Here in God's Country (aka..."the sticks") we don't have permits. Nowhere in our county is there a building inspector. In fact, the only licensing issue I've ever heard come up was due to unlicenced plumbing work...and that only came to the fore because the LICENSED PLUMBERS got sick and tired of being underbid by jack legs and raised a stink.
While this situation might initially seem to be an invitation to disaster, actually it works better than you might think. The professionals that do plumbing, electrical, and structural work can't do enough just here in the sticks to get by, so they end up doing a good portion of their work in more populous environs where they deal with inspectors and codes. So, it's not like they are ignorant.
And...since everyone here in the sticks knows everyone else's business (we do...trust me we do) we know which of those contractors we can expect to do a good job and which one we should avoid. Bottom line is...you end up with a knowledgable, hard working, local contractor who knows his business, can do a good job, and you don't have to pay for a permit.
Living in small towns is heavily underated, IMHO.
Phil
