# Just curious, anyone having issues getting building permits?



## Braciole (Jul 16, 2011)

Dan_Watson said:


> Are you registered as a Home Improvement contractor?


Yes we are


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## Dan_Watson (Mar 1, 2008)

Braciole said:


> Yes we are


Good, I was wondering if that was part of the problem?

What problems are you having?


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## Tom M (Jan 3, 2007)

NJ has to provide a permit with in 20 business days. 1 month
If there is a zoning concern it goes onto that pile before anyone in building gets a look. If its minor work/single trade no plan review like roofing then same day. Otherwise each of your trade applications get put on a desk with that code offical to review. Sometimes you get a partial approval to get going. With some town downsizing there may not be a qualified plan viewer available full time to accomadate a rush of work so the process slows up.


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## ohiohomedoctor (Dec 26, 2010)

No problems here. They are always willing to accept our checks for a piece of paper they print.


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## Braciole (Jul 16, 2011)

I think we are ok now. Winslow twp makes you go to 2 different places one for zoning another for permits they 20 miles apart so stupid complete waste of time. Got my permits today.


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## Spike7 (May 18, 2012)

*spike7*

it can take a slong as 6 months in south florida.
when we take our contnued education ( its mandatory every other year) they always remind us that south florida is the most difficult area in the u.s. to pull and attain a permit.
if you bring in a full set of plans , each desk has 7 -10 days to approve their section. 
so first zoning gets it -possibly 7-10 days 
derm gets it - possible 7-10 days 
electric
low voltage 
plumbing 
a/c 
insulation
structural
building official
and the silly thing is , if one finds somethign wrong , they don`t keep sednignit down the line to all the other inspectors .
they send it back to you to get the architect to fix that issue.
then it continues on.
right now i have waited 3 months for a one day job i already did 
it was to re-strengthen gable -ends in an attic( a hurricane issue)
the client had to re-hire a second architect because the first one didn`t do what to city wanted . so the cleint thought the architect was inexperienced.
the client thinks i`m a putz because this has all taken so long. i have to do other jobs of course when the city is ready fopr me , i`m not always available for a week or so.

inspectors are very picky. and fail you for the sake of extra revenue. you can`t call for a re-inspection till you go down to the city and pay for that failed inspection.

yeah . we scream , and cuss alot about it here .

and most just try to do al they can without a permit . the main thing is to use all licensed subs , and still do it up to code.'
it actually takes less time 
if you get caught after the fact you pay a fine , and they actually inspect it quicker , and take less time.

if you tell a client you won`t work without permitting, you will lose out on most work becauase they know that most others will rather gamble doing it without a permit


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## EmmCeeDee (May 23, 2010)

Spike7 said:


> it actually takes less time
> if you get caught after the fact you pay a fine , and they actually inspect it quicker , and take less time.


This message has been brought to you by the department of unintended consequences


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## EmmCeeDee (May 23, 2010)

ATL is getting much better with residential permits. They used to be horrible. You could get it back in 3 weeks or three months. No one knew why. The new mayor's goal is 10 business days for residential new construction, 24-72 hrs for renovations and additions under 3k SF. 

We have already had a couple permits come back in record time. Much better attitude at the city as well. Hope it stays that way.


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## sunkist (Apr 27, 2012)

a permit that would mean doing it right getting inspections, how can i compete with c/l doing that?


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## Paulie (Feb 11, 2009)

Up here I always hear back in about 3 days to come back to the city office and cut a check for the permit.

I'm doing a basement right now that's within 1/2 mile from the city office... I've never had the inspectors out so quick. My HVAC guy called he was ready for inspection @ 10:00am Thursday and at noon the inspector already was over and done. :thumbsup:


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## shivers20 (Feb 16, 2009)

It usually takes about a week to get permits approved depending on tge scope of work. Now let me tell you a little story about how corrupt the building and health department in my town are. Im a real estate investor and Everytime I purchase a property, the health department has to come out and check to see if the house is safe to inhabit, in other words they are looking for any alterations that were made by the previous owner without the proper permits being obtained, they always find something! They once fined the seller because he didnt pull a permit for central air conditioner( the central air was installed when they built the house back in 40's, they ran all the duct work underneath the foundation slab before they poured it. They didnt keep records for permits at the time but yet the seller was being given a fine. I went down to the building dept and raised hell in regards to the AC, their response was "the AC issue has been resolved but there was no permit pulled for the alarm system" I almost lost it on them. Anyway i have now purchased six more homes and its always the same BS. They really enjoy picking on alarm systems, exterior outlets, central ac, thought i would let everyone know when you go to sell your house get ready to fork over some money to those corrupt government workers working in the health and building dept.


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## 239STAIRS (Jun 18, 2012)

Any experienced licensed contractor should have no problem its part of being a contractor. Maybe if your unlicensed it's hard


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

239STAIRS said:


> Any experienced licensed contractor should have no problem its part of being a contractor. Maybe if your unlicensed it's hard


That's uncalled for. I doubt you have worked in every locality across the nation; the various bureaucracies are far from the same. Add to the mix an unusual project that the local AHJ has no experience with, and it can take one heck of a long time for them to get done with heehawing around.


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## rselectric1 (Sep 20, 2009)

239STAIRS said:


> Any experienced licensed contractor should have no problem its part of being a contractor. Maybe if your unlicensed it's hard


I must agree with Tinstaafl in post 33. Things are so incredibly different in different jurisdictions that it's almost a full time job just to keep up with them in MY area.

I was corrected pretty harshly a couple years ago when I confronted a non-licensed contractor. Turned out that there was almost NO regulation or licensing even available to him in his area after checking it out.


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