Don’t let permits and inspections scare you or worry you. I remember this was a big mental hurdle in my mind to getting started. The words alone seem so daunting. Do you have permits? Did you pass inspection? Crap! What happens if I don’t? Jail time? Huge fines?
Chillax. There are no fines and you won’t do time. Try changing the vocabulary from” permits” and “inspections” to “announcements” and “reviews”. The permit is really just an announcement that you are going to do some work on your house. The inspection is really just a review of your work by a licensed and experienced person who is just checking to make sure everything is safe.
Permits for finishing your basement
If you’re finishing your basement yourself you can actually start without one. I built a couple of my walls before I made it official and purchased my “announcement” (permit).
Now, if you’re planning to have a huge back hoe outside of your house to dig up some dirt and install a basement window, then you may have a neighbor or two who start to ask some questions and in that case you want to have your permit ready. The very first inspection visit is the framing inspection so as long as you have the permit before then, you’re good to go.
Every area is different but in my county permits can easily be obtained by the homeowner. You need a rough sketch of your design, the permit application (name, address and stuff) and you need the permit fee. You take that to the county office where a clerk checks it over and hands you a permit. In my case it was a big orange sheet of paper that you put somewhere near the front of your house.
They will want to know if you are also doing the electrical and plumbing phases, say yes, you can always change this later if you decide to hire someone. If you do decide to hire some then they need to get their own permits and handle their own inspections. The person who did the work is responsible for passing the inspection.
Should you get a permit?
Yes! If you are going to do electrical, plumbing or major structural work – you should absolutely get one. It’s not that hard and it could save your life, your kids life or some family’s life in the future. By getting the permit you’re all setup for free inspections!
That’s right, free help! Look, you’ve never done this before, now you’ll have a guy come out before everything is closed in by drywall, and just let you know if you’ve done something that could hurt you or cause damage to your house. Don’t look at it as a hurdle, look at it as an opportunity to improve and to learn.
Plus, if you ever sell your home, the realtor is going to ask, “Do you have permits and inspections for this great basement?” No? There goes 5 to 10 thousand bucks out of your pocket. You can probably still sell, but the buyer is worried now, no one has checked your work. If you wait until you sell to get things inspected, good luck. Codes change over time and you’re expected to meet the codes that are in place at the time of the inspection. Not to mention the fact that you’ll have to crack open a bunch of walls so they can see what’s going on.
Finally, you’ll give confidence to your family. My wife was always a bit leery when I working with electrical or plumbing and rightfully so. Electricity is no joke, it can hurt or kill you. Even though I showed her the books I’d read and explained the process and she could see the wiring and all the lights worked, it wasn’t until the inspector came and put a small 2″x2″ sticker on our basement door with red “approved” stamp on it, that she believed everything was safe and correct.
Das Inspections
I always kind of thought of inspections as the SS coming in to check my papers with a big growling German Shepard by their side. But really it’s more like a lovable little puppy who just wants to be your friend. I was a bit nervous for that first inspecton. It was for the framing. The guy took about 2 minutes, walked through basement, asked a few questions and gave me an approval. Done.
Electrical inspection was even better. This guy was giving me tips, showing me why certain things are done and encouraging me to keep learning. I actually failed the first electrical inspection but both issues were minor, I fixed them and then he came back and I passed. He said I was actually much more thorough in my planning and execution than some of the professional electricians.
Help Me Help You
The thing to remember about the inspectors is that they do hundreds of inspections a month. They have to inspect new houses, renovations, additions and more. Respect their time. Clean up before they get there. Make sure it’s easy for them to walk around and see what they need to inspect. If they’re coming to inspect electrical – make sure they can see all of the outlet boxes, make sure they can get to the electrical panel.
Be Sure to Be There
Make sure that you are home when they come to do the inspection. Don’t just have your wife or brother or something let them in the house. They need to talk with you. They might have questions and if they have instructions on what you need to do to pass then you’ll want to hear that first hand. If you had a contractor do some of the work then try to have them with your or at least know that they are available via phone to answer questions or get feedback.
They won’t inspect every single element. If you put in 20 electrical boxes for outlets, they might check 3 or4, if those look good then they assume you know what you’re doing. The bottom line is that they need to trust your work and it’s more difficult to trust someones work who isn’t there in person.
Go Ahead, Inspect Away
I hope that puts some of those fears at ease. I know I mulled over the whole permit thing for way to long. Just go online and find you counties website, hopefully they have one by now, and check out the permit process. Then get started already, get your rough design and application finished then pick a time and go apply.
Do you have a crazy inspection story? Did you ever have trouble passing an inspection? I’d love to hear your stories. Please post them as a comment below.
Cheers -
Jason
Thanks! I am going to the town to get my inspection tomorrow. Just eased my mind a ton!
Chris – that’s great! The first step is the hardest. Let us know how it went. – Jason
Jason, first of all, thanks a lot for this site. It will help me a lot since I am about to start work in the basement. Have a quick question about the work performed. Did not you have to be licensed to perform the electrical and framing work etc in the basement?
Law may be different in counties where we live (I am close by you in Montgomery County MD), but I wonder what is it that I can’t do myself unless I am licensed (plumbing, electrical, framing, drywall etc.)?
Thanks, ado
Ado – Great question and one I had as well. In Virginia you do not need a license to do electrical work for your own properties. You do need a license if you’re going to perform electrical services for someone else. You also need to have the electrical permit and get your work inspected. I did a quick search and it looks like in MD you can do your own work but you have to pass a test first! Cool! This probably isn’t a bad idea, keeps you safe. http://permittingservices.montgomerycountymd.gov/DPS/building/ElectricalPermit.aspx
Good Luck! Let us know how it goes.
Jason
Thanks a lot, Jason – may look into this.
Hi there, reading the above makes my wana live in the US ! the permit and inspection process if way complicated in canada (specially in mississauga). you expect a hound and you actually get one! feels like they want a permit even if you are hanging ur wide screen tv on the wall
the process is really complecated , you cannot do it your self you have to get professional help which costs at least $1500 they ask so many questions like site survey and all .its crazy -wish it was simple in missisauga to get permits for a basement. the city staff and inspectors are also very very unfriendly.
You’re right. I guess I never considered that it might be really restrictive in other areas. In Virginia a lot of the officials that run the building code departments are elected. So they always try to keep the homeowners best interest in mind, so they can keep their job! Then again, Virginia let’s you do a lot of things. Hand-gun… no problem. I guess you have to find a balance between safety for the common good and not stifling improvement and discovery. Sounds like Mississauga is a bit stifling.
Hi Jason – just learned that I will need to provide two set of architectural plans. Did you do it yourself (if you did, what tools did you use) or you hired the professional for this.
Requirements seems to be overwhelming for a newbie:
http://permittingservices.montgomerycountymd.gov/DPS/building/AdditionsAndAlterations.aspx
Maybe it is simple, not sure.
Thanks a lot,
ado
Ado- I checked out the site and it looks like you don’t need a lot of those requirements for a basement. http://permittingservices.montgomerycountymd.gov/DPS/pdf/HomeImprovementSubmittalGuideFees.pdf
My suggestion would be to visit the building department / permit department in person and have them show you exactly what you would have to do for your finished basement. They should have examples of other homeowners applications that you could look at. I wouldn’t bother doing any extra application work until you what you know what they will expect.
I know it’s probably a half-day of effort but it could save you days and days of prep work if all they need is a few things. Let us know how it turns out.
- Jason
Hi Jason, I am going to visit permitting office next week – found something interesting though – not sure if you have faced this issue, “ceiling height”. Not sure if I am reading it incorrectly, but the requirement is to have at least 7″ height in all spots – I measured and saw that my height is slightly less than 7″ near the main iron beams and ducts so even in unfinished mode the height is less than 7″. Am I reading this file correct (law was changing in last 10 yrs or so):
http://permittingservices.montgomerycountymd.gov/DPS/pdf/BCP11-02BasementCeilingHeight.pdf
I hope county is not expecting me ti dig my basement further deeper through concrete to get to this height. Wonder if I can finish it but not claim this space as “living” space.
Did not even start and am learning a lot
Have you faced anything similar?
Thanks,
ado
Ado – Let us know how it goes. The fact is you’ve already put yourself on the right path. You run into a hurdle and you start solving it. Somethings might slow you down but NOTHING will stop you. Make progress each day. Keep it up and you’re guaranteed to succeed. -Jason
Thanks Jason for this article, and for the website. I am really glad to find it!
I got a first contractor who asked for $500 to get us the required permit from the county to finish our basement, and the second one asked for $1000!
I have been to the county, got the permit by myself. I just paid the required fee which is a far less than what the contractors asked for. Thanks again.
Thanks for this website. It has a lots of helpful info.
I Just want to mention that we contacted two different contractors, months ago, who quoted us respectively $500 and $1000 to pull the permits for us. We decided to get them on our own. I have been to the county office and got the permits in no time. We filled up the forms and just paid the fee required by the county which is far less than what the contractors asked for!
Liz – That’s awesome! Thanks for letting us know those amounts you received as quotes. I certainly don’t mind paying for a good contractor, but I don’t see why they should markup the permits so much. Now you can take that extra money and get something nice for your new basement! – Jason
Hey Jason,
We are moving into a new house in a few weeks and I plan on finishing the basement without a bathroom. My question is if I get permits will my property be assessed with higher taxes after an inspection when I am finished.
Thanks
Brian – My guess is… yes. Property is typically assessed based on square footage, bedrooms, bathrooms and a few other factors. If your county/township is efficiently run then they will likely have a link between permits and assessments. That being said, I would still 100% recommend getting a permit and an inspection. Tax evasion is never looked upon kindly by our friends in government, but we all know everybody plays the game. – Jason
Most of the time, yes. There are caveats that differ by state/county though.
I had a house built and the basement was roughed and inspected by the city less than a month ago.Now i want to finish it and the city is asking for blueprints.