my house, let alone finish my shop. The permit lapsed and I haven't looked into getting it reinstated. I did get foundation and shear wall inspections so all that was left was the final.

Earlier this year I pulled an electrical permit without any problems. That goes through the power company though. I also got a permit from the building dept. to pour my driveway without issue.

I'm just going to let it be for now. If there's an issue when I go to sell I can deal with it then.


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[tab2]

I'm just going to let it be for now. If there's an issue when I go to sell I can deal with it then.

That will be fun when you have a million other things to do. If it is so easy to get permits, then it should be easy to ask or just get a final inspection.

 

[RocketScott]

That will be fun when you have a million other things to do. If it is so easy to get permits, then it should be easy to ask or just get a final inspection.

Why spend an extra $800 if I don't have to


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[Red Voodoo]

I had a similar situation very recently. I finished a house renovation (not the one I live in) over a period of six years. I had pulled permits for various phases of the reno over that period; some got the final sign-off, some did not. Put the house up for sale, and a potential buyer, as part of their due diligence, tried to get copies of the permits from my town inspection department. The clerk there noticed that a couple of the permits had been open for nearly three years, and contacted my wife. The clerk reminded us that without a final inspection, we could not get a Permit to Occupy the house. We wasted no time in getting the inspector out to the house. He noted a few things he wanted corrected, which we handled promptly, and then he gave us the permit. Cost was $45.

I know that a garage is different, and probably doesn't need a Permit to Occupy (or whatever it's called in your area). But you really owe it to yourself to make sure all the permits are closed, especially if there is a chance you'll want to sell the place someday. And when the inspector shows up, politely say "Yes Sir" to anything he judges necessary, and get it taken care of. You definitely want to stay on his good side. You'll be happier in the long run.

Listen to the people who say "don't bother" at your peril.

 

[Firebrick43]

In SoCal they paid a bounty to the trash man for water heaters. They then checked if you pulled a permit, yes , to replace a water heater and it was serious fines. Now live in Indiana and our county is laid back and really only use permits to access for tax purposes. Building a 1450 ft addition and a 840 ft garage. 331$ and 5 mins to get it. Two counties away if you have a builder the are going to charge you 6000$ to get a permit due to the three months of hell and time to pull it and finals take hours.

Point is, building permits are a local issue, don't ask such questions on a world wide forum or it will just fill your mind with issues that don't apply or exist in your neck of the woods.

 

[matt_i]

In this locality, even though you have an open permit, its not 0% tax liability until its closed and then step-functions to 100%. A separate inspector who does not interface with you, shows up and determines a percentage complete so the appropriate assessment can take place. So if you never get the final you are still likely at 100% of "assessed improvement".

Personally I don't like playing the games with the building inspection department, I would rather comply with them and get them on their way to "assist other parties". It would be pretty painful to want to sell your place and have a big "stop" in the transaction over an uncompleted permit, as lack of planning on your part does not justify an emergency on their part, could have to pay penalties, etc, etc etc. Compliance is easier.

In my locality I do feel like they have a sense of service to a project built by an owner and not a for-profit builder. Only for the fact that they publish all over that a 6month delay between inspections in the project closes it, which mine technically could have been. However they placed it back into service with just a phone call, and no complaints. I have been on schedule ever since, I was just delayed by the winter.

 

[Cyberbear]

I live in Kalifornia and after stupid problems with building regulations decided to never pull a permit again. I did the research and found that the building code only applies to municipal property, not private property. Yeah, call me crazy but I challenged the county to show proof that I am required by law to have a permit on my property. They refused and went silent when I invited them to take me to court, and prove they had jurisdiction, that was in 1995.

 

[Perfectstranger]

I would close the permit now, you have a reasonable expectation that it will pass now. If you wait until you want/need to sell the codes could change, you would then need to bring the building up to current code. Could be a situation of pay 800 now, or much much more later. I would hate to see your shop turn into a liability.

 

[Jlbc212]

Where i live the building permit remains active as long as there is still ongoing work to complete the project, unless there is a six month time lapse of no activity. Who's to say you haven't been slowly working to complete it?

 

[slow]

What was in the permit, that is likely what you need to have done to get a final. Pole building with no floor or electrical, you can likely get it permitted now.

 

[lakeroadster]

....
I know that a garage is different, and probably doesn't need a Permit to Occupy (or whatever it's called in your area).

Jurisdictional requirements will vary, but, FWIW: After final inspection was completed for our pole barn that we completed this year we received a "Certificate of Occupancy". It's classified here as a "detached garage", yet still requires a "Certificate of Occupancy" before stuff is moved into it.

Point is, building permits are a local issue, don't ask such questions on a world wide forum or it will just fill your mind with issues that don't apply or exist in your neck of the woods.

Well, the OP already stated "I pulled a permit". So we know he opened the permit door and that door is still open.

 

[RocketScott]

...
Point is, building permits are a local issue, don't ask such questions on a world wide forum or it will just fill your mind with issues that don't apply or exist in your neck of the woods.

Exactly this. Location, location, location. Some building depts are easy to work with, others are not.




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[Dirtydan69]

I always leave some minor silly thing for them to find. Makes the inspector happy. Goes smooth too.

 

[BillyBoy12]

Thanks for sharing

 

[joey1320]

Not a garage but for my deck, the final inspection was the guy walking up to my fence, seeing the deck finished from 25 feet away and signing off on the paper.

YMMV.

 

[Will Allen]

I always leave some minor silly thing for them to find. Makes the inspector happy. Goes smooth too.

I did commercial/ municipal work for the last 30 years and I used that trick many times. In one suburb the project inspector was a **** who just had to find something wrong. He wouldn't stop until he did. I would leave a gate crooked or something else that was very simple to fix.

 

[Jking24]

I would get a final many times they won't make you pay anything additional as all your doing is closing it out also in my area the minimum requirements for a garage are very low. A few lights and outlets and the exterior being finished aswell as any grading are about all that is necessary

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

Going to depend on your local rules. I know one guy that was concerned with inspections and time. Solution was to have it done as soon as he had the outer shell up. I don't recall if he had any electricity run yet.
His area didn't require permits or inspections on most upgrades to existing buildings. Which his building was, once the shell was up.

 

[CraigStu]

We bought a house 7 yrs ago where our realtor discovered that the finished basement had been don w/o a permit. Fortunately it had been well done except.......they hadn't installed fire stops at the top of the new interior walls between the joists. I felt sorry for the seller as he had to cut out the drywall about 15 inches from the ceiling around all the walls to get the final. It wasn't fun. Yours won't have that problem but I'd much rather deal w/ any shortcomings now than later when you are trying to get things done before a settlement date. And BTW, the buyer will have every right to bail out of the contract if he wants to.